Musicians' brains are wired differently

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/318/nation/Scientists_find_musicians_b
raiP.shtml

--- In metatuning@y..., "Paul Erlich" <paul@s...> wrote:
>
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/318/nation/Scientists_find_musicians_b
> raiP.shtml

Sorry for the redundancy, Dave B.!

--- In metatuning@y..., "Paul Erlich" <paul@s...> wrote:

/metatuning/topicId_1097.html#1097

>
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/318/nation/Scientists_find_musicians_b
> raiP.shtml

Hmmm. Well, this is interesting, but the question is to how the high-
level professionals respond to *xenharmonic* music!

Maybe, if they have to play anything different from 12-tET, the
experience even more "muscle" anxiety and focus than amateurs...

Dunno...

JP

>Subject: [metatuning] Re: Musicians' brains are wired
differently

[Paul called our attention to:]

> /metatuning/topicId_1097.html#1097

>http://www.boston.com/dailynews/318/nation/Scientists_find_mus
icians_braiP.shtml

Thanks for this link. It's a typical example of science
reporting. I am assuming the problem is with the
science reporter and not with the original study as
published.

The article claims that:

>> "Neuroscientists, using brain-scanning MRI machines to peer
>> inside the minds of professional German violinists, found
>> they could hear the music simply by thinking about it, a
>> skill amateurs in the study were unable to match."

But this initial assertion is not supported by the
actual experimental results described:

>> In a study by researchers at the University of Tuebingen,
>> the brains of eight violinists with German orchestras and
>> eight amateurs were analyzed as they silently tapped out the
>> first 16 bars of Mozart's violin concerto in G major.

>> Brain scans showed professionals had significant activity in
>> the part of their brains that controlled hearing, said Dr.
>> Gabriela Scheler of the University of Tuebingen.

>> ''When the professionals move their fingers, they are also
>> hearing the music in their heads,'' Scheler said. Amateurs,
>> by contrast, showed more activity in the motor cortex, the
>> region that controls finger movements, suggesting they were
>> more preoccupied with hitting the correct notes, she said.

Might as well say that non-carpenters have different
types of brains that are unable to think spatially
since the motor cortex is active in amateurs who are
made to frame a bathroom, whereas carpenters' spatial
regions are active during the same activity. Yeah
right. People should think critically when reading
these articles since the reporters certainly don't.

- J

--- In metatuning@y..., "X. J. Scott" <xjscott@e...> wrote:

> Might as well say that non-carpenters have different
> types of brains that are unable to think spatially
> since the motor cortex is active

Did you mean "not active"?

> in amateurs who are
> made to frame a bathroom, whereas carpenters' spatial
> regions are active during the same activity. Yeah
> right.

Can you clarify what you mean by "yeah right"? I may or may not have
the same reaction, depending on what element of the argument you are
saying "yeah right" to. As it stands I simply don't know what you
mean.

> People should think critically when reading
> these articles since the reporters certainly don't.

I agree that the reporters, and most "science reporters" in general,
are evidently unable to fully grasp what it is they are reporting. I
forwarded this link before reading it. I do suspect that the actual
science they are reporting is far more logical in its hypotheses,
experimental setup, and conclusions than what can be gleaned from
reading this article literally. If it will make you happy, I will
delete the relevant post from the archives -- it's really not very
interesting anyway.

>> Might as well say that non-carpenters have different
>> types of brains that are unable to think spatially
>> since the motor cortex is active
>
> Did you mean "not active"?

No - they are hammering or wvhatever and the motor
cortex is active since that is where they are focusing
as they are trying to master the new task. Once the
task is mastered, motor cortex activity will be reduced
and activity may be seen in areas of spatial thinking.

>> in amateurs who are
>> made to frame a bathroom, whereas carpenters' spatial
>> regions are active during the same activity. Yeah
>> right.
>
> Can you clarify what you mean by "yeah right"?

I mean "As if!" I am saying "yeah right" sarcastically.

In otherwords I agree that this is the observation:

>> since the motor cortex is active in amateurs who are made to
>> frame a bathroom, whereas carpenters' spatial regions are
>> [more] active [instead] during the same activity.

And I do *not* agree that the conclusion that follows
from the observational evidence is that:

>> non-carpenters have different types of brains that are
>> unable to think spatially

> I agree that the reporters, and most "science reporters" in
> general,
> are evidently unable to fully grasp what it is they are
> reporting. I
> forwarded this link before reading it.

Oh I wasn't reacting to you in any way and am glad you
sent the link.

> I do suspect that the actual science they are reporting is
> far more logical in its hypotheses, experimental setup, and
> conclusions than what can be gleaned from reading this
> article literally.

Right - in my post I give the scientists the benefit of
the doubt and assume that in their actual write up they
don't jump to the conclusions given in the article from
the evidence given in the article. I hope/suppose that
the description of the experiment is about right but
the reporter's synopsis of the results is misstated.

> If it will make you happy, I will delete the relevant post
> from the archives -- it's really not very interesting anyway.

Odd!

- J