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Science 13 December 2002:
Vol. 298. no. 5601, pp. 2167 - 2170
DOI: 10.1126/science.1076262
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Research Articles

The Cortical Topography of Tonal Structures Underlying Western Music

Petr Janata,12* Jeffrey L. Birk,1 John D. Van Horn,23 Marc Leman,4 Barbara Tillmann,12 Jamshed J. Bharucha12

Western tonal music relies on a formal geometric structure that determines distance relationships within a harmonic or tonal space. In functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments, we identified an area in the rostromedial prefrontal cortex that tracks activation in tonal space. Different voxels in this area exhibited selectivity for different keys. Within the same set of consistently activated voxels, the topography of tonality selectivity rearranged itself across scanning sessions. The tonality structure was thus maintained as a dynamic topography in cortical areas known to be at a nexus of cognitive, affective, and mnemonic processing.

1 Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences,
2 Center for Cognitive Neuroscience,
3 Dartmouth Brain Imaging Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
4 Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: petr.janata{at}dartmouth.edu

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