is may indicate the generation of visual imagery in response to the musical stimuli.In another study conducted at the Institute of Neurology in London, clinical neuroscientist Richard Frackowiak took six young men and fed them different types of music while they were connected to a PET scanner. The music varied in timbre, pitch, rhythm, and melody. His goal was to see what areas of the brain were involved in recognizing each of the variations and thereby determine what part of the human brain is responsible for music appreciation. When listening to the melodies, Frackowiak found that the music stimulated a region in the left hemisphere called Broca's area. This area is associated with our ability to speak and from these results, Frackowiak believes that this area may also interpret all familiar sounds, not just the sounds of language. When the volunteers listened for changes in timbre, however, the right hemisphere was the predominant area stimulated. Based on these findings, Frackowiak speculates that the reason people whose right hemisphere is damaged cannot understand music is because they no longer recognize timbre.Frackowiak believes that the net results of these findings strongly suggest that there is no one single "music processing" center of the brain. Instead, he says, "[Listening to music requires] a network of specialized area, out of the coordinated activity of which comes something that we call music appreciation." (Glausuisz 28) This study was instrumental in proving that music appreciation is a whole brain activity, rather than a process isolated to a certain section of the brain.Although most research projects taking place now concentrate on tracking areas of brain stimulation, not all scientists are following this orthodox method of research. One of the most interesting research projects conducted within the last year was performed by three Swedish scientists: Lans Olov Bygren, Boinkum Benson Konlaan, and Sven-...
