Dormivigilia

Though the featured article in this week’s Journal of Neuroscience regarded the development of oligodendrocytes and their signallng properties, I was more intrigued by an article that localized brain structures mediating the recognition of a musical tune, the memorization of its lyrics, and integrating both musical constituents. This interests me because though I am enamored by rap music (of which I have narrated in this blog from time to time), having grown up in its culture, I can’t memorize the lyrics to my favorite rap songs (“California Love” by Tupac and “Can I Getta” by Jay-Z), but yet can recite the lyrics to cacophonous songs without misplacing a preposition. Through the utility of MRI, scientists have discovered differential encoding of a tune and its lyrics and the integration of these two musical constituents within the temporal sulcus and gyrus. For example, encoding lyrics of Weird Al’s “Amish Paradise” requires activation of the more rostral regions of the left superior temporal sulcus, while the integration of  a tune and its lyrics  necessitates activation of the dorsal precentral gyrus and the middle of the left superior temporal sulcus. I would love to participate in one of these MRI studies with these two test songs; the former is a classic rap tune (pardon the profanity, the incriminating lyrics, and the misogynistic dancing) while the second is my favorite cheezy song (a parody of Coolio’s (a rapper) “Gangsta Paradise”).

Sammler, D., Baird, A., Valabregue, R., Clement, S., Dupont, S., Belin, P., & Samson, S. (2010). The Relationship of Lyrics and Tunes in the Processing of Unfamiliar Songs: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Adaptation Study Journal of Neuroscience, 30 (10), 3572-3578 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2751-09.2010