0:00:00.343,0:00:02.446
♪ (music) ♪

0:00:02.446,0:00:05.185
(Peter) These days, [br]you hear music all the time.

0:00:05.185,0:00:09.631
It wakes us up, motivates our workouts,

0:00:09.631,0:00:11.746
keeps us company on our commutes.

0:00:11.746,0:00:13.832
It doesn't matter[br]what kind of music it is,

0:00:13.832,0:00:17.464
music itself has the ability[br]to affect our moods and our bodies

0:00:17.464,0:00:19.414
in all sorts of ways.

0:00:19.414,0:00:22.366
We nod our heads, we sway, dance.

0:00:22.366,0:00:23.730
Music can give us chills,

0:00:23.730,0:00:25.146
even make us cry.

0:00:25.146,0:00:28.997
Music activates every area[br]of the brain that we have so far mapped.

0:00:28.997,0:00:31.047
In fact, there's no area[br]of the brain we know about

0:00:31.047,0:00:33.114
that music doesn't touch in some way.

0:00:33.114,0:00:34.542
But what's behind all that?

0:00:34.542,0:00:37.158
What exactly does music do to us?

0:00:37.158,0:00:39.454
To find out, I went[br]to a whole series of tests

0:00:39.454,0:00:42.822
designed to measure my responses to music.

0:00:42.822,0:00:45.470
I met some kids whose brains[br]may actually be changing,

0:00:45.470,0:00:48.753
thanks to those hours[br]of learning, practice, and performing.

0:00:48.753,0:00:51.087
I spoke with a therapist who used music

0:00:51.087,0:00:53.388
to help former congresswoman[br]Gabrielle Giffords

0:00:53.388,0:00:55.070
learn to speak again,

0:00:55.070,0:00:56.256
and got a glimpse inside the brain

0:00:56.256,0:00:59.255
of a two-time winning artist[br]while he played...

0:00:59.255,0:01:00.936
( )

0:01:00.936,0:01:04.639
...all to find out how music affects us.

0:01:04.639,0:01:06.971
♪ (music) ♪

0:01:07.769,0:01:10.171
So what's going on[br]when we listen to music?

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We visited the USC Brain[br]and Creativity Institute,

0:01:13.371,0:01:15.987
where I had my head examined, literally,

0:01:15.987,0:01:17.152
to try to figure it out.

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I'm going to go into this [FMRI] machine,

0:01:19.287,0:01:21.202
a tiny tube will surround me.

0:01:21.202,0:01:23.536
We'll get a baseline reading of my brain,

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and then I'm going to listen[br]to some music.

0:01:25.272,0:01:27.573
We're going to see how my brain responds.

0:01:27.573,0:01:28.653
Just close your eyes, relax,

0:01:28.653,0:01:30.805
and try and get into the music[br]as best you can, okay?

0:01:30.805,0:01:32.389
♪ (music) ♪

0:01:32.389,0:01:33.372
And here's what we saw.

0:01:33.372,0:01:34.821
These are scans of my brain.

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The areas in red are where[br]my activity is above average;

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in blue, below average.

0:01:38.737,0:01:42.036
As you can see, [br]there is red activity all over my brain,

0:01:42.036,0:01:44.056
not just in one specific area.

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Twenty-five years ago,

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the idea was that language[br]is on the left side of the brain

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and music is in[br]the right side of the brain.

0:01:50.336,0:01:53.320
But now that we've got[br]better quality tools,

0:01:53.320,0:01:57.803
higher resolution neuro-imaging[br]and better experimental methods,

0:01:57.803,0:02:00.520
we've discovered that's not at all right.

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How does that play out[br]in different regions of the brain?

0:02:02.820,0:02:05.138
When music enters[br]and then gets shuttled off

0:02:05.138,0:02:06.356
to different parts of the brain,

0:02:06.356,0:02:10.592
it stops at specialized processing units[br]in auditory cortex,

0:02:10.592,0:02:12.893
they track loudness and pitch and rhythm

0:02:12.893,0:02:15.159
and [tambour] and things like that.

