[Music and brain: neuroscientific foundations and musical disorders]

Abstract

Music is present in every culture and, from the earliest ages, we all have the basic capacities needed to process it, although this processing takes place in different modules that involve different regions of the brain. Do these regions form paths that are specific to musical processing? As we shall see, the production and perception of music engage a large part of our cognitive capabilities, involving areas of the auditory cortex and the motor cortex. On the other hand, music produces emotional responses within us that involve other cortical and subcortical areas. Are they the same paths as the ones engaged in the processing of emotions in general? We review the existing literature on these questions, as well as the different musical neurological disorders that exist, which range from musicogenic epilepsy to amusia, together with the different possible means of treatment.