Basics of the brain and perception

Basics of brain neuroanatomy, neurophysiologic correlates of brain functions such as movement, language and hearing are introduced as are very basics about the human auditory system and overtones. Also discussed and assessed are methods to study the neuroscience of Bach’s music. Brain lesion studies will probably not be helpful as no brain injury or stroke patient has been found to have a “Bach-opathy” or “Bach agnosia.” Furthermore, lesion analysis shows that many brain areas contribute to music perception and these can vary from individual to individual. Functional neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is also not likely to be too helpful in studying Bach given its low temporal resolution and hard to validate spatial resolution for cognitive studies. One technique with the potential and the resolution to study perceptual and even cognitive aspects of Bach’s music is psychophysics.