Left or Right Brain

[Arthur Blake]

I thought the earlier threads on this topic referenced brain development as one of the benefits of playing an instrument.

The idea was that between the creative aspects of making music, and the technical and motor skills required, both logical and creative ideas are cultivated and enhanced.

[leew3]

Originally Posted by Kettil

Its not really a discredited idea, so much as one that is presented simplistically in popular literature to the point that people typically misunderstand/misrepresent what the research literature actually means. There is truth in the idea that many functions show some degree of lateralization in the human brain. But, the degree of lateralization is generally smaller, more variable between individuals and contexts, and more function specific than typically presented.

With respect to the OP, there is a robust literature showing that musical experience interacts with lateralization. For example, I can think of two recent studies (2017) - one that showed that professional musicians show enhanced lateralization of activity in visuo-auditory areas when reading music or perceiving faces compared to controls and another that showed that listening to music can acutely modulate the degree of lateralization seen on a range of functions that are normally reliably lateralized.

Well stated. The "neuroscience literature' is equivocal at best on this point for the reasons noted above. However, as this is not a neurology forum, YMMV!

[IndianaGeo]

Coincidentally I attended a neuroscience talk just this evening given by a Phd in the field and asked the question about right/left brain. She said that by and large the hemispheric differences do not amount so much as to whether one side is more artsy or mathematical as it has do so with "big picture" and "detail" sides. Bearing in mind one Phd's opinion or awareness of the matter isn't the be all and end all, but I found the new (to me) distinction interesting nevertheless.

IG

[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by IndianaGeo

Coincidentally I attended a neuroscience talk just this evening given by a Phd in the field and asked the question about right/left brain. She said that by and large the hemispheric differences do not amount so much as to whether one side is more artsy or mathematical as it has do so with "big picture" and "detail" sides. Bearing in mind one Phd's opinion or awareness of the matter isn't the be all and end all, but I found the new (to me) distinction interesting nevertheless.

IG

Isn't the big picture made up of details ?