0:02:15.159,0:02:19.158
There's visual cortex activation[br]when you're reading music as a musician

0:02:19.158,0:02:20.595
or watching music,

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motor cortex[br]when you're tapping your feet,

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snapping your fingers, clapping you hands;

0:02:24.991,0:02:27.609
and cerebellum which mediates[br]the emotional responses;

0:02:27.609,0:02:30.125
the memory and the hippocampus,

0:02:30.125,0:02:31.958
hearing a familiar passage,

0:02:31.958,0:02:35.027
finding it somewhere in your memory banks.

0:02:35.027,0:02:37.408
Music is going on[br]in both halves of your brain,

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the left and the right,

0:02:38.392,0:02:39.360
the front and the back,

0:02:39.360,0:02:41.426
the inside and the outside.

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♪ (music) ♪

0:02:45.092,0:02:47.377
(Peter) So what about a musician's brain?

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To play a piece of music[br]engages so many things:

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motor systems, timing systems,

0:02:52.174,0:02:55.410
memory systems, hearing systems.

0:02:55.410,0:02:58.424
There's all sorts[br]of brain activity happening.

0:02:58.424,0:03:02.108
It's a very robust thing to play music.

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♪ (music) ♪

0:03:04.875,0:03:06.059
I'm Alex Jacob Robertson.

0:03:06.059,0:03:07.541
I'm Nathan Glenn Robertson.

0:03:07.541,0:03:09.444
We asked these 11-year old musicians

0:03:09.444,0:03:11.794
to tell us what's going through[br]their minds when they play.

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Some of the most important things[br]are I think good postures,

0:03:14.643,0:03:16.409
getting the note right,

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legato, staccato.

0:03:19.208,0:03:21.158
(violin)

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For the violin, you need to hold[br]your hand at the right place,

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and you need to be in tune,

0:03:28.308,0:03:31.825
and then you also have to have[br]not only the right intonation

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but the right sound,

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and then you also need[br]to have great vibrato.

0:03:35.875,0:03:37.091
There's lot of things to think about.

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(violin)

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(Peter) Back at USC,

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researchers have been studying kids[br]who play music over the past five years

0:03:42.325,0:03:44.612
to see how it affects their development.

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The multi-tasking areas of their brains[br]understandable lit up,

0:03:48.341,0:03:50.227
but they've seen other results too.

0:03:50.227,0:03:51.944
Music training[br]over the course of five years

0:03:51.944,0:03:55.675
has had benefits in cognitive skills[br]and decision making,

0:03:55.675,0:03:58.412
also had some benefits in social behavior,

0:03:58.412,0:04:01.775
and we've also seen changes[br]in the associated brain structures.

0:04:01.775,0:04:03.092
(Peter) Did you hear that?

0:04:03.092,0:04:04.826
Changes in brain structures!

0:04:04.826,0:04:07.044
They found that the brains of children[br]who have studied music

0:04:07.044,0:04:09.958
have stronger connections[br]between the left and right hemispheres,

0:04:09.958,0:04:13.443
and that can make them better,[br]more creative problem solvers.

0:04:13.443,0:04:15.058
And then there's emotion.

0:04:15.058,0:04:17.308
(emotional music)

0:04:18.942,0:04:20.445
When you hear a piece like this,

0:04:20.445,0:04:27.709
it's easy to understand why emotions[br]play such a big part in music.

0:04:27.709,0:04:32.175
This song by Camille Saint-Saëns is known[br]as the music for the dying swan in ballet.

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While it might move ballerinas to dance,[br]it inspires different reactions in others.

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( )

0:04:43.825,0:04:46.691
Some people get goosebumps, chills.

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That weird tingly sensation that you get

0:04:48.362,0:04:51.191
when a great piece of music[br]just hits you in the right way?

0:04:51.191,0:04:54.608
It's called frisson, [br]and not everyone gets it,

0:04:54.608,0:04:56.343
but it turns out I do.

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Now we're going to have you listen[br]to some pieces of music.

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Okay.

