Though the psychology of music is an old field of study, the last 20 years have seen tremendous strides in understanding music processing in the human brain. Daniel Levitin from McGill University is on the leading edge of advancing this understanding, with particular focus on how music effects higher order cognitive processes. Everyone has wondered why they can recall a song that was popular when they were in elementary school, but forget where they put their keys. Levitin enlightens us on why this happens, among other topics, during this talk at Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, sponsored by the NSF, The Franklin Institute, and DISCOVER magazine. Video is just over six minutes long.
You can read more on the neuroscience of music in this comprehensive paper co-authored by Daniel Levitin
Link to Daniel Levitin’s website
David DiSalvo is a science, technology and culture writer whose work appears in Scientific American Mind, Psychology Today and a variety of other places.
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