- Copyright Page
- List of Contributors
- The Neuroscientific Study of Music: A Burgeoning Discipline
- Music through the Lens of Cultural Neuroscience
- Cultural Distance: A Computational Approach to Exploring Cultural Influences on Music Cognition
- When Extravagance Impresses: Recasting Esthetics in Evolutionary Terms
- Cerebral Organization of Music Processing
- Network Neuroscience: An Introduction to Graph Theory Network-Based Techniques for Music and Brain Imaging Research
- Acoustic Structure and Musical Function: Musical Notes Informing Auditory Research
- Neural Basis of Rhythm Perception
- Neural Basis of Music Perception: Melody, Harmony, and Timbre
- Multisensory Processing in Music
- Music and Memory
- Music and Attention, Executive Function, and Creativity
- Neural Correlates of Music and Emotion
- Neurochemical Responses to Music
- The Neuroaesthetics of Music: A Research Agenda Coming of Age
- Music and Language
- Musical Expertise and Brain Structure: The Causes and Consequences of Training
- Genomics Approaches for Studying Musical Aptitude and Related Traits
- Brain Research in Music Performance
- Brain Research in Music Improvisation
- Neural Mechanisms of Musical Imagery
- Neuroplasticity in Music Learning
- The Role of Musical Development in Early Language Acquisition
- Rhythm, Meter, and Timing: The Heartbeat of Musical Development
- Music and the Aging Brain
- Music Training and Cognitive Abilities: Associations, Causes, and Consequences
- The Neuroscience of Children on the Autism Spectrum with Exceptional Musical Abilities
- Neurologic Music Therapy in Sensorimotor Rehabilitation
- Neurologic Music Therapy for Speech and Language Rehabilitation
- Neurologic Music Therapy Targeting Cognitive and Affective Functions
- Musical Disorders
- When Blue Turns to Gray: The Enigma of Musician’s Dystonia
- New Horizons for Brain Research in Music
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
Musical improvisation refers to spontaneous generation of novel musical compositions in the moment of performance. The neural correlates of musical improvisation have been studied using functional brain imaging studies (fMRI, PET) as well as electrophysiologic techniques (EEG, tDCS). These studies reveal a broad network of brain regions recruited during musical improvisation. These regions participate in domain-general processes such as attention and executive control; rule-based motor sequence generation, selection, timing, and execution; sensorimotor integration; multimodal sensation; emotional processing; and interpersonal communication. Improvisational expertise appears to modulate how attentional networks are recruited during improvisation, and also enhances functional connections between motivational, sensory, limbic, and motor regions. Understanding the neural correlates of musical improvisation provides broader insights into the cognitive basis of creativity.
Keywords: music, improvisation, creativity, functional MRI, attention
Michael G. Erkkinen, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, USA
Aaron L. Berkowitz, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA
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- Copyright Page
- List of Contributors
- The Neuroscientific Study of Music: A Burgeoning Discipline
- Music through the Lens of Cultural Neuroscience
- Cultural Distance: A Computational Approach to Exploring Cultural Influences on Music Cognition
- When Extravagance Impresses: Recasting Esthetics in Evolutionary Terms
- Cerebral Organization of Music Processing
- Network Neuroscience: An Introduction to Graph Theory Network-Based Techniques for Music and Brain Imaging Research
- Acoustic Structure and Musical Function: Musical Notes Informing Auditory Research
- Neural Basis of Rhythm Perception
- Neural Basis of Music Perception: Melody, Harmony, and Timbre
- Multisensory Processing in Music
- Music and Memory
- Music and Attention, Executive Function, and Creativity
- Neural Correlates of Music and Emotion
- Neurochemical Responses to Music
- The Neuroaesthetics of Music: A Research Agenda Coming of Age
- Music and Language
- Musical Expertise and Brain Structure: The Causes and Consequences of Training
- Genomics Approaches for Studying Musical Aptitude and Related Traits
- Brain Research in Music Performance
- Brain Research in Music Improvisation
- Neural Mechanisms of Musical Imagery
- Neuroplasticity in Music Learning
- The Role of Musical Development in Early Language Acquisition
- Rhythm, Meter, and Timing: The Heartbeat of Musical Development
- Music and the Aging Brain
- Music Training and Cognitive Abilities: Associations, Causes, and Consequences
- The Neuroscience of Children on the Autism Spectrum with Exceptional Musical Abilities
- Neurologic Music Therapy in Sensorimotor Rehabilitation
- Neurologic Music Therapy for Speech and Language Rehabilitation
- Neurologic Music Therapy Targeting Cognitive and Affective Functions
- Musical Disorders
- When Blue Turns to Gray: The Enigma of Musician’s Dystonia
- New Horizons for Brain Research in Music
- Index