title: The multisensory brain and its ability to learn music.
abstract: Playing a musical instrument requires a complex skill set that depends on the brain's ability to quickly integrate information from multiple senses. It has been well documented that intensive musical training alters brain structure and function within and across multisensory brain regions, supporting the experience-dependent plasticity model. Here, we argue that this experience-dependent plasticity occurs because of the multisensory nature of the brain and may be an important contributing factor to musical learning. This review highlights key multisensory regions within the brain and discusses their role in the context of music learning and rehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lahav
mesh_terms: D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D009146:Music / Q000523:psychology*; D009147:Music Therapy; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000628:therapy; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology