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Updated: Sep 9, 2025

fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals
Published on: May 23, 2017
The neuroscience of music perception: a narrative review
Renan Barros Domingues1,2, Luísa Aires Domingues1, Victor Rebelo Procaci3
1Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, São Paulo SP, Brazil.
Abstract:
The present review article explores the neuroscience of musical perception, examining the roles of specific brain regions in decoding and interpreting music. Musical perception engages multiple cortical and subcortical areas that work in an integrated manner to process musical elements such as melody, harmony, and rhythm. The paper reviews the current knowledge about the brain circuits involved, as well as pathological conditions that result in abnormalities of musical perception. In addition, the relationship between musical perception and neurological conditions such as epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease is explored. The present review is based on findings from structural and functional neuroimaging studies, neuropsychology, neurophysiology, and clinical research, aiming to show how the brain transforms music sounds into meaningful experiences and addressing pathological conditions in which this complex process may be affected, either in isolation or in association with other forms of neurological impairment.
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