COGST 1212 NeuroAnatomy

Temporal Lobes

Primary site for processing auditory information including pitch, tone, melody, and harmony. Contains the amygdala and hippocampus, essential for forming new musical experiences.

Frontal Lobes

Processes musical structure, rhythm, and expectancy. Manages musical pleasure, emotional interpretation, and decision-making. In executive control of cognition, thinking and decision-making.

Parietal Lobes

Involved in spatial navigation, attention, and sensory integration with respect to your own body. Constructs the sense of self in physical space and time, like a bodily GPS-like system.

Occipital Lobes

Deconstructs basic visual information like shape, position, color, intensity and contrast before passing it forward to other parts of the brain for interpretation.

Limbic System

The emotional hub of the brain, heavily involved in why music feels good or sad. Also known as the H.A.T.H. system.

Amygdala

Processes the emotional content of music, specifically intensity, valence (happy vs. sad), and emotional tension. Highly activated by emotionally charged, familiar music.

Hippocampus

Integral to memory consolidation and episodic memory. Connects music to specific past autobiographical experiences (Music-Evoked Autobiographical Memories).

Hypothalamus

Regulates the autonomic nervous system, controlling physical responses like heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure. Also involved in regulating sleep for long-term memory encoding.

Limbic Cortex/Cingulate Cortex

Influences emotional regulation, motivation, and reward. Plays a key role in the rewarding, pleasurable feeling of listening to music.

Thalamus

The gatekeeper or sensory gateway to the 4 cortical lobes. Main gateway for auditory input traveling to the auditory cortex. Filters and shapes auditory information to emphasize rhythm/time and tone.

Right Temporal Hemisphere

More engaged in melody and tonal processing during music listening.

Left Temporal Hemisphere

Handles rapid temporal changes and lyrics during music processing.

Prefrontal Cortex

Part of the frontal lobe that manages and modulates musical pleasure, emotional interpretation of music, and decision-making regarding music choices.

Cerebellum

Works with motor cortex to process rhythm during walking and exercising to music.

Motor Cortex

Works with cerebellum to coordinate movement to music such as dancing.

Music-Evoked Autobiographical Memories

Memories of specific past autobiographical experiences triggered by music, processed by the hippocampus.

Egocentric Situation

The parietal lobes' construction of where you are in space and time, similar to a bodily GPS-like system.

Autonomic Nervous System

Regulated by the hypothalamus, controls physical responses like heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure during music listening.

Memory Consolidation

Process involving the hippocampus that connects music to episodic memories, essential for encoding short-term to long-term memories during sleep.

Emotional Valence

The quality of happy versus sad in music, processed by the amygdala and limbic system.

Working Memory

Modulated by frontal lobes in conjunction with the hippocampus during attentional focus and studying.

Episodic Memory

Autobiographical memories of specific experiences, encoded by the hippocampus and triggered by music.

H.A.T.H. System

Acronym for the limbic system components: Hypothalamus, Amygdala, Thalamus, and Hippocampus - the emotional hub of the brain.

Auditory Processing

Primary function of temporal lobes, involving the processing of pitch, tone, melody, and harmony.

Executive Control Functions

Functions managed by frontal lobes including cognition, thinking, and decision-making.

Sensory Integration

Process by which parietal lobes integrate auditory information with spatial navigation and body awareness.

Visual Imagery

Processed by occipital lobes when visualizing music videos, concerts, or mentally associating imagery with songs.

Emotional Tension

Aspect of music processed by the amygdala, related to intensity and emotional charge.

Physiological Arousal

Regulated by the hypothalamus, includes increased heart rate during exercise or decreased heart rate during relaxation.

Reward System

Involves the limbic cortex/cingulate cortex in creating the pleasurable feeling of listening to music.

Sensory Gateway

Function of the thalamus as the main entry point for auditory input to reach the auditory cortex.