Could the brain’s response to music help us better understand memory?

Associate Professor Leonardo Bonetti is a multifaceted individual with many talents. Not only does he have master’s degrees in classical guitar and psychology, but he also holds a PhD in cognitive neuroscience and is the lead author of a newly published research article in the esteemed journal Nature Communications. The study delves into how the brain recognizes and predicts musical sequences, offering profound insights into cognitive processes that could shape our understanding of brain aging and conditions like dementia.

From musical maestro to neuroscience pioneer

Bonetti’s journey to cognitive neuroscience was anything but conventional, beginning with a career in classical music. “At some point, working as a musician, I had this very strong feeling that I wanted to move towards science,” Bonetti says. This prompted him to pursue studies in psychology and music psychology. His growing fascination with the brain led him to continue in the field of neuroscience, with a particular interest in analytical methods and the intersection between neuroscience and music. “I understood that there are distinctive features about music that, when coupled with state-of-the-art analytical methods, can provide unique information about the brain,” he says. 

Bonetti’s passion for neuroscience and music culminated in his decision to pursue a PhD in neuroscience, coinciding with the establishment of the Center for Music in the Brain at Aarhus University, the world’s largest research center merging music and brain studies, directed by Professor Peter Vuust. “The center is a key attractor of young Danish and international talents,” Bonetti says. “Importantly, it placed Denmark in a world-leading position for music neuroscience, harmonizing the meritocratic and highly organized Danish society with multifaceted contributions from international collaborators.”

Revealing complex brain mechanisms

The recent milestone study emerged from a collaboration between the Center for Music in the Brain and the Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing at the University of Oxford, directed by the Danish Professor Morten L. Kringelbach.

In the study, participants first learned a brief musical piece and were then exposed to various musical sequences — some taken from the original piece and others altered — while their brain activity was monitored using magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG detects brain activity by measuring the small magnetic fields produced by the brain’s electrical signals in response to stimuli such as sound.

The researchers identified which brain areas activate when familiar musical sequences are played, revealing a complex network of brain regions that work together to process and recognize sounds. Additionally, they uncovered the mechanisms the brain uses to identify variations in these sequences. “The brain is constantly making predictions about incoming sensory information. When these predictions are confirmed or contradicted, the brain readjusts its predictions, learns new information, and adjusts future planning,” Bonetti says. 

Future perspectives: screening tool for dementia and multi scale neurophysiology 

Bonetti has two key long-term visions. Firstly, he aims to investigate how aging and dementia alter the brain’s ability to remember and predict musical sequences. Secondly, Bonetti wants to explore the neural activity recorded by electrodes placed inside the brains of patients undergoing neurosurgery. 

“Ultimately, the translational goal for my research is to identify early signs of brain aging and develop a screening tool that can estimate the likelihood of an individual developing dementia in the near future,” he says. “Moreover, I wish to integrate my MEG research with neural information from intracranial electrodes. This is necessary to understand the many ways the brain functions, both over time and across its different regions, making it the most complex organ in the human body.” 

In 2022, Bonetti was honored as a recipient of the Lundbeck Foundation’s Talent Prize for his ambitious cognitive research involving music. He underscores the prize’s significance in raising awareness about his work and enabling him to pursue his long-term vision. “The prize recognized years of research developed along a coherent path and motivated me even further to refine my long-term research goals,” he says.