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When you experience a chill, if you do,

0:05:01.394,0:05:02.760
I want you to just press this space bar

0:05:02.760,0:05:03.709
so we have an indication

0:05:03.709,0:05:07.359
of when those peak moments[br]of enjoyment are happening.

0:05:07.359,0:05:07.992
Okay.

0:05:07.992,0:05:10.092
Matt Sachs, a PhD candidate at USC,

0:05:10.092,0:05:13.227
wired me up to measure[br]my physiological response.

0:05:13.227,0:05:15.874
So when I'm feeling[br]that emotional connection

0:05:15.874,0:05:18.092
that has a physical manifestation,

0:05:18.092,0:05:20.528
we'll see what my body is actually doing?

0:05:20.528,0:05:21.413
Exactly.

0:05:21.413,0:05:24.559
(dramatic music)

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Alright, how was that?

0:05:31.760,0:05:33.277
That was-- that had a lot of them.

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We got them all.

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Now full disclosure:

0:05:35.977,0:05:37.776
Back in the day, I played the cello,

0:05:37.776,0:05:41.042
which might have something to do[br]with why that particular song affected me.

0:05:41.042,0:05:42.011
Nice hair!

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But it turns out the brain[br]is at work here too.

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We processed the difference[br]between this pathway

0:05:46.876,0:05:50.145
that connects the auditory regions[br]is on the side of the brain here,

0:05:50.145,0:05:51.526
to the emotional regions,

0:05:51.526,0:05:54.577
and we showed that the tract[br]actually that connects those two regions

0:05:54.577,0:05:55.596
is stronger,

0:05:55.596,0:05:58.642
there's more fibers in that region[br]in the people who get chills.

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(Peter) Which means[br]that some people's brains

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might have better communication

0:06:00.959,0:06:03.395
between what they hear and how they feel.

0:06:03.395,0:06:05.657
The music itself also plays[br]a role in frisson.

0:06:05.657,0:06:09.227
Sachs uses different songs in his lectures[br]to see if students get it.

0:06:09.227,0:06:10.625
I'll say raise your hand[br]when you get a chill

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and I'll play a piece of music, [br]a classical piece,

0:06:12.127,0:06:13.829
and maybe half the people will get it.

0:06:13.829,0:06:15.562
(Peter) Then he plays this..

0:06:15.562,0:06:18.893
( )

0:06:18.893,0:06:20.776
Rolling Stone's Give me Shelter.

0:06:20.776,0:06:22.645
Have you ever seen the movie[br]<i>20 Feet from Stardom</i>?

0:06:22.645,0:06:23.915
The documentary about back up singers?

0:06:23.915,0:06:24.646
Yeah.

0:06:24.646,0:06:28.213
There's a part where they isolate[br]the vocals from Give me Shelter.

0:06:28.213,0:06:30.792
♪ ( ) ♪

0:06:36.009,0:06:36.694
And I play that,

0:06:36.694,0:06:38.577
and 90% of the people experience chills,

0:06:38.577,0:06:40.244
sort of independent of where I go.

0:06:40.244,0:06:43.027
I have to tell you, bringing that up[br]made me think about it

0:06:43.027,0:06:46.443
and I got that little kind of thing[br]at the back of my neck.

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(Peter) But why would that happen?

0:06:47.725,0:06:51.129
The high pitched notes that she hit[br]almost sounds like a scream

0:06:51.129,0:06:53.658
and it's very important ancestrally for us

0:06:53.658,0:06:55.142
to be able to pay attention to a scream,

0:06:55.142,0:06:56.596
figure out what's going on,

0:06:56.596,0:06:59.026
and either run or fight, [br]whatever we need to do.

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(Peter) So how come[br]that manifests as pleasure?

0:07:01.010,0:07:03.213
Well it's because our pre-frontal cortex,

0:07:03.213,0:07:05.776
the more rational, thinking part[br]of the brain kicks in.

0:07:05.776,0:07:08.393
So you realize very quickly,

0:07:08.393,0:07:11.110
after you have[br]this really quick startle reflex,

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that there's nothing actually threatening[br]about the piece of music,

0:07:13.760,0:07:17.826
that you're sitting in a safe space[br]with your headphones on,

0:07:17.826,0:07:19.494
and it's in that reappraisal

0:07:19.494,0:07:22.359
that we tend to think[br]of the pleasure responses emerging.

