- Membership & Community
-
Publications & News
- Journals
-
Newsroom
-
The Physiologist Magazine
- 2019
- 2020
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024
- In Depth
-
Mentoring Forum
- Net Worth
- Take Care
- You … In Charge
- Work. It. Out.
- Working Off-site
- Location, Location, Location?
- Student Support
- Progressing to Postdoc
- Relationship Building
- Let’s Get It Started
- What Do We Value?
- It’s a Postdoc Life
- Coronavirus Contributions
- Creative Communications
- Selection Process
- Conference Connections
- Postdoc Appreciation
- Research Rewards
- Focus on Teaching
- Industry Insights
- Balance Beam
- Post Postdoc
- If You Build It
- Talk It Through
- Forward Bound
- I’ve Earned My PhD. Now What?
- University Life
- Tips for Trainees
- Time Travel
- Policy IQ
- Publish with Polish
- Under the Microscope
- Mentoring Q&A
- The Physiologist Magazine Readers Survey
- Evolution
- Baseline by Scott Steen, CAE, FASAE
- Find Us on Social Media
-
The Physiologist Magazine
-
Professional Development
-
Meetings & Events
-
American Physiology Summit
- #APS2024 Overview
- Abstracts
- Awards at the Summit
- Award Lectures
- Career Networking Lunch Form
- Dates and Deadlines
- Hotel Information
- Industry Partners
- Keynote Speaker—Brian Kobilka, MD
- Keynote Speaker—Jessica Meir, PhD
- Mobile App
- NIH and NSF Program Officer Panel Discussion Form
- Off-site Summit Meetups
- Physical Poster Information
- PhysioHub
- Pre-Summit Events
- Registration
- Section & Group Banquet Tickets
- Speaker Audiovisual Instructions
- Summit FAQs
- Summit Newsroom
- Summit Store
- Travel & Transportation
- Undergraduate Program Book
- Liability Waiver
- Summit Call for Proposals
- Industry Partners
- Martin Frank Diversity Travel Award Orientation Agenda
- Martin Frank Diversity Travel Award Networking Luncheon Agenda
- Women in Physiology Networking Event Agenda
-
2023
- APS 2023 Call for Proposals
- Women in Physiology Networking Mixer Registration
- Career Networking Lunch Form
- NIH Program Officer Panel Discussion Form
- Shocklogic Test
- Team 2023 Task Force
- Shaping the Summit
- Schedule at a Glance
- Pre-Summit Events
- Pre-Summit Center for Physiology Education Workshop Registration
- Section & Groups Banquet Tickets
- Summit Store
- Pre-Summit Center for Physiology Education Workshop
- Press Registration
- Meet the Organizers
- Keynote Speaker—Terrie Williams, PhD
- Keynote Speaker—David Julius, PhD
- Industry Workshop Information
- Important Dates and Deadlines
- Hotel Information
- Game Changers
- Distinguished Lecturers
- Building APS 2023
- Awards at the Summit
- 2023 Summit Information
- American Physiology Summit Program
- 2023 Summit Newsroom
- Scientific Integrity Policy
- From Concept to Classroom
- Webinars
- Related Meetings
- Future APS Conferences
-
Past APS Conferences
- APS Institute on Teaching and Learning
- Integrative Physiology of Exercise
- Seventeenth International Conference on Endothelin (ET-17)
- New Trends in Sex and Gender Medicine
- APS Institute on Teaching and Learning (2022)
- Control of Renal Function in Health and Disease Conference
- Comparative Physiology: From Organisms to Omics in an Uncertain World
- Conference Policies
-
American Physiology Summit
- Awards
-
Career & Professional Development
-
Career Gateway
-
Resources
- Transcript—Leading Through Conflict and Difficult Conversations
- Transcript—Managing Conflict with Colleagues
- Transcript—Leading a Team Through Conflict
- Transcript—Providing Difficult Feedback
- Transcript—Team Dynamics and Culture Primer
- Transcript—Building a Team
- Transcript—Leading a Team Assigned to You
- Transcript—Creating a Team Culture
-
Resources
- Career Navigator
- Center for Physiology Education
- Job Board
- Mentoring
- APS Graduate Physiology & Biomedical Science Catalog
-
Career Gateway
-
Meetings & Events
-
Advocacy & Resources
- Policy Areas
-
Resources
- Researcher Resources
- Educator Resources
- Trainee Resources
- Student Resources
-
APS Graduate Physiology & Biomedical Science Catalog
- Augusta University
- Des Moines University
- East Tennessee State University
- George Washington University
- Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport
- Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences—Biomedical Engineering & Physiology
- Medical College of Wisconsin
- Michigan State University
- New York Medical College
- Nova Southeastern University
- Pennsylvania State University
- Saint Louis University
- Texas A&M University
- Texas A&M University Medical Physiology
- Stony Brook University
- The University of Iowa
- The University of Mississippi Medical Center
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- University at Buffalo
- University of Colorado
- University of Delaware
- University of Florida
- University of Louisville
- University of Michigan
- University of Minnesota
