Listening to music has been found to improve our cognitive abilities but the mechanism in the brain that is responsible for the improvement has not been well investigated. Now, using electroencephalography (EEG) studies, researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur have deciphered different mechanisms and alterations in the neural networks that lead to enhanced cognitive effects. The study was conducted on a small sample size of 20 male students from the institute.
The students were made to listen to raga Darbari, and their brain activity was monitored using EEG, before, during and after listening to the music.
Special analyses — phase and power analyses — were carried out to understand the dynamics of neuronal networks and the underlying mechanisms behind them. They found increased power in the occipital and prefrontal cortex. “These are regions responsible for attention and decision making. An increase in their power shows an increase in efficiency,” explains Ashish Gupta, research scholar at the institute and first author of the paper published in Scientific Reports.
Spatial mapping showed that simultaneously there was also a reduced information flow predominantly between the frontal and parietal cortex. A total of about 170 connections interlinking the frontal regions with the central, parietal and temporal regions as well as the central regions with the parietal regions were found to have diminished communication.
“This reduced information flow signifies shutting off of irrelevant connections and depicts an efficient brain. This is linked with high IQ. Music is able to inhibit the distractive networks and excite only the ones responsible for cognition. Thus it saves energy for focused and efficient functioning. In other words, some specific music might have intrinsic property, almost like a password, to cause a higher quality of neuronal synchronic firing in brain cells, leading to enhanced cognitive ability,” Gupta adds.
The researchers conclude that music might cause short-term enhancement of cognitive functions via a three-channel framework — purging off irrelevant networks (neural noises), increasing neural efficiency in the frontal lobe and enhancing attention by increasing the power in the occipital lobe.
“This finding is a part of our ongoing work on the influence of the deep conscious state on the brain. Music can possibly enhance cognitive functions of the brain as this work suggests,” explains Dr. Laxmidhar Behera from IIT Kanpur and corresponding author of the work.
