1 00:00:00,113 --> 00:00:02,024 ♪ (guitar music) ♪ 2 00:00:02,024 --> 00:00:05,011 (Peter) These days, we hear music all the time. 3 00:00:05,595 --> 00:00:09,401 It wakes us up, motivates our workouts, 4 00:00:09,401 --> 00:00:11,280 keeps us company on our commutes. 5 00:00:11,834 --> 00:00:13,832 It doesn't matter what kind of music it is, 6 00:00:13,832 --> 00:00:17,234 music itself has the ability to affect our moods and our bodies 7 00:00:17,234 --> 00:00:18,812 in all sorts of ways. 8 00:00:18,974 --> 00:00:22,136 We nod our heads, we sway, dance. 9 00:00:22,136 --> 00:00:23,500 Music can give us chills, 10 00:00:23,500 --> 00:00:24,916 even make us cry. 11 00:00:24,916 --> 00:00:28,775 Music activates every area of the brain that we have so far mapped. 12 00:00:28,775 --> 00:00:30,942 There's no area of the brain we know about 13 00:00:30,942 --> 00:00:33,145 that music doesn't touch in some way. 14 00:00:33,145 --> 00:00:34,490 But what's behind all that? 15 00:00:34,490 --> 00:00:36,666 What exactly does music do to us? 16 00:00:37,204 --> 00:00:39,578 To find out, I went to a whole series of tests 17 00:00:39,578 --> 00:00:41,831 designed to measure my responses to music. 18 00:00:42,592 --> 00:00:45,240 I met some kids whose brains may actually be changing, 19 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,122 thanks to those hours of learning, practice, and performing. 20 00:00:48,523 --> 00:00:50,857 I spoke with a therapist who used music 21 00:00:50,857 --> 00:00:53,158 to help former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords 22 00:00:53,158 --> 00:00:54,770 learn to speak again, 23 00:00:54,770 --> 00:00:56,159 and got a glimpse inside the brain 24 00:00:56,159 --> 00:00:57,704 of a two-time Grammy-winning artist 25 00:00:57,704 --> 00:00:58,705 while he played... 26 00:00:58,705 --> 00:01:00,646 ♪ (playing and singing) ♪ 27 00:01:00,646 --> 00:01:03,153 ...all to find out how music affects us. 28 00:01:05,217 --> 00:01:07,183 ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ 29 00:01:07,539 --> 00:01:09,941 So what's going on when we listen to music? 30 00:01:09,941 --> 00:01:13,141 We visited the USC Brain and Creativity Institute, 31 00:01:13,141 --> 00:01:15,665 where I had my head examined, literally, 32 00:01:15,665 --> 00:01:16,922 to try to figure it out. 33 00:01:16,922 --> 00:01:19,420 I'm going to go into this fMRI machine. 34 00:01:19,420 --> 00:01:21,289 A tiny tube will surround me. 35 00:01:21,289 --> 00:01:23,306 We'll get a baseline reading of my brain. 36 00:01:23,306 --> 00:01:25,191 Then I'm going to listen to some music, 37 00:01:25,191 --> 00:01:27,343 and we're going to see how my brain responds. 38 00:01:27,343 --> 00:01:28,604 Just close your eyes, relax, 39 00:01:28,604 --> 00:01:30,765 and try and get into the music as best you can, okay? 40 00:01:30,765 --> 00:01:31,889 ♪ (classical music) ♪ 41 00:01:31,889 --> 00:01:33,269 (Peter) And here's what we saw. 42 00:01:33,269 --> 00:01:34,601 These are scans of my brain. 43 00:01:34,601 --> 00:01:37,240 The areas in red are where my activity is above average; 44 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:38,507 in blue, below average. 45 00:01:38,507 --> 00:01:41,806 As you can see, there's red activity all over my brain, 46 00:01:41,806 --> 00:01:43,826 not just in one specific area. 47 00:01:43,826 --> 00:01:45,040 (Daniel) Twenty-five years ago, 48 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,076 the idea was that language is in the left side of the brain 49 00:01:48,076 --> 00:01:50,136 and music is in the right side of the brain. 