To Jazz Musician Brains, Music And Language Are A Lot Alike - But When They Play, Something Different Happens...

Jazz musicians do a lot of spontaneous, improvisational music and brains scans show robust activation of brain areas traditionally associated with spoken language and syntax, which are used to interpret the structure of phrases and sentences. But this musical conversation shut down brain areas linked to semantics — those that process the meaning of spoken language, according to results of a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers which used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to track the brain activity of jazz musicians in the act of "trading fours," a process in which musicians participate in spontaneous back and forth instrumental exchanges, usually four bars in duration. read more

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