title: Organists and organ music composers.
abstract: Clinical case reports of patients with exceptional musical talent and education provide clues as to how the brain processes musical ability and aptitude. In this chapter, selected examples from famous and unknown organ players/composers are presented to demonstrate the complexity of modified musical performances as well as the capacities of the brain to preserve artistic abilities: both authors are active organists and academic neurologists with strong clinical experience, practice, and knowledge about the challenges to play such an outstanding instrument and share their interest to explore potentially instrument-related phenomena of brain modulation in specific transient or permanent impairments. We concentrate on the sites of lesions, suggested pathophysiology, separate positive (e.g., seizures, visual or auditory hallucinations, or synesthesia [an involuntary perception produced by stimulation of another sense]) and negative phenomena (e.g., amusia, aphasia, neglect, or sensory-motor deficits) and particularly address aspects of recent concepts of temporary and permanent network disorders.
authors: Department of Neurology, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Foerch
authors: Department of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany. Electronic address: hennerici@neuro.ma.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors: Michael G
authors: MG
authors: Hennerici
mesh_terms: D003405:Creativity; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009146:Music; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000266:history / Q000523:psychology; D009462:Neurology / Q000266:history*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: composer; disease; music; neurology; organist; seizure; stroke