The Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain

The study of music and the brain can be traced back to the work of Gall in the 18th century, continuing with John Hughlings Jackson, August Knoblauch, Richard Wallaschek, and others. These early researchers were interested in localizing musicality in the brain and learning more about how music is processed in both healthy individuals and those with dysfunctions of various kinds. Since then, the research literature has mushroomed, especially in the latter part of the 20th and early 21st centuries.

The Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain is a groundbreaking compendium of current research on music in the human brain. It brings together an international roster of 54 authors from 13 countries providing an essential guide to this rapidly growing field.

The major themes include Music, the Brain, and Cultural Contexts; Music Processing in The Human Brain; Neural Responses to Music; Musicianship and Brain Function; Developmental Issues in Music and the Brain; Music, the Brain, and Health; and the Future. Each chapter offers a thorough review of the current status of research literature as well as an examination of limitations of knowledge and suggestions for future advancement and research efforts.

The book is valuable for a broad readership including neuroscientists, musicians, clinicians, researchers and scholars from related fields but also readers with a general interest in the topic.

Table of Contents

Section I. Introduction
1: The Neuroscientific Study of Music: A New Discipline, Michael H. Thaut and Donald A. Hodges
Section II. Music, the Brain, and Cultural Contexts
2: Music through the Lens of Cultural Neuroscience, Michael H. Thaut and Donald A. Hodges
3: Cultural Distance: A computational approach to exploring cultural influences on music cognition, Steve J. Morrison, Steven M. Demorest, and Marcus T. Pearce
4: When extravagance impresses: Recasting esthetics in evolutionary terms, Bjorn Merker
Section III. Music processing in The Human Brain
5: Cerebral Organization of Music Processing, Thenille Braun Janzen and Michael H. Thaut
6: Network Neuroscience: An Introduction to Graph Theory Network-Based Techniques for Music and Brain Imaging Research, Robin W. Wilkins
7: Acoustic structure and musical function: Musical notes informing auditory research, Mike Schutz
8: Neural Basis of Rhythm Perception, Christina M Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden, Eric T. Taylor, and Jessica A. Grahn
9: Neural Basis of Music Perception: Pitch, Harmony, and Timbre, Stefan Koelsch
10: Multisensory Processing in Music, Frank Russo
Section IV. Neural Responses to Music: Cognition, Affect, Language
11: Music and Memory, Lutz Jäncke
12: Music and attention, executive function, and creativity, Psyche Loui and Rachel Guetta
13: Neural Correlates of Music and Emotion, Patrik N. Juslin and Laura S. Sakka
14: Neurochemical Responses to Music, Yuko Koshimori
15: The neuroaesthetics of music: A research agenda coming of age, Elvira Brattico
16: Music and Language, Daniele Schön and Benjamin Morillon
Section V. Musicianship and Brain Function
17: Musical Expertise and Brain Structure: The causes and consequences of training, Virginia B. Penhune
18: Genomics approaches for studying musical aptitude and related traits, Irma Järvelä
19: Brain Research in Music Performance, Eckart Altenmüller, Shinichi Furuya, Daniel S. Scholz, and Christos I. Ioannou
20: Brain Research in Music Improvisation, Aaron Berkowitz and Michael G. Erkkinen
21: Neural mechanisms of musical imagery, Timothy L. Hubbard
22: Neuroplasticity in Music Learning, Vesa Putkinen and Mari Tervaniemi
Section VI. Development al Issues in Music and the Brain
23: The Role of Musical Development in Early Language Acquisition, Anthony Brandt, L. Robert Slevc, and Molly Gebrian
24: Rhythm, Meter, and Timing: The heartbeat of musical development, Laurel J Trainor and Susan Marsh-Rollo
25: Music and the Aging Brain, L. Ferreri, A. Moussard, E. Bigand, and B. Tillmann
26: Music Training and Cognitive Abilities: Associations, Causes, and Consequences, Swathi Swaminathan and E. Glenn Schellenberg
27: The Neuroscience of Children on the Autism Spectrum with Exceptional Musical Abilities, Adam Ockelford
Section VII. Music, the Brain, and Health
28: Music and Sensorimotor Functions, Corene Thaut and Klaus Martin Stephan
29: Music-Induced Speech and Language Rehabilitation, Yune Lee, Corene Thaut, and Charlene Santoni
30: Neurologic Music Therapy to target Cognitive and Affective Functions, Shantala Hegde
31: Musical Disorders, Isabelle Royal, Sébastien Paquette, and Pauline Tranchant
32: When blue turns to grey: the enigma of musician's dystonia, David Peterson
Section VII. The Future
33: New Horizons for Brain Research in Music, Michael H. Thaut and Donald A. Hodges