50 00:01:50,136 --> 00:01:53,283 But now that we've got better quality tools, 51 00:01:53,604 --> 00:01:57,435 higher resolution neuroimaging, and better experimental methods, 52 00:01:57,845 --> 00:02:00,290 we've discovered that's not at all right. 53 00:02:00,290 --> 00:02:02,896 How does that play out in different regions of the brain? 54 00:02:02,896 --> 00:02:04,910 When music enters and then gets shuttled off 55 00:02:04,910 --> 00:02:06,328 to different parts of the brain, 56 00:02:06,328 --> 00:02:10,362 it stops at specialized processing units in auditory cortex. 57 00:02:10,362 --> 00:02:12,663 They track loudness and pitch and rhythm 58 00:02:12,663 --> 00:02:14,929 and timbre and things like that. 59 00:02:14,929 --> 00:02:18,928 There's visual cortex activation when you're reading music as a musician 60 00:02:18,928 --> 00:02:20,365 or watching music. 61 00:02:20,365 --> 00:02:22,560 Motor cortex when you're tapping your feet, 62 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:24,761 snapping your fingers, clapping your hands. 63 00:02:24,761 --> 00:02:27,775 And cerebellum which mediates the emotional responses. 64 00:02:27,775 --> 00:02:30,229 The memory system and the hippocampus, 65 00:02:30,229 --> 00:02:32,114 hearing a familiar passage, 66 00:02:32,114 --> 00:02:34,797 finding it somewhere in your memory banks. 67 00:02:34,797 --> 00:02:37,178 Music is going on in both halves of the brain, 68 00:02:37,178 --> 00:02:39,194 the left and the right, the front and the back, 69 00:02:39,194 --> 00:02:41,076 the inside and the outside. 70 00:02:41,756 --> 00:02:44,245 ♪ (singing) ♪ 71 00:02:44,862 --> 00:02:46,820 (Peter) So what about a musician's brain? 72 00:02:47,147 --> 00:02:50,111 To play a piece of music engages so many things: 73 00:02:50,111 --> 00:02:52,255 motor systems, timing systems, 74 00:02:52,688 --> 00:02:55,180 memory systems, hearing systems. 75 00:02:55,180 --> 00:02:58,194 There's all sorts of brain activity happening. 76 00:02:58,194 --> 00:03:00,857 It's a very robust thing to play music. 77 00:03:00,857 --> 00:03:04,645 ♪ (Chopin, "Fantaisie-Impromptu") ♪ 78 00:03:04,645 --> 00:03:05,949 I'm Alex Jacob Robertson. 79 00:03:05,949 --> 00:03:07,507 I'm Nathan Glenn Robertson. 80 00:03:07,507 --> 00:03:09,326 (Peter) We asked these 11-year old musicians 81 00:03:09,326 --> 00:03:11,564 to tell us what's going through their minds when they play. 82 00:03:11,564 --> 00:03:14,961 Some of the most important things are, I think, good postures, 83 00:03:14,961 --> 00:03:16,490 getting the note right, 84 00:03:16,490 --> 00:03:18,978 legato, staccato. 85 00:03:18,978 --> 00:03:20,928 ♪ (violin) ♪ 86 00:03:21,512 --> 00:03:25,761 For the violin, you need to hold your hand at the right place, 87 00:03:25,761 --> 00:03:28,078 and you need to be in tune, 88 00:03:28,078 --> 00:03:31,595 and then you also have to have not only the right intonation 89 00:03:31,595 --> 00:03:33,114 but the right sound, 90 00:03:33,114 --> 00:03:35,615 and then you also need to have great vibrato. 91 00:03:35,615 --> 00:03:37,477 There's a lot of things to think about. 92 00:03:37,477 --> 00:03:38,574 (Peter) Back at USC, 93 00:03:38,574 --> 00:03:42,095 researchers have been studying kids who play music over the past five years 94 00:03:42,095 --> 00:03:44,382 to see how it affects their development. 95 00:03:44,382 --> 00:03:48,111 The multi-tasking areas of their brains understandably lit up, 96 00:03:48,111 --> 00:03:49,917 but they've seen other results, too. 97 00:03:49,917 --> 00:03:52,073 Music training over the course of five years 98 00:03:52,073 --> 00:03:55,445 has had benefits in cognitive skills and decision making. 