The amusic brain: In tune, out of key, and unaware
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1
Department of Psychology,University of Helsinki, Finland
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2
Department of Music, University of Jyväskylä , Finland
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3
BRAMS, Université de Montréal, Canada
Music perception and appreciation is universal and it is present early in life. However, for about 4% of the population what others call music is merely disturbing noise. Tone-deafness or congenital amusia, a lifelong disorder of music perception and appreciation, cannot be explained by hearing loss, brain damage, intellectual deficiencies or lack of exposure. Congenital amusia is hereditary and is associated with abnormal grey and white matter in the auditory cortex and the inferior frontal cortex. In order to relate these anatomical anomalies to the behavioral expression of the disorder, we measured the electrical brain activity of amusic subjects and matched controls while they listened to melodies and screened them for the presence of pitch anomalies. Here we show for the first time that the amusic brain can track quarter-tone pitch differences, as reflected from an early right-lateralized brain response. This indicates near-normal neural processing of musical pitch incongruities in congenital amusia. The importance of this finding lies in the revelation of an amusic brain equipped with the essential neural mechanisms to perceive fine-grained pitch differences. What distinguishes the amusic from the normal brain is the absence of awareness of this ability. The study opens avenues for the rehabilitation of congenital amusics, searching for appropriate ways to expose them to music and to allow their implicit melodic pitch perception become explicit.
* E. Brattico and I. Peretz are equally contributing authors
Conference:
Tuning the Brain for Music, Helsinki, Finland, 5 Feb - 6 Feb, 2009.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Session Talks
Citation:
Brattico
E,
Peretz
I,
Järvenpää
M and
Tervaniemi
M
(2009). The amusic brain: In tune, out of key, and unaware.
Conference Abstract:
Tuning the Brain for Music.
doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.02.004
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Received:
23 Jan 2009;
Published Online:
23 Jan 2009.
*
Correspondence:
Elvira Brattico, Department of Psychology,University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, elvira.brattico@clin.au.dk