Music medicine. A neurobiological approach

Abstract
Music medicine is a relatively new medical specialty for most countries in the world and a rediscovery of a discipline for some countries in Europe.

In the scope of music medicine are health problems of musicians like stage fright and psychic stress, pain syndromes and motor disturbances. Specific demands of musicianship like performing before the public, performing under the constant critical scrutiny of conductors, being expected to perform perfectly, and the physical demands of performing on a musical instrument were seen as the determinants of the complaints, and treatment does usually not differ between musicians and non-musicians with comparable diseases.

In the present article, growing neurobiological evidence will be summarized showing that musicians differ from non-musicians on brain structure and function and on some hormonal and immunological parameters. Musicians tend to have atypical brain organization for verbal and non-verbal materials, their auditory system tracks sound levels more accurately, musicians attend pre-consciously to musical material and they react to music as if it is a stressor, i.e. with increased activity of the autonomic nervous system and with an increase in stress hormone production.

A musician is more likely than a non-musician to be non-righthanded and to be vulnerable to atopic diseases. Testosterone levels are assumed to be lower (male) and higher (female) than controls. Melatonin was found to be elevated, and ACTH was related to musical talent. His/her brain reflects early music practice by enlarged structures, like the anterior part of the corpus callosum and the representation for piano tones and for the left thumb and little finger in string players.

In addition, the left planum temporale was found to be larger in musicians with absolute pitch. These differences between musicians and non-musicians may have implications for music medicine in theory and practice, and further research should help to improve treatment of musicians.

Source / Infos / more
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11455337/

Similar articles

• Addressing stress-related illness in professional musicians.
  Sternbach D.Md Med J. 1993 Mar;42(3):283-8.PMID: 8350688 Review.
• The brain of musicians. A model for functional and structural adaptation.
  Schlaug G.Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2001 Jun;930:281-99.PMID: 11458836 Review.
• Absolute pitch and planum temporale.
  Keenan JP, Thangaraj V, Halpern AR, Schlaug G.Neuroimage. 2001 Dec;14(6):1402-8. doi: 10.1006/nimg.2001.0925.PMID: 11707095
• [Reasons why musicians consult hand surgeons].
  Nourissat G, Chamagne P, Dumontier C.Rev Chir Orthop Reparatrice Appar Mot. 2003 Oct;89(6):524-31.PMID: 14593289 French.
• Superior voice timbre processing in musicians.
  Chartrand JP, Belin P.Neurosci Lett. 2006 Sep 25;405(3):164-7. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2006.06.053. Epub 2006 Jul 24.PMID: 16860471

 

This looks like an excellent read. Music helps my mental state, but I have no doubt that with it comes pressure. Not necessarily with live performance, I can do that blindfolded, but I know the pressure to be creative can get to me.

 

Fortunately, cannabis is legal in Canada and it really helps with stage fright.
One of my muffins and you'll need a hook to get me off the stage

 

Dieser Artikel liefert spannende Einblicke, wie Musik Gehirn und Körper beeinflusst, und zeigt die einzigartigen neurobiologischen Merkmale von Musiker:innen auf. Das Verständnis dieser Unterschiede kann dazu beitragen, Behandlungsansätze in der Musikmedizin zu verbessern und sowohl das körperliche als auch das psychische Wohlbefinden zu fördern. Für alle, die sich für wissenschaftliche Forschung, Laborexperimente oder hochwertige Chemikalien interessieren, finden Sie mehr Infos auf unserer Website, die spezialisiertes Wissen und Ressourcen für Fachleute und Interessierte bietet.