Research presented in this briefing is inspired by two questions: What can cognitive science teach us about human music-making? And, inversely, how can music help us understand the human brain and treat its disorders? While little can be done at this time to slow the degradation of memory and general mental function caused by Alzheimer’s and other dementia diseases, anecdotal evidence suggests that music can ease the disorientation, anxiety and anger that patients experience. Daniel Levitin will present findings from new research on the physiological changes — to cortisol levels in saliva samples, for example — and behavioral changes seen in Alzheimer’s patients when they are played pieces of music they have long adored. Elizabeth Margulis will present preliminary findings indicating the degree to which musical experience is a cultural construct, rather than a “universal language.” Her research shows that a song that seems to one group of listeners to be the soundtrack of a murder may sound agreeable to listeners in another country or cultural context. Further, when given a lexical decision task — pressing a button to indicate whether a collection of letters forms a word — respondents are quicker to recognize words that are most often used within their culture to describe the music being played. Psyche Loui will present new research building on her 2017 study identifying a disorder called musical anhedonia, which prevents people from enjoying music, though they respond normally to other stimuli, such as money and visual art. Loui’s findings, drawn from a combination of behavioral surveys and brain imaging, support the hypothesis that music is tied to social bonding, so those with musical anhedonia may also have trouble deriving reward from social relationships.

Daniel Levitin, founding dean of arts and humanities, Minerva Schools at KGI, San
Francisco, Calif.
Music, Medicine, and the Aging Brain: Applications to Health

Elizabeth Margulis, professor of music, Princeton University, N.J.
Music, Structure, and Memory

Psyche Loui, assistant professor of creativity and creative practice, Northeastern
University, Boston, Mass.
Music and Emotion

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