Stimulation cognitive et sensorielle par la musique: mythe ou réalité? – DMBB

An increasing number studies suggest that music induces plastic changes in brain and facilitate a wide range of cognitive functions. Striking findings were recently reported (Brain February 2008), demonstrating that music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stoke. Music may act as a neuron stimulator and neuron protector and this would have strong implications for education and clinic approach of cognitive-brain injury. The present project investigates this potential advantage of music in an integrative way by considering the effect of music on cognition, from sensory processes to high level of cognition and action. Four main tasks are designed to evaluate the advantage of music to (1) stimulate auditory functions in deaf children and adults, (2) to rehabilitate linguistic functions, (3) to stimulate memory, and (4) to rehabilitate motor deficiency. This project stands at the intersection of fundamental research (that focuses on the cognitive and neural bases of musical abilities) and clinical approaches (that focuses on the therapeutic strategies). It aims to establish scientifically based knowledge on a specific issue (music as a tool for sensory and cognitive stimulation) that may in turn modify education of normal children as well as neuropsychological techniques, such as cognitive remediation of patients with brain damaged or developmental disorders. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that the beneficial effects of music would be investigated in several relevant domains of human cognition by the same group of researchers, using related methodologies. The 5 partners of the project, all took part in substantial ways to the scientific progress in the understanding of music and brain functioning. The federation of their competences, and the sharing of their scientific methods (behavioral methods of experimental and developmental psychology, electrophysiological and brain imaging methods in neurosciences, clinical approach of neuropsychology), leads to define a project, which is original by its theme (neurocognition of music), its issue (specifying positive effects of music) and its method (strong interdisciplinarity between human and life sciences). The cognitive approach of experimental psychology is combined to the methods of neuropsychology and those of neurosciences in electrophysiology and in brain imaging (functional and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography).