Storehouse of Melodies in a Specific Region in the Brain

An in-depth study about memory loss in dementia patients has revealed the exact location in the brain where popular melodies are stored. During the study, healthy people as well a group of dementia patients were asked to recognize famous melodies amid a group of made up tunes based on closely resembling musical structures.

The study revealed that people with a type of dementia called semantic dementia were unable to identify the melodies or titles of famous tunes. They were also unable to differentiate between sounds such as laughing and coughing.

MRIs of the brain of participants showed that a particular region in the brain located behind the right ear, called the right anterior temporal lobe, had shrunk in patients with semantic dementia. This was not the case in the brain of normal individuals as well as those with Alzheimer's.



Source-Medindia