Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-345) and index.
Contents:
Introduction: of sound mind: a partnership between sound and the brain -- How sound works. Signals outside the head -- Signals inside the head -- Learning: merging signals outside the head with the signals inside -- The listening brain: a quest -- Our sonic selves. Music is the jackpot: sensing, thinking, moving, feeling -- Rhythm: inside and outside the head -- The root of language is sound -- Music and language: a partnership -- The bilingual brain -- Birdsong -- Noise: stop that racket, it's hurting my brain -- Aging and the sound mind -- Sound and brain health: spotlight on athletes and concussion -- Our sonic past, present, and future.
Summary:
"Of Sound Mind explores the enormous power of sound and the effect it has on our brain and nervous system in both hurting and healthy brains"-- Provided by publisher. "Making sense of sound is one of the hardest jobs we ask our brains to do. In Of Sound Mind, Nina Kraus examines the partnership of sound and brain, showing for the first time that the processing of sound drives many of the brain's core functions. Our hearing is always on--we can't close our ears the way we close our eyes--and yet we can ignore sounds that are unimportant. We don't just hear; we engage with sounds. Kraus explores what goes on in our brains when we hear a word--or a chord, or a meow, or a screech. Our hearing brain, Kraus tells us, is vast. It interacts with what we know, with out emotions, with how we think, with our movements, and with our other senses. Auditory neurons make calculations at one-thousandth of a second; hearing is the speediest of our senses. Sound plays an unrecognized role in both healthy and hurting brains. Kraus explores the power of music for healing as well as the destructive power of noise on the nervous system. She traces what happens in the brain when we speak another language, have a language disorder, experience rhythm, listen to birdsong, or suffer a concussion. Kraus shows how our engagement with sound leaves a fundamental imprint on who we are. The sounds of our lives shape our brains, for better and for worse, and help us build the sonic world we live in." -- Publisher's description
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.