Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

Oliver Sacks introduces Musicophilia by pointing out that music seems to have no specific application for human survival or evolutionary benefits, and yet an affinity for music seems to be biologically rooted in almost all human beings (which Sacks calls “Musicophilia” [x]). When he began his career as a neurologist in the 1960s, Sacks witnessed the therapeutic power of music in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Throughout his career treating patients with various neurological conditions, he became increasingly aware of music’s therapeutic potential, as well as the lack of research on the subject. He notes with enthusiasm that the late 20th century saw massive developments in understanding the neurology of music; it is now known that the experience of listening to or creating music activates several different brain areas at once, and neurologists therefore theorize that music evolved alongside other fundamental human adaptations like the ability to understand technology or to derive pleasure from stimuli. Music is appreciated by humans on an emotional and structural level, and the brain appears to react the same way to music whether it is imagined or heard.

Sacks introduces his book by promising to consider these new developments in neuroscience alongside observations of his patients and of other people in his life.