0:07:22.359,0:07:25.577
And whether you find listening to music[br]so pleasurable you get chills

0:07:25.577,0:07:28.262
or you absolutely despise a song,

0:07:28.262,0:07:31.376
it can produce absolutely[br]fascinating effects in the brain.

0:07:31.376,0:07:33.359
According to [Levitan], music we enjoy

0:07:33.359,0:07:35.946
triggers the brain's[br]internal opioid system--

0:07:35.946,0:07:37.396
yes, opioid system.

0:07:37.396,0:07:39.611
And just like the opioids[br]that come in pill form

0:07:39.611,0:07:42.363
these chemicals make you feel good[br]and help relieve pain.

0:07:42.363,0:07:45.134
And music you don't like? [br]Well, that releases cortisol,

0:07:45.134,0:07:46.627
the notorious stress hormone.

0:07:46.627,0:07:49.563
But that's not even the half of what music[br]can do in the brain.

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Can you turn on the lights?

0:07:55.810,0:07:57.561
(Peter) When former Congresswomen[br]Gabrielle Giffords

0:07:57.561,0:07:59.197
was shot in 2011

0:07:59.197,0:08:01.379
the left side of her brain[br]was severely damaged,

0:08:01.379,0:08:02.961
leaving her struggling to speak,

0:08:02.961,0:08:04.763
a condition called aphasia.

0:08:04.763,0:08:08.077
Gabby, are you frustrated?

0:08:08.077,0:08:09.977
(Peter) But to get an idea

0:08:09.977,0:08:12.865
of just how powerful[br]music's effect on the brain can be,

0:08:12.865,0:08:14.078
watch this video.

0:08:14.078,0:08:15.227
You ready?

0:08:15.227,0:08:20.661
(together) This little light of mine[br]I'm gonna let it shine.

0:08:20.661,0:08:22.610
(Peter) That word that she'd been[br]struggling to say, "light,"

0:08:22.610,0:08:24.561
came easily in song.

0:08:24.561,0:08:29.394
Why would she be able to sing a word[br]when she's unable to say it?

0:08:29.394,0:08:31.027
What we know about the brain

0:08:31.027,0:08:35.378
is that the left hemisphere[br]controls language,

0:08:35.378,0:08:37.895
and there are many[br]other parts of the brain

0:08:37.895,0:08:41.210
that have music access.

0:08:41.210,0:08:43.027
Music therapist Maegan Morrow's job

0:08:43.027,0:08:46.912
is to help patients use[br]those other pathways to regain language.

0:08:46.912,0:08:49.711
Sometimes I compare it[br]to being in traffic,

0:08:49.711,0:08:51.294
and you can't move any further,

0:08:51.294,0:08:54.431
but you might need to exit[br]and take the feeder road

0:08:54.431,0:08:56.910
to get you to your destination.

0:08:56.910,0:09:00.744
So music is basically[br]like that feeder road

0:09:00.744,0:09:02.112
to the new destination.

0:09:02.112,0:09:03.280
(Peter) Like a detour.

0:09:03.280,0:09:06.861
So we know that music[br]can help us relearn things like speech

0:09:06.861,0:09:09.413
by accessing alternative[br]pathways in the brain

0:09:09.413,0:09:12.560
and that learning to play music[br]can help strengthen brain connections.

0:09:12.560,0:09:15.212
But what about making music?

0:09:15.212,0:09:18.963
To make music is like--

0:09:18.963,0:09:20.627
it's the language of humanity.

0:09:20.627,0:09:22.344
No matter where I go in the world,

0:09:22.344,0:09:23.812
if I'm playing something,

0:09:23.812,0:09:25.530
it doesn't matter if someone[br]can't speak the language--

0:09:25.530,0:09:28.810
if they're into it, they're into it.

0:09:28.810,0:09:32.380
(Peter) This is Xavier Dphrepaulezz,[br]better known as Fantastic Negrito.

