title: Right temporal lobe activation when listening to emotionally significant music.
abstract: The cerebral activation when normal elderly participants (6 women, 6 men, M age = 70 years) listened to self-selected emotionally significant music was investigated. Musical memories and preferences were discussed in an interview, and a piece of music with great emotional significance to the participant was selected and later played during measurement of the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). Measurements were made during silence, individually selected emotional music, and standard neutral music. The right temporal lobe showed a significant (p < .01) increase in rCBF when the emotional music was compared to silence. A temporal lobe asymmetry (right > left) during emotional music was also significant (p < .01). A decrease in the left prefrontal areas reached significance (p < .05) when standard music was compared to silence. For the emotional music, the right prefrontal area showed a decrease (p < .05). Emotional music thus activates right temporal and deactivates prefrontal regions in the right hemisphere.
authors.affiliation: Gerontology Research Centre, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Betty Bauer
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Alfredson
authors.forename: Jarl
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Risberg
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hagberg
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gustafson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001307:Auditory Perception; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000502:physiology*