Biological and Cognitive Mechanisms of Music Perception
In modern science, music is perceived as a sign system similar to language. The main unit may be a single note, a chord, a measure, or a certain section of a melody. The main mechanism of the human body with which the perception of sound begins is the sound membrane, which is a membrane of bone tissue.
In fact, all the impressions a person receives from the auditory world depend on how exactly this organ works. The latter perceives vibrations of air molecules, which are carried along it in a different sequence of intensity depending on the type of sound information. At the stage when the smallest particles are removed from the membrane, a person is not able to understand what exactly he hears and distinguish the sounds of nature from human speech or musical melody.
The brain identifies the type of incoming information. It splits sounds received from the environment into basic components, including pitch, timbre, loudness, duration, and location in space. This complex operation is performed in the smallest fraction of a second and is considered a low-level process, as it identifies the most basic characteristics of the information. High-level processing occurs when the conscious process is activated, and a person comes closer to understanding the form and content of what has been heard.
It is at this stage that meaningful emotional perception takes place. This stage of auditory information processing occurs after sound passes through the auditory cortex into the brain stem. Comprehension and formation of the personal perception of what is heard are carried out directly in the cerebellum. The final impression of the received sound information will be formed in the brain based on several important criteria.
A person will need to sort and classify the information according to what has already been heard in a piece of music, what is expected in the future, and what is known about the context of the piece. All these operations take place in the frontal lobe of the brain and belong to top-down information processing. Thanks to the above steps, the brain finally forms a complete picture, as well as inferences based on the information received.
Therapeutic Effects of Music on the Human Body
Studies show that music can affect the neural network of the brain, thereby stimulating certain emotions and causing changes in mood. Given how deeply music penetrates the human brain, it can not be assumed that the components of the melody can affect the mental, emotional, and even physical state. Within the framework of this topic, a scientific branch called music therapy was formed.
Within the framework of the latter, music becomes the main therapeutic tool in the form of specially selected therapist melodies or self-playing on a variety of musical instruments. Ancient Greek scientists proved that different musical harmonies affect man’s psycho-emotional background in different ways. This is because the nervous system and muscles are able to adapt to the rhythm perceived by the body.
Sounds are a kind of stimuli that have a stimulating effect on the physiological processes inside the body. Each organ system has its own mechanism, which has a certain rhythm. In this medicine, there is a clear understanding that between certain levels of the body, there must be complete coherence in the speed of work to ensure the proper functioning of the body.
Consequently, music, if properly chosen, can correct mismatches in the work of the various organs and all logical processes. It is believed that the frequency of beats of this type of music is rarer than the heart rate in a relaxed state. This allows people to calm the cardiovascular system and keeps the heart functioning adequately during prolonged physical exertion. That is why this genre is used as an accompaniment to various processions in which consistency, balance, and endurance are important.
It is also important to mention the influence of the emotional perception of the melody on our well-being and the state of the body. If a person likes the melody, then they get a significant pleasure, which consequently has a vasodilating effect, calms the blood pressure, and also improves performance. Moreover, pleasant music in which the listener is highly emotionally involved can impact the hormonal background, which significantly affects the psycho-emotional components. A prime example of such a function of music is endorphin, which is released when people hear a favorite melody that resonates with their life experience. This hormone is one of the basic sources of joy, energy, and motivation.
The Role and Risks of Music Therapy
Music therapy is one of the most effective tools in psychotherapy practice because of its accessibility and versatility. This method of treatment helps to combat diagnoses such as psychosomatic disorders, fears, phobias, increased anxiety, stress, and neurosis. Music is also an effective form of therapy to combat unstable national backgrounds and the accompanying treatment of depressive disorders.
Contraindications to music therapy should be noted, which include acute mental states, because being in such states may cause the patient to fall deeper into confusion and anxiety, experiencing even greater discomfort. Moreover, this method may seem harmful if doctors offer it during the recovery period after serious surgical interventions, during which there is a disturbance in the stability and permanence of all organ systems. Especially dangerous conditions are also epilepsy, aneurysm, and diseases of unclear etiology, in which the effect of music on the processes of the brain can be absolutely unpredictable.
Music’s Influence on Cognitive Development and Thinking
Another important advantage of music in human life is its ability to influence the cognitive sphere by developing different components of thinking. Studies show that listening to certain melodies activates short-term memory and increases attention concentration. This is because the processing of sound waves excites different areas of the brain, which have to work simultaneously, activating mechanisms that are similar to those involved in attention.
The parts of the human psyche that are not often activated by listening to music activate in such a way that a person develops the ability to solve various temporal and spatial problems. The brain gets used to quick and adequate decoding of the interpretation of external stimuli and, as a result, shows more efficiency in solving problems related to the recognition of the location of the object in space. Moreover, motor coordination develops to a large extent, which is often expressed in the fact that people often listen to music of different complexities, have a high sense of rhythm, and show success in dancing.
It should be noted that in order for music to impact the human brain and complicate the processes occurring inside, the melodies chosen should have a complex structure and content. Poets most often encourage children in educational institutions to listen to classical works, which the authors created using complex patterns of rhythm, tonality, and note combinations. It is believed that Mozart and Bach have the most multilayered structures and represent the greatest challenge of interpretation for the brain. By getting used to listening to such music and splitting it into smaller components to formulate judgments about the acoustic material, the human brain becomes more complex in structure and increases the number of neural connections. The results of some studies lead to the conclusion that listening to complex compositions leads to the development of speech and the ability to structure thoughts and consistently state them.
At the same time, many rhythmic patterns and universal sound combinations make a musical composition easily recognizable but do not benefit the cognitive sphere. This is mainly a genre of pop music that does not involve a complex structure and aims to attract a large amount of attention at the expense of simplicity, sometimes primitive. Such compositions are used to accompany various activities, including walking, shopping, eating in cafes, and fitness classes. The mechanisms inherent in this work are designed to simplify the processes of perception of the acoustic material of the brain and nervous system; hence, listening to this music can have a negative effect on the components of thinking. Therefore, being aware of the effect of melody and rhythms on the brain, it is necessary to be careful in the selection of the listened-to compositions, paying attention to the complex structure.