Listen: Click here to hear the sample songs used in the experiments
YOUR favourite song comes on the radio. You hum the tune; the lyrics remind you of someone you know. Is your brain processing the words and music separately or as one? It’s a hotly debated question that may finally have an answer.
People with aphasia, who can’t speak, can still hum a tune, suggesting music and lyrics are processed separately. Yet brain scans show that music and language activate the same areas, which might mean the brain treats them as one signal. “There’s conflicting evidence,” says Daniela Sammler…
