Public Health & Health Science Division, ULAB

Although music has been called the universal language, its unifying effects aside, music seems to be universal in a particular biological phenomenon: plasticity. Music experience (defined as either playing, listening to, or creating music) has garnered responsibility for a broad range of processes that can ultimately be unified under the broad umbrella of ‘plasticity’ (Strait, 2012). Plasticity can take many forms and can be developed through numerous avenues. Music is able to play a part in many of those avenues. From the molecular to the individual level, and from the clinical to the basic-science realms, the effects of music on plasticity are intriguing, and its implication in numerous medical settings or neurological functions cannot be understated.