99 00:03:55,445 --> 00:03:58,182 It also had some benefits in prosocial behavior, 100 00:03:58,182 --> 00:04:01,823 and we've also seen changes in the associated brain structures. 101 00:04:01,823 --> 00:04:04,538 (Peter) Did you hear that? Changes in brain structures! 102 00:04:04,538 --> 00:04:07,007 They found that the brains of children who have studied music 103 00:04:07,007 --> 00:04:09,728 have stronger connections between the right and left hemispheres, 104 00:04:09,728 --> 00:04:12,624 and that can make them better, more creative problem-solvers. 105 00:04:13,390 --> 00:04:15,068 And then there's emotion. 106 00:04:15,416 --> 00:04:17,006 ♪ (cello) ♪ 107 00:04:18,744 --> 00:04:20,419 When you hear a piece like this... 108 00:04:20,419 --> 00:04:23,299 ♪ (Saint-Saëns, "Le Cygne") ♪ 109 00:04:23,299 --> 00:04:26,625 ...it's easy to understand why emotions play such a big part in music. 110 00:04:27,479 --> 00:04:29,380 This song by Camille Saint-Saëns 111 00:04:29,380 --> 00:04:32,105 is known as the music for The Dying Swan in ballet. 112 00:04:33,878 --> 00:04:35,844 While it might move ballerinas to dance, 113 00:04:35,844 --> 00:04:38,065 it inspires different reactions in others. 114 00:04:38,195 --> 00:04:40,161 ♪ (cello continues) ♪ 115 00:04:43,595 --> 00:04:45,739 Some people get goosebumps, the chills. 116 00:04:46,411 --> 00:04:48,319 That weird tingly sensation that you get 117 00:04:48,319 --> 00:04:51,084 when a great piece of music just hits you in the right way? 118 00:04:51,084 --> 00:04:53,319 It's called frisson, and not everyone gets it. 119 00:04:54,148 --> 00:04:55,822 But it turns out I do. 120 00:04:55,822 --> 00:04:59,010 Now we're going to have you listen to some pieces of music. 121 00:04:59,010 --> 00:05:01,164 When you experience a chill, if you do, 122 00:05:01,164 --> 00:05:03,479 I want you to just press this space bar so we have an indication 123 00:05:03,479 --> 00:05:06,767 of when the peak moments of enjoyment are happening. 124 00:05:07,025 --> 00:05:09,862 (Peter) Matt Sachs, a PhD candidate at USC, 125 00:05:09,862 --> 00:05:12,391 wired me up to measure my physiological response. 126 00:05:12,972 --> 00:05:15,644 So when I'm feeling that emotional connection 127 00:05:15,644 --> 00:05:18,055 that has a physical manifestation, 128 00:05:18,055 --> 00:05:20,258 we'll see what my body is actually doing? 129 00:05:20,258 --> 00:05:21,330 Exactly. 130 00:05:21,900 --> 00:05:24,113 ♪ (cello) ♪ 131 00:05:24,473 --> 00:05:27,309 ♪ (Saint-Saëns, "Le Cygne") ♪ 132 00:05:30,179 --> 00:05:31,530 Alright, how was that? 133 00:05:31,530 --> 00:05:33,553 That was-- That had a lot of them. 134 00:05:33,553 --> 00:05:34,617 We got them all. 135 00:05:34,617 --> 00:05:37,546 (Peter) Now full disclosure: back in the day, I played the cello, 136 00:05:37,546 --> 00:05:40,802 which might have something to do with why that particular song affected me. 137 00:05:40,802 --> 00:05:41,805 Nice hair! 138 00:05:41,805 --> 00:05:44,376 But it turns out the brain is at work here too. 139 00:05:44,376 --> 00:05:46,597 We processed the difference between this pathway 140 00:05:46,597 --> 00:05:50,116 that connects the auditory regions, which is on the side of the brain here, 141 00:05:50,116 --> 00:05:51,312 to the emotional regions, 142 00:05:51,312 --> 00:05:54,627 and we showed that the tract actually that connects those two regions 143 00:05:54,627 --> 00:05:55,769 is stronger. 144 00:05:55,769 --> 00:05:58,342 There's more fibers in that region in people who get chills. 