Sanagi
12-10-2007, 07:24 AM
A link to start with:
http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm8-2/musique_biologie_en.htm
So, music activates the same pleasure centers of the brain as sex and food. We don't need it in order to survive, but humans have clearly evolved to enjoy it. I'd say that it finds its practical function as the language of the group, enabling people to coordinate and communicate at work and play. I also feel that participatory group musical experience is a key ingredient missing from modern life.
I recently came across a few youtube videos of Oliver Sacks talking about music and the brain. Here he is explaining amusia, the inability to recognize music as anything but noise: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tPRW0wZ9NOM
http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm8-2/musique_biologie_en.htm
So, music activates the same pleasure centers of the brain as sex and food. We don't need it in order to survive, but humans have clearly evolved to enjoy it. I'd say that it finds its practical function as the language of the group, enabling people to coordinate and communicate at work and play. I also feel that participatory group musical experience is a key ingredient missing from modern life.
I recently came across a few youtube videos of Oliver Sacks talking about music and the brain. Here he is explaining amusia, the inability to recognize music as anything but noise: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tPRW0wZ9NOM