The human ability to perceive and understand music is a fascinating and complex phenomenon that is unique to the human species. As such, it has stimulated scientific interest for decades. In an effort to unveil the neurobiological bases of human musical abilities, many researchers have focused on individual differences in the structure and function of specific brain areas. This approach, aimed at correlating variations in isolated brain regions with the diversity of musical competencies in human populations, has, however, yielded unsatisfactory and hard-to-replicate results.
A recent study led by Prof. Massimo Lumaca from the Centre for Music in the Brain (MIB) in Aarhus, Denmark, published in Nature Communications, adopted an innovative approach. Instead of concentrating on single brain areas, the team examined the organisation of connectivity between these regions—that is, how different parts of the brain communicate with each other. By analysing brain images alongside cognitive and musical data from a large sample of over 200 individuals, the researchers reconstructed cerebral connectivity networks. Using graph theory—a mathematical tool that studies the properties of networks—they discovered a significant relationship between musical abilities and the organisation of a network connecting the frontal and parietal regions of the brain, which are known for their crucial role in working memory.
Dr Claude Bajada, a researcher from the University of Malta, performed the processing and connectome construction of diffusion data. "This work involved the handling and processing of large amounts of complex Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data, allowing us to accurately map the structural and functional connectivity of the brain networks involved in musical perception," says Dr Bajada. "This integration of structural and functional data provided a more comprehensive understanding of how the brain’s network organisation underpins musical abilities."
As Prof. Lumaca explains: “We observed that the ability of a specific frontal region to communicate effectively with other areas of the brain network is significantly associated with both working memory performance and musical competencies. This supports the idea that the neural mechanisms underlying musicality are not isolated to the musical domain but involve domain-general processes used in other cognitive domains, possibly including language.”
These findings open new perspectives in the research on the biological foundations of human musicality and its variability among individuals and cultures. Prof. Lumaca notes: “Minimal differences in the organisation of our brains could manifest as variations in musical behaviour. These differences, amplified through cultural transmission, could contribute to the diversity of musical traditions we observe across human cultures.”
The discoveries from the study could have important practical applications in fields such as music education and Neurotherapy. A greater understanding of the neural correlates of musical abilities could guide the development of targeted interventions, using brain stimulation techniques to enhance musical skills or employing music as a tool to improve cognitive functions.
Prof. Massimo Lumaca is an Associate Prof. at the Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus (Denmark). He also studied piano at the Conservatoire Santa Cecilia of Rome.
Dr Claude Bajada is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Physiology and Biochemistry within the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Malta. He chairs the University of Malta's Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Platform and also holds an associate faculty position in the Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences. In addition, Dr Bajada leads the Boundaries of the Brain (BOB) Lab, which specialises in developing and applying MRI analysis techniques to neural data.
Dr Bajada’s contribution to this article was conducted as part of the Measuring the Architecture of Consciousness (MARC) Project, financed by Xjenza Malta, through the FUSION: R&I Research Excellence Programme (REP-2022-005), on behalf of the Foundation for Science and Technology. The data collection for this study was supported by COST Action CA18106 'The Neural Architecture of Consciousness (NeuralArchCon),' led by Prof. Kristian Sandberg, senior author of this article. We extend our gratitude to the members of NeuralArchCon for their invaluable contributions and collaboration during the project.
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