145 00:05:58,342 --> 00:06:00,876 (Peter) Which means some people's brains might have better communication 146 00:06:00,876 --> 00:06:03,289 between what they hear and how they feel. 147 00:06:03,289 --> 00:06:05,543 The music itself also plays a role in frisson. 148 00:06:05,543 --> 00:06:08,997 Sachs uses different songs in his lectures to see if students get it. 149 00:06:08,997 --> 00:06:10,395 I'll say, "Raise your hand when you get a chill," 150 00:06:10,395 --> 00:06:11,897 and I play a piece of music, a classical piece, 151 00:06:11,897 --> 00:06:13,599 and maybe half the people will get it. 152 00:06:13,599 --> 00:06:15,332 (Peter) But then he plays this... 153 00:06:15,332 --> 00:06:18,475 ♪ (rock music) ♪ 154 00:06:18,475 --> 00:06:20,546 ...Rolling Stone's Gimme Shelter. 155 00:06:20,546 --> 00:06:22,533 Have you ever seen the movie 20 Feet from Stardom? 156 00:06:22,533 --> 00:06:24,416 - The documentary about backup singers? - Yeah. 157 00:06:24,416 --> 00:06:27,983 There's a part where they isolate the vocals from Gimme Shelter. 158 00:06:27,983 --> 00:06:31,232 ♪ (backing vocals only) ♪ 159 00:06:35,580 --> 00:06:38,347 I play that, and 90% of the people experience chills, 160 00:06:38,347 --> 00:06:40,014 sort of independent of where I go. 161 00:06:40,014 --> 00:06:42,797 I have to tell you, bringing that up made me think about it, 162 00:06:42,797 --> 00:06:46,133 and I got that little kind of thing at the back of my neck. 163 00:06:46,133 --> 00:06:47,575 (Peter) But why would that happen? 164 00:06:47,575 --> 00:06:51,426 The high-pitched notes that she hit almost sounds like a scream, 165 00:06:51,426 --> 00:06:55,134 and it's very important ancestrally for us to be able to pay attention to a scream, 166 00:06:55,134 --> 00:06:56,484 figure out what's going on, 167 00:06:56,484 --> 00:06:58,885 and either run or fight, whatever we need to do. 168 00:06:58,885 --> 00:07:00,780 (Peter) So how come that manifests as pleasure? 169 00:07:00,780 --> 00:07:02,983 Well it's because our pre-frontal cortex, 170 00:07:02,983 --> 00:07:04,715 the more rational thinking part of the brain, 171 00:07:04,715 --> 00:07:05,721 kicks in. 172 00:07:05,721 --> 00:07:08,413 So you realize very quickly, 173 00:07:08,413 --> 00:07:11,285 after you have this really quick startle reflex, 174 00:07:11,285 --> 00:07:13,610 that there's nothing actually threatening about the piece of music, 175 00:07:13,610 --> 00:07:17,615 that you're sitting in a safe space with your headphones on, 176 00:07:18,032 --> 00:07:19,451 and it's in that reappraisal 177 00:07:19,451 --> 00:07:22,309 that we tend to think of the pleasure responses emerging. 178 00:07:22,309 --> 00:07:25,718 And whether you find listening to music so pleasurable you get chills 179 00:07:25,718 --> 00:07:28,032 or you absolutely despise a song, 180 00:07:28,032 --> 00:07:31,236 it can produce absolutely fascinating effects in the brain. 181 00:07:31,236 --> 00:07:33,272 According to Levitin, music we enjoy 182 00:07:33,272 --> 00:07:35,798 triggers the brain's internal opioid system-- 183 00:07:35,798 --> 00:07:37,305 yes, opioid system. 184 00:07:37,305 --> 00:07:39,381 Just like the opioids that come in pill form, 185 00:07:39,381 --> 00:07:42,133 these chemicals make you feel good and help relieve pain. 186 00:07:42,133 --> 00:07:44,904 And music you don't like? Well, that releases cortisol, 187 00:07:44,904 --> 00:07:46,521 the notorious stress hormone. 188 00:07:46,521 --> 00:07:49,440 But that's not even half of what music can do in the brain. 189 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,613 - Can you turn on the l-l-l-l-lights? - L-l-l-l... 190 00:07:53,613 --> 00:07:54,896 merry chicken. 