0:09:32.380,0:09:36.061
We brought him to UCSF[br]to meet Charles Limb,

0:09:36.061,0:09:38.577
a neuroscientist[br]who studies musical creativity.

0:09:38.577,0:09:39.679
The Duffler's up next.

0:09:39.679,0:09:42.045
(Peter) To understand[br]how Fantastic Negrito's brain works

0:09:42.045,0:09:43.146
when making music,

0:09:43.146,0:09:46.714
Dr. Limb had him play on of his songs[br]while going through the fMRI.

0:09:46.714,0:09:52.111
(Fantastic Negrito singing)

0:09:52.111,0:09:54.211
(Peter) So how did his brain respond?

0:09:54.211,0:09:57.146
The areas that process sensory[br]and motor skills, along with sounds,

0:09:57.146,0:09:57.963
lit up.

0:09:57.963,0:09:59.844
You can see them here in red and yellow.

0:09:59.844,0:10:01.210
Makes sense, right?

0:10:01.210,0:10:02.914
But here's the really interesting part.

0:10:02.914,0:10:04.398
Limb asked him to improvise

0:10:04.398,0:10:07.430
to see what happens when he's creating[br]something totally original.

0:10:07.430,0:10:10.711
(Fantastic Negrito singing)

0:10:18.612,0:10:19.928
Now watch what happens to his brain?

0:10:19.928,0:10:20.629
Stop!

0:10:20.629,0:10:21.265
(laughter)

0:10:21.265,0:10:22.415
Now watch what happens to his brain.

0:10:22.415,0:10:23.881
The areas that were active before,

0:10:23.881,0:10:25.615
the ones that deal[br]with motor skills and sounds,

0:10:25.615,0:10:27.065
are even more active.

0:10:27.065,0:10:29.614
But see how there's way more blue[br]in the front of his brain?

0:10:29.614,0:10:31.065
That's the pre-frontal cortex,

0:10:31.065,0:10:32.981
and it's associated[br]with effortful planning

0:10:32.981,0:10:34.746
and conscience self-monitoring,

0:10:34.746,0:10:37.198
and it's blue because it's less active.

0:10:37.198,0:10:38.445
We see that the pre-frontal cortex

0:10:38.445,0:10:42.282
appears to be really shutting down[br]in these moments of high creativity,

0:10:42.282,0:10:46.479
kind of like letting of of these conscious[br]self-censoring or self-monitoring areas

0:10:46.479,0:10:50.711
that normally are there[br]to help control our output.

0:10:50.711,0:10:52.997
(Peter) And Limb says[br]it's about more than just letting go.

0:10:52.997,0:10:56.128
You view it[br]from a perspective of survival.

0:10:56.128,0:10:59.062
If human beings only could do[br]memorized route responses,

0:10:59.062,0:11:00.548
we'd be long gone.

0:11:00.548,0:11:04.362
It is not just the thing that happens[br]in clubs and in jazz bars,

0:11:04.362,0:11:06.895
it's actually maybe[br]the most fundamental form

0:11:06.895,0:11:08.381
of what it means to be human,

0:11:08.381,0:11:09.496
to come up with new ideas.

0:11:09.496,0:11:12.161
(singing)

0:11:15.461,0:11:18.464
(Peter) So music is so much more[br]than notes on a page.

0:11:18.464,0:11:21.429
It can change the way we think[br]and speak and feel.

0:11:21.429,0:11:24.696
But is there a limit[br]to what science can tell us about music?

0:11:24.696,0:11:26.997
Just when I discovered[br]the answer to one thing,

0:11:26.997,0:11:30.894
five new questions pop up[br]that are more interesting than the first,

0:11:30.894,0:11:33.412
and I've gained an appreciation

0:11:33.412,0:11:39.278
for how complex the music-making[br]and music-listening system is.

0:11:39.278,0:11:41.294
It's not demystified for me at all.

0:11:41.294,0:11:43.594
It's more mysterious than ever.

0:11:43.594,0:11:45.695
(singing)

0:11:57.745,0:11:59.962
(applause)