Most of us can agree: music is awesome. Regardless of which songs speak to you, music probably plays an important role in your life. The question is, what makes music so powerful? Why does a particular combination of sounds and rhythms grab us and affect us in the way that it does? And is it true that music can help heal patients with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, PTSD, chronic pain, and more? 

To help us understand what we're learning about the neuroscience of music and how it can heal and enrich our lives, we're speaking with Daniel Levitin. He's a musician and a producer as well as a neuroscientist and bestselling author. His newest book is "I Heard There was a Secret Chord: Music As Medicine." 

Learn More:

• "I Heard There Was a Secret Chord" playlist
• Menon, V., & Levitin, D. J. (2005). The rewards of music listening: Response and connectivity of the mesolimbic system. NeuroImage.
• Menon, V. (2023). 20 years of the default mode network: A review and synthesis. Neuron.
• Salimpoor, V. N., et al. (2013). Interactions between the nucleus accumbens and auditory cortices predict music’s reward value. Science.
• Wang, L., Peng, J.-l., et al. (2022). Effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation on gait and motor function in Parkinson’s disease: Systematic review & meta-analysis. Frontiers in Neurology.
• Zumbansen, A., et al. (2014). Melodic Intonation Therapy: Back to basics for future research. Frontiers in Neurology.
• Moreno-Morales et al. (2020). Music therapy in the treatment of dementia: Systematic review & meta-analysis. Frontiers in Medicine.
• Allen, E. J., et al. (2017). Representations of pitch and timbre variation in human auditory cortex. Journal of Neuroscience.
• Sonos/Apple “Music Makes It Home” study (2016). "This Speaker Company Says Music Makes You Happier." Time Magazine.

We want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at [email protected]

Send us a text!

Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience.

Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.