- University of Missouri-Biomedical Sciences
- University of Nebraska Medical Center
- University of Oregon
- University of South Carolina School of Medicine
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC)
- University of Texas Health Science Center
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Wayne State University
- Wake Forest University
- Physiology Department Catalog Submission Form
- Career Gateway
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- Advocacy
- About APS
Study finds brain regions respond to familiar and unfamiliar music, even without musical training
Rockville, Md. (April 7, 2021)—New research suggests that people without musical training have areas of the brain that can identify and respond to music, even if they are unfamiliar with the genre. The study is published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurophysiology (JNP). It was chosen as an APSselect article for April.
“These results show that passive exposure to music is sufficient for the development of music selectivity … and [the] responses extend to rhythms with little melody and to relatively unfamiliar musical genres.”
Research has shown that exposure to specific sounds can cause long-term changes in the auditory cortex—the area of the brain that processes sound. Studies of experience-driven plasticity—the ability of the nerve cells (neurons) to change with exposure to sound stimuli—have been done in animals, but less is known about these adaptations in people.
In a new study, researchers used fMRI imaging to look at neural populations that respond more to music than other kinds of sounds—called music-selectivity—in young adults. Half of the volunteers, considered “nonmusicians,” had less than two years of musical training. The other half of the volunteers had an average of 16 years of musical training and were considered “musicians” in the context of this study. The musician group started their music training before the age of seven and were currently training at the time of the study. The participants listened to two-second clips of 192 natural sounds, which included several different genres of music. Some of the musical sounds were drums and less melodic in nature, and others were clips of musical genres that most people raised in a Western culture are not accustomed to.
The research team found that music-selective regions in the brain’s cortex responded strongly to both the familiar and unfamiliar musical sounds—compared to nonmusical sounds—in both the musicians and nonmusicians. “These results show that passive exposure to music is sufficient for the development of music selectivity … and [the] responses extend to rhythms with little melody and to relatively unfamiliar musical genres,” the researchers wrote.
“One of the most interesting open questions raised by our findings is whether cortical music selectivity reflects implicit knowledge gained through typical exposure to music or whether it is present from birth,” the researchers wrote. Further analysis can help answer these questions and explore “the quintessentially human ability for music.”
Read the full article, “Music-selective neural populations arise without musical training,” published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurophysiology (JNP). It is highlighted as one of this month’s “best of the best” as part of the American Physiological Society’s APSselect program. Read all of this month’s selected research articles.
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: To schedule an interview with a member of the research team, please contact the APS Communications Office or call 301.634.7314. Find more research highlights in our Newsroom.
Physiology is a broad area of scientific inquiry that focuses on how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. The American Physiological Society connects a global, multidisciplinary community of more than 10,000 biomedical scientists and educators as part of its mission to advance scientific discovery, understand life and improve health. The Society drives collaboration and spotlights scientific discoveries through its 16 scholarly journals and programming that support researchers and educators in their work.
Related Content
- High-intensity Aerobic Exercise Helps Prevent Menopause-related Muscle Power Loss
- Researchers Identify How HIV/Hepatitis Drug Harms the Kidneys
- Game-changing Scientists Address Issues Impacting Life and Health at American Physiology Summit
- American Physiological Society to Host Neurophysiology Webinar Series with Prestigious Neuroscience Partners
- ‘Scratch and Sniff’ Test Sheds Light on Depression
- Personalized Exercise Program Improves Long COVID Symptoms
- Diabetes Drug Could Aid Recovery from Bouts of Food Insecurity or Anorexia
Contact Us
For questions, comments or to share your story ideas, email us or call 301.634.7314.