The interplay between musical training and speech perception continues to intrigue researchers in the areas of language and music alike. Historically, language function has been attributed to brain regions localized predominately in left hemisphere, whereas music has been attributed to right hemisphere dominant regions. Recent studies demonstrating neural overlap for processing speech and music, and enhanced speech perception and production in musicians suggest that these regions may be inextricably intertwined. The extent of neural overlap between music and speech remains hotly debated, with surprisingly little empirical research exploring specific neural homo-logs and analogs. Moreover, despite recognition that shared processes likely exist throughout development and depend upon an individual’s acoustic experiences, even less research exists on how overlapping neural structures for music and language are affected by developmental trajectories. Nonetheless, the field is well poised to address key empirical questions, in part because of the recent development of new theories that address the neural and developmental interaction between music and language processing in conjunction with the broad availability of sophisticated tools for quantifying brain activity and dynamics. To understand the overlap of neural structures for language and music processing, research is needed to identify those specific functions of each that influence the other, with areas for enhanced perception of pitch and onset time having already been targeted. Research is also needed to identify the extent to which this overlap is developed in infancy or early childhood and the process by which it affects neural reorganization, plasticity, and trainability in adulthood. For this research topic, we would like to further explore the relationship between language and music in the brain from two perspectives: 1) understanding the nature of shared neural and cognitive processing for music and language and 2) understanding the developmental trajectory of these neural systems and how they are influenced by experience. We seek to gather technically diverse original research articles that present new empirical findings relevant to understanding: 1. When, in the brain, acoustic information becomes processed specifically as language or music. The shared and independent neural structures for processing music and language. 3. How acoustic experiences such as musical training influence overlap of neural structures for language and music. 4. How the overlap of processing regions changes over time due to experiences at any developmental stage.

The interplay between musical training and speech perception continues to intrigue researchers in the areas of language and music alike. Historically, language function has been attributed to brain regions localized predominately in left hemisphere, whereas music has been attributed to right hemisphere dominant regions. Recent studies demonstrating neural overlap for processing speech and music, and enhanced speech perception and production in musicians suggest that these regions may be inextricably intertwined. The extent of neural overlap between music and speech remains hotly debated, with surprisingly little empirical research exploring specific neural homo-logs and analogs. Moreover, despite recognition that shared processes likely exist throughout development and depend upon an individual's acoustic experiences, even less research exists on how overlapping neural structures for music and language are affected by developmental trajectories. Nonetheless, the field is well poised to address key empirical questions, in part because of the recent development of new theories that address the neural and developmental interaction between music and language processing in conjunction with the broad availability of sophisticated tools for quantifying brain activity and dynamics. To understand the overlap of neural structures for language and music processing, research is needed to identify those specific functions of each that influence the other, with areas for enhanced perception of pitch and onset time having already been targeted. Research is also needed to identify the extent to which this overlap is developed in infancy or early childhood and the process by which it affects neural reorganization, plasticity, and trainability in adulthood. For this research topic, we would like to further explore the relationship between language and music in the brain from two perspectives: 1) understanding the nature of shared neural and cognitive processing for music and language and 2) understanding the developmental trajectory of these neural systems and how they are influenced by experience. We seek to gather technically diverse original research articles that present new empirical findings relevant to understanding: 1. When, in the brain, acoustic information becomes processed specifically as language or music. The shared and independent neural structures for processing music and language. 3. How acoustic experiences such as musical training influence overlap of neural structures for language and music. 4. How the overlap of processing regions changes over time due to experiences at any developmental stage.

Building on her earlier work, 'The Power of Music: A Research Synthesis of the Impact of Actively Making Music on the Intellectual, Social and Personal Development of Children and Young People', this volume by Susan Hallam and Evangelos Himonides is an important new resource in the field of music education, practice, and psychology. A well-signposted text with helpful subheadings, 'The Power of Music: An Exploration of the Evidence' gathers and synthesises research in neuroscience, psychology, and education to develop our understanding of the effects of listening to and actively making music. Its chapters address music’s relationship with literacy and numeracy, transferable skills, its impact on social cohesion and personal wellbeing, as well as the roles that music plays in our everyday lives. Considering evidence from large population samples to individual case studies and across age groups, the authors also pose important methodological questions to the research community. 'The Power of Music' defends qualitative research against a requirement for randomised control trials that can obscure the diverse and often fraught contexts in which people of all ages and backgrounds are exposed to, and engage with, music. This magnificent and comprehensive volume allows the evidence about the power of music to speak for itself, thus providing an essential directory for those researching music education and its social, personal, and cognitive impact across human ages and experiences.

