Music May Someday Help Repair the Brain
3/30/2023 8:59:26 AM
Do you know?
- Science all but confirms that humans are hard-wired to respond to music.
- There’s a thing called music therapy where licensed professionals help people with brain damage, heart problems, or with many different physical issues through the power of music.
Let's explore more in the following passage!
PREPARING TO READ
The words and phrases in bold below are used in the text "Music May Someday Help Repair the Brain". Read the sentences and match the word or phrase to its definition.
|
All the evidence points to dreaming being a highly complex cognitive activity. Check that this number corresponds with the one on the document. We aim to do better at harnessing the skills and talents of our workforce. Physiotherapy is part of rehabilitating accident victims. She has an extensive knowledge of art history. He has successfully retained his position as national president of the society. Television confronts the viewer with a succession of glittering and seductive images. |
(adj.): wide in range and including much detailed information
(v.): to be the same as or match something
(adj.): attractive in a way that makes you want to have or do something
(v.): to control something, usually in order to use its power
(adj.): connected with mental processes of understanding
(v.): to help somebody to return to a normal, healthy life after they have been very ill
(v.): to keep or continue to have something
Read and complete the tasks.
Music May Someday Help Repair the Brain
The music that makes the foot tap, the fingers snap, and the pulse quicken stirs the brain at its most fundamental levels, suggesting that scientists one day may be able to return damaged minds by exploiting rhythm, harmony, and melody, according to new research.
"Undeniably, there is a biology of music", said Harvard university medical school neurobiologist Mark Jude Tramo. "music is biologically part of human life, just as music is aesthetically part of human life".
RESEARCHERS FOUND THAT THE BRAIN:
- Responds directly to harmony. Neuroscientists discovered that different parts of the brain involved in emotion are activated depending on whether the music is pleasant or unpleasant.
- Interprets written music in an area on the brain's right side, that region corresponds to an area on the opposite side of the brain known to handle written words and letters. So, researchers uncovered an anatomical link between music and language.
- Grows in response to musical training. In a study of classically trained musicians, researchers discovered that male musicians have significantly larger brains than men who have not had extensive musical training.
Overall, music seems to involve the brain at almost every level, and researchers are already looking for ways to harness the power of music to change the brain. Preliminary research also suggests that music may play some role in enhancing intelligence. Indeed, so seductive is the possibility that music can boost a child's IQ that some politicians are lobbying for schoolchildren to be exposed regularly to Mozart sonatas, although such research has yet to be confirmed.
The scientists said the new research could help the clinical practice of neurology, including cognitive rehabilitation. As a therapeutic tool, for example, some doctors already use music to help rehabilitate stroke patients. Surprisingly, some stroke patients who have lost their ability to speak retain their ability to sing, and that opens an avenue for therapists to retrain the brain's speech centers.
Source: Passages - An Upper-level Multi-skills Course
Mark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the reading.
According to Mark Jude Tramo, there is no doubt about the existence of a biological connection between humans and music.
Based on verified preliminary research, some politicians advocate playing Mozart sonatas regularly in schools.
Some stroke victims who are unable to speak are able to sing.
According to the text, what did researchers discover?
- The brain's direct connection with harmony is independent of the quality of the music.
- It is music that functions as an essential educational tool.
- The brains of classically trained male musicians grow larger than nonmusician males.
- Written music is interpreted on the left side of the brain.
What can be inferred from the text?
- The application of neuroscience to musical training has marked a turning point in the arts.
- There will be further investigation into the power of music as a potential treatment for brain damage.
- It takes scientists much time to do further research into the effects of music on medicine.
- It is challenging to provide official proof of the significant impact that music has on the human brain.
What can be another title of this text?
- A Neuroscientific Perspective on Musical Training
- The Transformative Power of Music on the Brain
- New Findings and Potential Applications of Music
- The Science of Harmony and the Human Brain
Drag and drop to complete the summary.
New research suggests that music has a fundamental impact on the brain and has the to treat damaged minds. The brain's emotion-related regions are directly by music, and written music is processed in the same area as language. Additionally, causes the brain to grow, and researchers are exploring ways to use music for . Music is utilized to aid in the of stroke patients, some of whom are capable of singing despite losing their speech ability, allowing therapists to rehabilitate speech centers.
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
Build your vocabulary by learning these intensive idioms in the topic area of Music
Choose the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s).
The company sold the valuable property for a song due to financial difficulties.
- very discreetly
- very cheaply
- very boldly
- very deftly
Think of ONE word only which can be used appropriately in all three sentences.
1. Most of what he says is very nonsense so I just _____ him out.
2. He was humming a _____ as he dried the dishes.
3. It was the businessmen, not the lords, who called the _____ when the industrial system began.
Answer:
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one, using the word in brackets. You must use between THREE and SIX words, including the word given. Do NOT change the word given.
The coach advised the team to prove themselves through excellent performance instead of boasting about their achievements. (BLOW)
=> The coach advised the team not to but to perform well, actions speak louder than words, after all.
Peter: Your constant nagging is driving me crazy.
Linda: I know, I sound like _____, but I just want you to be more responsible.
- a pack rat
- a broken record
- a balancing act
- a paper chase