Ex vivo study reveals oscillating sine waves with musical qualities in cultured neuronal networks, suggesting biological roots for the human affinity for music.
Objective: Audio files of spontaneous signal streams generated by ex vivo neuronal networks cultured on multi-electrode arrays generated an oscillating sine wave with an inherent musical quality. This was not anticipated considering that synaptic signals are “all - or – none”, and therefore digital, events. Methods: These findings may provide insight into why music can be perceived as pleasurable and invoke a calm mood despite that music is ultimately perceived and stored as a series of digital signals; it is speculated that music may reinforce and/or enhance this spontaneous digital stream. Results and Conclusion: These findings also support the relationship between music and mathematics.
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Shea et al. (2018) studied this question.
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