Publication details
Different patterns of amusia reflect modularity of the musical brain network
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2006 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | European Journal of Neurology |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Neurology, neurosurgery, neurosciences |
| Keywords | amusia; musical brain network |
| Description | Support for the existence of a neural network in the brain dedicated to processing music can be found in observation of remarkable preservation or selective loss of musical perception or production in cases of brain damage. To illustrate the modularity of the brains musical system we present several case reports of patients with focal brain lesions that involve selective musical deficits or preservation. All cases were quantitatively tested with our own standardized test battery already validated in the normal population. The first case exhibited a selective deficit of melodic abilities in production mode (singing songs) with, however, preservation of temporal analysis (rhythm and metre), lyrics and prosody, all due to a lesion of the right temporal lobe of the non-dominant hemisphere. In the second case we record a selective deficit of melodic perception of interval and rhythm (known as local analytical mechanisms) with preserved contour and metre. The lesion was unexpectedly localised in the fronto-parietal lobe of the right (non-dominant) hemisphere of a non-musician. The third case, with fronto-temporal lesion of the left (dominant) hemisphere, we record relative preservation of lyrics (together with intact intonation) as opposed to severely disturbed spontaneous speech in a patient with non-fluent global aphasia. The opposite dissociation was documented in the fourth case, suffering from similar focal temporo-insular lesion of the left (dominant) hemisphere with almost-resolved aphasia, but a severe deficit in producing previously-known lyrics. Various patterns of amusia are discussed in the light of current theories and concepts. |
| Related projects: |