Harmonic tension-resolution patterns have long been hypothesized to be meaningful to listeners familiar with Western music. Even though it has been shown that specifically chosen musical pieces can prime meaningful concepts, the empirical evidence in favor of such a highly specific semantic pathway has been lacking. Here we show that 2 event-related potentials in response to harmonic expectancy violations, the early right anterior negativity (ERAN) and the N500, could be systematically modulated by simultaneously presented language material containing either a syntactic or a semantic violation. Whereas the ERAN was reduced only when presented concurrently with a syntactic language violation and not with a semantic language violation, this pattern was reversed for the N500. This is the first piece of evidence showing that tension- resolution patterns represent a route to meaning in music.

Cereb Cortex. 2007 Sep 5 Steinbeis N, Koelsch S. Junior Research Group "Neurocognition of Music" Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.

Using an event-related functional MRI technique, we examined the blood oxygen level-dependent responses of normal participants to auditory stimuli that consisted of four triads to explore the neural correlates for judging mode-related emotional contents in tonal music. Three categories of stimuli, MAJOR, MINOR and NEUTRAL were prepared. MAJOR and MINOR stimuli suggest C major and c minor, respectively. NEUTRAL stimuli were controls. The task was to judge the categories. Contrasts MAJOR-NEUTRAL and MINOR-NEUTRAL showed significant activation in the bilateral inferior frontal gyri, medial thalamus, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. It is suggested that the bilateral inferior frontal gyri and medial thalamus are involved in judging the mode, whereas the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex was related to conflicts in the participant's mind.

Neuroreport. 2007 Oct 29;18(16):1651-5. Mizuno T, Sugishita M. Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine bDepartment of Neurology, International University of Health and Welfare Mita Hospital, Mita, Tokyo, Japan cInstitute of Brain and Blood Vessels, 366 Otamachi, Isesaki, Gunma, Japan.

Pharmacologic treatment of pain does not always meet patients' needs and may produce difficult side effects. Complementary therapies, which are safe, noninvasive, and generally considered to be relatively free of toxicity, may be used adjunctively with standard pain management techniques to improve outcome and reduce the need for prescription medication. Approaches such as acupuncture, massage therapy, mind-body interventions, and music therapy effectively reduce pain, enhance quality of life, and provide patients with the opportunity to participate in their own care. Such therapies have an important role in modern pain management.

Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2007 Aug;11(4):265-9. Cassileth B, Trevisan C, Gubili J. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA. gubilij@mskcc.org