The evolution of human languages is driven both by primitive biases present in the human sensorimotor systems and by cultural transmission among speakers. However, whether the design of the language faculty is further shaped by linguistic biological biases remains controversial. To address this question, we used near-infrared spectroscopy to examine whether the brain activity of … Read more
Sustained training in music, dance or other arts strengthens the brain’s attention system, which in turn may improve cognition more generally. Evidence for such cognitive “transfer” is accumulating. Dr. Michael I. Posner: “Does education in the arts transfer to seemingly unrelated cognitive abilities? Researchers are finding evidence that it does. Michael Posner argues that when … Read more
Music and the Brain: Depression and Creativity Symposium. Music and the Brain: From Mode to Emotion in Musical Communication. Music and the Brain: The World in Six Songs. Music and the Brain: The Music of Language and the Language of Music. Music and the Brain: Music, Criminal Behavior, and Crime Prevention. Music and the Brain: … Read more
Practicing a musical instrument is a rich multisensory experience involving the integration of visual, auditory, and tactile inputs with motor responses. This combined psychophysics-fMRI study used the musician’s brain to investigate how sensory-motor experience molds temporal binding of auditory and visual signals. Behaviorally, musicians exhibited a narrower temporal integration window than nonmusicians for music but … Read more