Brain Activities Similar for Jazz Music and Spoken Language: Study

Jazz music activates same areas in brain that is associated with spoken language and syntax, according to a recent study.

A research funded by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine involved 11 right-handed healthy male participants aged between 25 and 56. These participants selected were Jazz musicians who didn't have any history of neurological, hearing and psychiatric problems. The researchers took Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans to record brain activity when the participants gave a 'trading four' performance- an impromptu back and forth musical exchange with each other. Their pianos were made of plastic as metal parts interfere with MRI's powerful magnetic range. They were instructed to listen to each other with ear shots, use only the right hand as they performed and control extreme head and trunk movements during the scans.

The scans revealed brain areas that process syntax or structural arrangement of phrases and words in a sentence were active during the performance. While, brain areas linked to language semantics - the meaning of language and logic showed limited activity.

Charles Limb associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said in a press release, "The results of the study suggest that the brain regions that process syntax aren't limited to spoken language. Rather, the brain uses syntactic areas to communication in general, whether through language or through music."

The research is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

The study provides an understanding of the neurobiological overlap between music and language processing. Researchers believe that these systems rely on a common network of processing in areas called the inferior frontal gyrus and posterior superior temporal gyrus. These are not specific for the spoken language but for auditory communication in form of music.  Semantic processing activates brain areas called angular gyrus and supramarginal gyrus .

 "Until now, studies of how the brain processes auditory communication between two individuals have been done only in the context of spoken language. In this study there is a fundamental difference between how meaning is processed by the brain for music and language," said Limbs who is also musician and holds faculty at Peabody Conservatory.

The author noted, ""When two jazz musicians seem lost in thought while trading fours, they aren't simply waiting for their turn to play. Instead, they are using the syntactic areas of their brain to process what they are hearing so they can respond by playing a new series of notes that hasn't previously been composed or practiced."