WINNER OF THE SOCIETY OF MUSIC THEORY’S 2019 CITATION OF SPECIAL MERIT FOR MULTI-AUTHORED VOLUMES The Routledge Companion to Music Cognition addresses fundamental questions about the nature of music from a psychological perspective. Music cognition is presented as the field that investigates the psychological, physiological, and physical processes that allow music to take place, seeking to explain how and why music has such powerful and mysterious effects on us. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of research in music cognition, balancing accessibility with depth and sophistication. A diverse range of global scholars—music theorists, musicologists, pedagogues, neuroscientists, and psychologists—address the implications of music in everyday life while broadening the range of topics in music cognition research, deliberately seeking connections with the kinds of music and musical experiences that are meaningful to the population at large but are often overlooked in the study of music cognition. Such topics include: Music’s impact on physical and emotional health Music cognition in various genres Music cognition in diverse populations, including people with amusia and hearing impairment The relationship of music to learning and accomplishment in academics, sport, and recreation The broader sociological and anthropological uses of music Consisting of over forty essays, the volume is organized by five primary themes. The first section, "Music from the Air to the Brain," provides a neuroscientific and theoretical basis for the book. The next three sections are based on musical actions: "Hearing and Listening to Music," "Making and Using Music," and "Developing Musicality." The closing section, "Musical Meanings," returns to fundamental questions related to music’s meaning and significance, seen from historical and contemporary perspectives. The Routledge Companion to Music Cognition seeks to encourage readers to understand connections between the laboratory and the everyday in their musical lives.

How did humans evolve biologically so that our brains and social interactions could support language processes, and how did cultural evolution lead to the invention of languages (signed as well as spoken)? This book addresses these questions through comparative (neuro)primatology – comparative study of brain, behavior and communication in monkeys, apes and humans – and an EvoDevoSocio framework for approaching biological and cultural evolution within a shared perspective. Each chapter provides an authoritative yet accessible review from a different discipline: linguistics (evolutionary, computational and neuro), archeology and neuroarcheology, macaque neurophysiology, comparative neuroanatomy, primate behavior, and developmental studies. These diverse perspectives are unified by having each chapter close with a section on its implications for creating a new road map for multidisciplinary research. These implications include assessment of the pluses and minuses of the Mirror System Hypothesis as an “old” road map. The cumulative road map is then presented in the concluding chapter. Originally published as a special issue of Interaction Studies 19:1/2 (2018).

The Handbook of Arts Education and Special Education brings together, for the first time in a single reference volume, policy, research, and practices in special education and arts education synthesized to inform stakeholders across a broad spectrum of education. This handbook encompasses arts education for students with disabilities, from pre-K through transition to postsecondary education and careers as well as community arts education, with particular attention to conceptual foundations; research-based practices; professional standards; students’ cognitive, artistic, and social growth; career education; and future directions for research and practice in special education and arts education.

Widely considered to be the most comprehensive and accessible textbook in the field of Cognitive Psychology Emphasis on applied cognition with ‘in the real world’ case studies and examples Comprehensive companion website including access to Primal Pictures’ interactive 3D atlas of the brain, test simulations of key experiments, multiple choice questions, glossary flashcards and instructor PowerPoint slides Simple, clear pedagogy in every chapter to highlight key terms, case studies and further reading Updated references throughout the textbook to reflect the latest research

Music is central to human cultural and intellectual experience. It is vitally important for the welfare of human society and - this book argues - should become more widely accepted in our community as a mainstream educational and therapeutic tool. This book explores the importance of music throughout human evolution, and its continued relevance to modern-day human society. Throughout, the emphasis is on the origin of music and how (and where) it is processed in our brains, exploring in detail the genetic and cultural evolution of modern, loquacious humans, how we may have evolved with unique neural and cognitive architecture, and why two complementary but distinct communication systems - language and music - remain a human universal. In addition the book explores, in some depth, the different theories that have been put forward to explain why musical communication was (and remains) advantageous to our species, with a particular emphasis on the role of music and dance in enhancing altruistic and prosocial behaviours. The author suggests that music, and the social harmonization it brings, was of vital importance in early humans as we became more and more individualized by the emergence of modern language and the modern mind, and the realization that we are mortal. Music, Evolution, and the Harmony of Souls demonstrates the evolutionary sociobiological importance of music as a driver of cooperative and interactive behaviour throughout human existence, and what this evolutionary imperative means to twenty-first century humanity and beyond, from social and medical/neurological perspectives

This handbook provides an evidence-based account of psychological perspectives on issues in music education and music in the community through the life course, exploring our understanding of music learning and participation across contexts. The contributors draw on multidisciplinary research from different cultures and contexts in order to set out the implications of music psychology for music education and music in the community. Highlighting the intersecting issues across education and community contexts, the book proposes new theories as well as offering important refinements to existing conceptual models. Split into six parts, it considers the role of music in society as well as for groups and individuals, and explores topics such as processing and responding to music; pedagogical and musical practices that support or pose challenges to the emotional, cognitive, social or physical wellbeing of learners and participants in a range of contexts; and ‘music in identity’ or ‘identity in music’. With the final part on future directions and the implications for professional practice in music education and music in the community, the book concludes by exploring how the two sectors might work more closely together within a post-COVID-19 world. Based on cutting-edge research from an international team, this is essential reading for anyone interested in music psychology, education and community, and it will be particularly helpful for undergraduate and graduate students in music psychology, music education and community music.

Revised and updated, this comprehensive text covers key concepts in cognitive neuroscience. Written by two active researchers and experienced teachers, the coverage is both up to date and accessible with clear links made across chapters. Clinical applications, case studies and examples demonstrate the real-world significance of the science.