We have all heard of stories that music helps us do this and makes us better by helping us with that. For example, it is helpful when we need to focus, but it can also be distracting? Can people make up their minds? Well, they can, and plenty of scientists and researchers have done so. So, with that in mind, here are some of the most interesting studies that have been done with music and more importantly, the results of those studies.
Language Can Be Learned Faster Through Singing
We like music, we like songs. Well, it turns out that music sang in a foreign language can help us learn that foreign language better. Not only that, but if we focus on signing the words correctly, we can also train our vocal apparatus to pronounce the words better.
A study from 2013 by Ludke and others has shown that singing the phrases of another language improves the learning of said language. This is interesting, as singing involves another part of our brain, which is different to that responsible for language. On that note, the upcoming study is very connected.
Music Can Help Bridge the Gap After Brain Injuries
Some people who have had brain injuries, most notably aphasias, end up losing language. Aphasia means just that, though there are different kinds. Brocca’s aphasia targets the ability to speak and form proper grammatical sentences, while at the same time being able to understand people and think properly. Singing helps people recover their lost language skills, because other parts of the brain take the language responsibility over.
This is a long procedure, but it has been done. Baird & Simpson did a study in 2013 where they played hits for people with brain injuries, to see whether they could provoke memories. The number one hits had greater success in provoking memories compared to other types of music and songs.
Music Stimulates Different Parts of the Brain
Music is interesting because it not only stimulates one part of the brain, but more than one. A study from 2013, once more, performed by Alluri and others, shows that music can activate different regions in the brain. Auditory areas of the brain react to the sound and music, while motor areas of the brain react to the rhythm. As always, the limbic areas react, because of the emotion the music wakes in us. Well, and the center of speech activates if we focus on the lyrics and especially if we sing along with the song we are listening to.
Music as a Time Machine
Music is often deeply connected to an emotion, which is something we have stored in our memories. Lots of us can distinctly remember a period from our youth when we were listening to a specific song. Oftentimes, just a hint of a tune or even the lyrics are enough to take us back to a very specific moment in time, when the memory was created. There have been multiple studies which support this.
These are some studies which show what music can do to us.
