The Music of the Hemispheres and the Heart of Neurodynamics

Neuroscience is traditionally considered a branch of biology, with interdisciplinary influences from a wide range of fields including psychology, computer science, engineering and mathematics. As a result, a computational approach to neuroscience has emerged that analyzes human brain activity as the superposition of signals that yield complex rhythms and nonlinear dynamics. The computational approach assumes that normative properties, such as value, meaning and purpose, that are highly relevant to humanity are somehow emergent from these otherwise mechanical interactions. Here, I propose that brain dynamics reflect an organic whole that, in the words of Iain McGilchrist, is “inextricably linked with values, meaning and purpose.” This proposal suggests that brain activity can be investigated as a “kind of music:” a global, emotive form, the shape of which contains nested information regarding vital physiology and embodied emotionality. Using electroencephalography (EEG) as an example, and drawing on the field of musicology, I review historical and recent evidence that reveals how neurodynamics can be seen more like music or an artistic creation: multi-scale, context sensitive, dynamically evolving, and intrinsically meaningful. This “neurodynamics of music” hypothesis is investigated using a geometric framework that includes rhythms and nonlinear dynamics, but where those properties must be understood in the context of the vital metabolism of living organisms. Vital, homeostatic and emotional signals underpin the recurrent play of anticipation and fulfillment in life, brain activity and from which, differentiated meaning is sculpted from the global whole. Neuroscience can benefit from the tools of the humanities informing its analytic methods, theoretical assumptions and interpretive frameworks. Through reengagement with the musical heart of neurodynamics, we may be more inclined to see our brains, our minds, and ourselves, as creatively meaningful, purposeful and alive.