The effects of music on the brain is still a slight mystery. There is not a central brain area that that is activated when one is listening to music. Patients who have lost an area of one or the other brain hemisphere were still able to understand music and feel a beat. Babies are also responsive to music. If an uncomfortable chord is played, babies will squirm and cry. Whereas when a melody is played they might coo. Some researchers believe that each person is born with an innate sense of music. A sense of how music is suppose to go and how it is suppose to sound. This is then shaped by their culture.
Listening to music often invokes other responses also. This such as humming, singing, and dancing come with listening to music. These processes also involve parts of the brain in order to be coordinated. Music is a entity that can stretch and exercise the whole brain. Things such as the auditory cortex, the prefrontal cortex and other areas are often involved.
Music can also be used to help Alzheimers patients calm down. It can reduce blood pressure, increase premature baby weight, and can help dyslexics read more efficiently. Music is a very powerful tool. Research has to be done more on this subject because scientists are just beginning to understand the full effects. It would also be interesting to know if the researchers were correct if there is a learned and genetic program that tells all of us how music should sound and what good music is.