191 00:07:55,580 --> 00:07:58,917 (Peter) When former congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords was shot in 2011, 192 00:07:58,917 --> 00:08:01,179 the left side of her brain was severely damaged, 193 00:08:01,179 --> 00:08:02,731 leaving her struggling to speak, 194 00:08:02,731 --> 00:08:04,533 a condition called aphasia. 195 00:08:04,533 --> 00:08:05,817 (whimpering) 196 00:08:05,817 --> 00:08:07,288 Gabby, are you frustrated? 197 00:08:08,999 --> 00:08:10,997 (Peter) But to get an idea of just how powerful 198 00:08:10,997 --> 00:08:12,697 music's effect on the brain can be, 199 00:08:12,697 --> 00:08:13,848 watch this video. 200 00:08:13,848 --> 00:08:14,997 You ready? 201 00:08:14,997 --> 00:08:19,776 (both) ♪ This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine ♪ 202 00:08:19,776 --> 00:08:22,380 (Peter) That word that she'd been struggling to say-- "light"-- 203 00:08:22,380 --> 00:08:24,331 came easily in song. 204 00:08:24,331 --> 00:08:29,164 Why would she be able to sing a word when she's unable to say it? 205 00:08:29,164 --> 00:08:30,797 What we know about the brain 206 00:08:30,797 --> 00:08:35,148 is that the left hemisphere controls language, 207 00:08:35,148 --> 00:08:37,919 and there are many other parts of the brain 208 00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:40,980 that have music access. 209 00:08:40,980 --> 00:08:42,920 (Peter) Music therapist Maegan Morrow's job 210 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,682 is to help patients use those other pathways to regain language. 211 00:08:46,682 --> 00:08:49,481 (Maegan) Sometimes I compare it to being in traffic, 212 00:08:49,481 --> 00:08:51,309 and you can't move any further, 213 00:08:51,309 --> 00:08:54,503 but you might need to exit and take a feeder road 214 00:08:54,503 --> 00:08:56,801 to get you to your destination. 215 00:08:56,801 --> 00:09:00,514 So music is basically like that feeder road 216 00:09:00,514 --> 00:09:02,026 to the new destination. 217 00:09:02,026 --> 00:09:03,692 (Peter) Like a detour. 218 00:09:03,692 --> 00:09:06,631 So we know that music can help us relearn things like speech 219 00:09:06,631 --> 00:09:09,183 by accessing alternative pathways in the brain 220 00:09:09,183 --> 00:09:12,468 and that learning to play music can help strengthen brain connections. 221 00:09:12,468 --> 00:09:14,309 But what about making music? 222 00:09:14,615 --> 00:09:16,675 ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ 223 00:09:17,262 --> 00:09:18,733 To make music is like-- 224 00:09:18,733 --> 00:09:20,544 it's the language of humanity. 225 00:09:20,544 --> 00:09:22,244 No matter where I go in the world, 226 00:09:22,244 --> 00:09:23,683 man, if I'm playing something, 227 00:09:23,683 --> 00:09:25,300 it doesn't matter if someone can't speak the language-- 228 00:09:25,300 --> 00:09:27,020 if they're into it, they're into it. 229 00:09:28,273 --> 00:09:32,168 (Peter) This is Xavier Dphrepaulezz, better known as Fantastic Negrito. 230 00:09:33,401 --> 00:09:35,831 We brought him to UCSF to meet Charles Limb, 231 00:09:35,831 --> 00:09:38,347 a neuroscientist who studies musical creativity. 232 00:09:38,347 --> 00:09:39,495 The Duffler's up next. 233 00:09:39,495 --> 00:09:41,855 (Peter) To understand how Fantastic Negrito's brain works 234 00:09:41,855 --> 00:09:43,051 when he's making music, 235 00:09:43,051 --> 00:09:46,484 Dr. Limb had him play one of his songs while going through the fMRI. 236 00:09:46,484 --> 00:09:51,881 ♪ (Fantastic Negrito singing) ♪ 237 00:09:51,881 --> 00:09:53,640 (Peter) So how did his brain respond? 