MEDICINE AND THE ARTS
Music & The Brain
by VASUDEVA IYER , MD
Unlike some of my colleagues with diverse artistic talents , I can claim none . Growing up with cousins learning music from an early age was tough as I had no genuine interest in that pursuit . It is not uncommon to be “ put down ” by family and friends when in the company of relatives who have become accomplished artists . However , once I became a physician , I could counter with the argument that I am an artist too , as I am practicing the noble art of medicine ( unfortunately didn ’ t make a dent !).
Several decades ago , I joined as a junior faculty at a great medical school , a dream come true for me , as it provided the chance to combine the triple roles of research , teaching and clinical practice . I consider medical teaching an art ; good teachers excel in their ability to simplify complex and often confusing data into a simple and assimilable format . Bedside teaching is unique - judging what to say and how to say it to the patient and student simultaneously , but with the added joy of demonstrating findings and technique . It can be both challenging and rewarding for the teacher and the student alike . I consider “ medical pedagogy ” as much of an art as music , sculpting or painting .
It was that time of year when our senior residents were ready to
start on their own medical career and graduation celebration was afoot . The plan was to have dinner followed by a music concert by a professional group . I was in a conflict situation as I had promised my colleague from physiology to help with an experiment in which we were collaborating . I was looking forward to spending quality time with my colleague and his companions consisting of knockout mice , seizure-prone rats and myotonic goats . I looked for an excuse to avoid attending the music concert and blurted out the first thing that came to my mind : I told them that I have the rare condition of congenital amusia ( I have wondered about that possibility more than once !) and that I ’ d like to skip the music concert . It was clear that the residents had not even heard of the condition ( they could not do instant “ Googling ” as it was way before laptops , cell phones and Google were available ). They appeared skeptical and unfortunately the words travelled to the chairman . He asked me to host the next journal club and discuss scientific papers on amusia . Not much was known about congenital or acquired amusia then . However , recent advances in neuroscience have provided tools to unravel mysteries of music-related disorders including congenital amusia , which may have a prevalence of 4 % of the population . 1 It is a considered disorder of pitch processing and music perception . 1
I do not recall any lectures or discussions on music and the brain while I was a medical student or neurology resident decades ago , although considerable time was spent on various aspects of speech
16 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE