Scientists from Stanford University conducted a study aimed at studying the work of the brain during the processing of information from a continuous stream of external impressions. In the course of the experiment, the researchers used fragments of musical works of the 18th century, which included clear transitions between short parts.
Ten men and eight women listened to music through headphones while their brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The researchers came to the conclusion that when listening to music, the areas of the brain responsible for attention and prediction are activated.
The brain has discovered the ability to recognize significant parts of music, highlighting information about their beginning, end and boundaries. Transitions between musical fragments turned out to be ideal conditions for studying the dynamic activity of the brain. This was especially evident in the short period of silence between musical parts, when the peak of brain activity was observed.
