A study into the neural processing of natural music in the brains of musicians and non-musicians by means of magnetoencephalography

Abstract

Studying music processing in the brain is a complex task, which involves multidisciplinary skills to achieve the most constructive results. The current experiment investigated MEG brain signals of musicians, music amateurs and non-musicians while they were listening to three different complete music pieces. Brain signals were also recorded while the subjects were resting with their eyes closed and eyes open. The present study aimed to investigate possible differences between neural responses depending on musical expertise and experimental condition (listening vs. resting). These differences were expected in the auditory and motor brain areas. Several ANOVAs were conducted for the data analysis. Results showed that the neural activity for the five experimental conditions was different in several brain areas between musicians, amateurs and non-musicians.