Music is a peculiar phenomenon; it activates almost all known areas of the brain at the same time. Not only does it benefit the body and mind, music can also relieve pain and be beneficial for different brain conditions such as dementia. Music is a means of communication for its author - composer, lyricist, musician, or singer - however, the ultimate meaning of music emerges only in the listener’s head and it can deviate significantly from the author’s thoughts.

Experiencing music varies from person to person and group to group, depending on the surrounding culture, age, values, life experiences and knowledge of the type of music. An individual’s experience of the same music can vary in different contexts changing the power of different emotions. Music has been an important element in our culture since the beginning of time. Its power has been documented back to primitive times and has continued through early civilisation, biblical times, and now, to the twenty-first century. (Gulyas, 2007)

We have written an article for you to help you understand what happens to your brain when you listen to music. It can give you a deeper understanding about why music as a therapy is such a great method for different conditions.

The human brain is a complex organ that regulates human activities: thinking, memory, motor skills, sight, emotions, breathing and every other bodily activity. Together, the brain and spinal cord (that extends from the brain) make up the central nervous system, or CNS (Brain Anatomy and How the Brain Works, 2021).

At a high level, the human brain has three main areas: the cerebrum, cerebellum and brainstem. The cerebrum is the most significant part of the brain; its role is to help with human coordination and motor skills. Additionally, the cerebrum establishes faculties for speech, judgement, thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, emotions, and learning.

The brainstem connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. It is divided into midbrain, pons, and medulla. The midbrain has a range of neuron clusters, neural pathways and other structures that facilitate functions such as hearing and movement. The midbrain also contains the ‘substantia nigra’, an area affected by Parkinson’s disease that is rich in dopamine neurons and part of the basal ganglia, which enables movement and coordination (Brain Anatomy and How the Brain Works, 2021). Located between the midbrain and medulla, the Pons facilitates functions such as hearing and vision, which are essential for listening to and playing music.

The cerebellum, also known as the little brain, is located at the back of the head. It coordinates muscle movements and plays a role in thinking, feeling, and communicating. Listening to music activates the cerebellum in a variety of ways. Creating a rhythm with the music activates the cerebellum. The cerebellum also stores learned music, especially if played by oneself. The cerebellum also contributes to emotional reactions triggered by music.
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The cerebrum consists of four hemispheres. Frontal, Parietal, Temporal, and Occipital Lobe. Musical stimulation affects each. “The frontal lobe is the most important to being a human. We have a big frontal lobe compared to other animals. By listening to music, we can enhance its functions” (Sugaya, 2017). It deals with thinking, planning, and decision-making as well as enables humans to learn and use rules that lie at the root of both language and music. The Broca's area, which is responsible for human speech, can also be found in the Frontal Lobe. Music is expressed by this brain area in the form of playing an instrument, which can be viewed as a form of communication.

The Motor Cortex is an area of the frontal lobe and is responsible for movements. It is activated when playing an instrument or dancing.

Parietal lobe is the middle part of the brain, which interprets pain and touch in the body. This part of the brain contains Wernicke's area. It is through Wernicke's area that humans can comprehend written and spoken language. Similarly, people can analyse and appreciate music through this area.

The Temporal Lobe, located on the sides of the brain, is involved in short-term memory, speech, and musical rhythm. It also processes what we hear. Humans do not hear music with their ears, but with their brain, which transforms the sense of hearing produced by the melodies into a musical experience. A melody, like other sounds, is an oscillation of air pressure that turns into electrical impulses in the inner ear. Sensation is conducted along the auditory nerve to the brain, the auditory cortex of the temporal lobe.

The Occipital Lobe, located in the back of the brain, regulates vision. Professional musicians use the occipital cortex, which is the visual cortex, when they listen to music, while laypersons, like me, use the temporal lobe — the auditory and language centre (Sugaya, 2017). To refine Sugaya’s statement about Occipital Lobe, musicians interpret music using sheet music. Many of them have a perfect tune in their memory and thus know the notes while listening to them. That is, so to speak, visualising the notes while listening to music and thus the Occipital Lobe is activated.
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We can go even to the deeper structures within the human brain. Some people have an amazing ability to remember music. Chances are that you can recognize your favourite song after hearing just a fragment. These memories are stored in the hippocampus (McCollum, 2019).

The hippocampus is a small organ on the underside of each temporal lobe. Music can improve memory by increasing neurogenesis, which produces new neurons in the brain. Located under each hemisphere is the Amygdala – structures that process and trigger emotions. Music can control your fear, make you ready to fight and increase pleasure. When you feel shivers go down your spine, the amygdala is activated (Yonetani, 2017).

The hypothalamus, located at the base of the brain, plays a crucial role in releasing hormones. Have you ever noticed that you might want to play calm music when you want to relax? The hypothalamus responds to calming music by reducing your heart rate, blood pressure and making you more relaxed.

A total of twelve cranial nerves originates from the cerebrum. The vagus nerve is the body’s longest cranial nerve, running from the brain to the lower internal organs. It is responsible for regulating the parasympathetic nervous system (Johnson, 2021). The actual parasympathetic nervous system restores essential functions and soothes the body. This specific long nerve is near the ear, through which we first hear music. The process starts in the eardrums, where the vibration of the sound resonates. Then it travels through the vagus nerve. When the vagus nerve is activated, it stimulates the PNS and sends a signal that it is time to relax (Johnson, 2021). Like the hypothalamus, the vagus nerve works hard in soothing the body into a calmer state through music.

The question is…if playing or listening to the right music can calm your body, what role does it play in different brain conditions such as dementia?

The vagus nerve does not always succeed at its role in activating the relaxation signal. This is when the sympathetic nervous system – responsible for the fight or flight response – keeps active stimulating cortisol and adrenaline. This leaves our bodies tired and stressed. Music can have an impact on this. Studies have found that listening to music can significantly lower your body’s levels of cortisol, a hormone that can contribute to feelings of stress and anxiety (Audio-Technica, 2017). As a result, when feeling stressed, the right music for your mind can act as a stress reliever by reducing the cortisol levels in your body.

Neurotransmitters are often referred to as the body’s chemical messengers. They are the molecules used by the nervous system to transmit messages between neurons, or from neurons to muscles (What are neurotransmitters?, 2017). The neurotransmitter dopamine, commonly known as the feel-good hormone, plays a critical role in rewarding us and making us feel good as well as in cognitive, emotional, and behavioural functioning. A new study has found that it plays a direct role in the reward experience induced by music (Dolan, 2019). Since dopamine is released when the brain expects a reward or pleasure, the same thing happens when you listen to music you love. I can recall so many moments of listening to my favourite songs and the feeling I get on the most beautiful parts of the songs – that is, when the dopamine secretion increases in the brain.