The reward network in our brains is one of the most fascinating areas of the brain. It is often the underlying network that propels our behaviour as well as override our good judgement. It is also one of the key networks in learning.

There is a theory called the theory of familiarity in music. It is, as described at the end of this article, the idea of an inverted U.

In today’s world, filled with myriad parenting methods and high-tech toys that promise to enhance infant development, it is easy to overlook how fundamental the time-honoured practice of music is for all children—starting pre-birth.

This new research looks at the emotive factors in music and uses an idea called the “inverted U”.

There is a great deal of debate around this question. In the research, the term Absolute Pitch (AP) is used for the more common term of perfect pitch. This recent study points to a stronger genetic link than previously thought.

Do you know someone who seems to have rhythm coming out of every part or pore and other people who couldn’t walk to a beat if their life depended on it?

Researchers have known for sometime that the brain structures (parts) of a person with absolute pitch has specific areas that are identified as unique or different. However, they don’t know how those structural differences might function or connect in equally unique or specific ways.

You have probably heard of grey matter but have you heard of white matter? White matter in our brain is tissue composed of nerve fibres.

We used to think that there was a centre for every major processing task, like language or maths. We know that there are both centres for processing as well as a complex set of interlinking and overlapping networks that contribute to the processing of information.

Dr Psyche Loui is a psychologist, neuroscientist and musician who investigates how music can be used to understand the brain. She is a violinist and works to connect our understanding of the brain with the experience of being a music learner and performing musicians.

There is an interesting term in this article – experience-dependent plasticity. Here is a good plain language definition that also happens to include a musical reference.

Here is one of those research sentences that are so useful when we are explaining how music learning impacts on every child’s development.