The cortical topography of tonal structures underlying Western music.
Western tonal music relies on a formal geometric structure that determines distance relationships within a harmonic or tonal space. In functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments, we identified an area in the rostromedial prefrontal cortex that tracks activation in tonal space. Different voxels in this area exhibited selectivity for different keys. Within the same set of consistently activated voxels, the topography of tonality selectivity rearranged itself across scanning sessions. The tonality structure was thus maintained as a dynamic topography in cortical areas known to be at a nexus of cognitive, affective, and mnemonic processing.
Janata
Petr
P
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth Brain Imaging Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. petr.janata@dartmouth.edu
Birk
Jeffrey L
JL
Van Horn
John D
JD
Leman
Marc
M
Tillmann
Barbara
B
Bharucha
Jamshed J
JJ
D000328:Adult; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008606:Mental Processes; D008875:Middle Aged; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009146:Music; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D010898:Pitch Perception; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*