MMN: Mismatch Negativity in an event-related response, which is measured by EEG. The MMN
response is elicited when a rare deviant stimulus occurs in a repeated series of identical standard
stimuli, e.g.
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The experimental paradigm is often called the oddball paradigm, the deviant being the oddball.
The MMN response is automatic and pre-attentive. It occurs without conscious attention, and partici-
pants in experiments can typically watch a silent movie during the experiment.
MEG: Magnetoencephalography. MEG records the very weak magnetic fields produced by the elec-
trical activity in the brain.
PET: Positron Emission Tomography. PET is an imaging technique that produces three-dimensional
images of the brain. This technique requires the injection of a slightly radioactive liquid. Activity of
the nerve cells in a brain area is correlated with the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) which can be
registered by PET.
fMRI: functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. fMRI produces images of the brain due to the con-
trast between oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood, the BOLD: blood oxygen level dependent con-
trast. Activity in a brain area is correlated with changes in BOLD.
Developmental Functions. Conference in Venice 3.1. The Neurosciences and Music I: Mutual Interactions and Implications on
mental Functions. Conference in Venice 2002
The themes of the 2002 conference were the foliowing:
I. Cerebral Organization of Music-Related Functions, including roundtable I:
Dissecting the Perceptual Components of Music
II. Brain Sciences versus Music, including roundtable II:
A Common High-Level Ground for Scientists and Musicians
III. Music and Development, including roundtable III:
Import of Musical Training on Cognition, Behavior, and Skills
The conference proceedings (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2003, Vol. 999) en-
compass 61 papers. Long papers refer to oral presentations at the conference, short papers refer to
poster presentations. Four of the papers describe creative musical projects by composers who were
invited guests at the conference. Moreover, the proceedings report introductions to the conference
sections, which often present critical remarks concerning the methods and perspectives of neurosci-
ence. Appendix 3.01, provides a survey of the conference papers, which indicates the aim of each
study, its musical material and cultural references, its technology and procedure, and the main focus
and conclusion of the study.
Robert Zatorre’s introduction: Music and the Brain
Robert Zatorre, scientific advisor of the conference, introduces the proceedings with an essay on
studying music from a neuroscience perspective (NM I, pp. 4-14). He emphasizes that it is neces-
sary to combine different techniques and interpret studies in the context of information from many
other domains (p. 5-6). Furthermore, he acknowledges that the humanistic view of neuroscience
may imply ”suspicions of a perceived reductionist agenda in science” (p. 4). Zatorre encourages sci-