238 00:09:53,981 --> 00:09:56,876 The areas that process sensory and motor skills, along with sounds, 239 00:09:56,876 --> 00:09:57,883 lit up. 240 00:09:57,883 --> 00:10:00,980 You can see them here in red and yellow. Makes sense, right? 241 00:10:00,980 --> 00:10:02,684 But here's the really interesting part. 242 00:10:02,684 --> 00:10:04,168 Limb asked him to improvise 243 00:10:04,168 --> 00:10:07,235 to see what happens when he's creating something totally original. 244 00:10:07,235 --> 00:10:09,667 ♪ Like Star Wars in my head ♪ 245 00:10:09,667 --> 00:10:12,409 ♪ It's like Star Wars in my head ♪ 246 00:10:12,409 --> 00:10:15,225 ♪ I don't like this crazy sound ♪ 247 00:10:15,225 --> 00:10:18,188 ♪ Makes me feel like I can't get down ♪ 248 00:10:18,188 --> 00:10:19,655 - Stop. - (laughter) 249 00:10:20,117 --> 00:10:22,108 (Peter) Now watch what happens to his brain. 250 00:10:22,108 --> 00:10:23,711 The areas that were active before, 251 00:10:23,711 --> 00:10:25,436 the ones that deal with motor skills and sounds, 252 00:10:25,436 --> 00:10:26,878 are even more active. 253 00:10:26,878 --> 00:10:29,384 But see how there's way more blue in the front of his brain? 254 00:10:29,384 --> 00:10:30,835 That's the pre-frontal cortex, 255 00:10:30,835 --> 00:10:32,837 and it's associated with effortful planning 256 00:10:32,837 --> 00:10:34,516 and conscience self-monitoring, 257 00:10:34,516 --> 00:10:36,968 and it's blue because it's less active. 258 00:10:36,968 --> 00:10:40,495 We see that the pre-frontal cortex appears to be really shutting down 259 00:10:40,495 --> 00:10:42,211 in these moments of high creativity, 260 00:10:42,211 --> 00:10:43,352 kind of like letting go 261 00:10:43,352 --> 00:10:46,249 of these conscious self-censoring or self-monitoring areas 262 00:10:46,249 --> 00:10:50,242 that normally are there to help control our output. 263 00:10:50,242 --> 00:10:53,168 (Peter) And Limb says it's about more than just letting go. 264 00:10:53,168 --> 00:10:55,898 You view it from a perspective of survival. 265 00:10:55,898 --> 00:10:58,832 If human beings only could do memorized responses, 266 00:10:58,832 --> 00:11:00,318 we'd be long gone. 267 00:11:00,318 --> 00:11:04,132 It's not just the thing that happens in clubs and in jazz bars, 268 00:11:04,132 --> 00:11:06,665 it's actually maybe the most fundamental form 269 00:11:06,665 --> 00:11:09,336 of what it means to be human, to come up with a new idea. 270 00:11:09,336 --> 00:11:12,271 ♪ (blues) ♪ 271 00:11:15,231 --> 00:11:18,234 (Peter) So, music is so much more than notes on a page. 272 00:11:18,234 --> 00:11:21,374 It can change the way we think and speak and feel. 273 00:11:21,374 --> 00:11:24,431 But is there a limit to what science can tell us about music? 274 00:11:24,431 --> 00:11:27,193 Just when I discover the answer to one thing, 275 00:11:27,193 --> 00:11:30,664 five new questions pop up that are more interesting than the first, 276 00:11:30,664 --> 00:11:33,182 and I've gained an appreciation 277 00:11:33,182 --> 00:11:36,356 for how complex the music-making 278 00:11:36,356 --> 00:11:39,048 and music-listening system is. 279 00:11:39,048 --> 00:11:41,064 It's not demystified for me at all. 280 00:11:41,064 --> 00:11:42,880 It's more mysterious than ever. 281 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,148 ♪ La-la-la la-la-la ♪ 282 00:11:46,148 --> 00:11:48,668 ♪ La la la la-la-la-la ♪ 283 00:11:48,668 --> 00:11:50,477 ♪ La-la la ♪ 284 00:11:50,477 --> 00:11:53,288 ♪ Lord... ♪ 285 00:11:53,288 --> 00:11:55,119 ♪ the people ♪ 286 00:11:57,515 --> 00:11:59,732 (applause and cheering)