Sacks – Musicophilia

Book page: sacks-musicophilia

From: Quotes batch 21

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Concept

“Musicality is a fundamental concept of human nature, as deeply rooted in our biology as language or vision.” (p. xi)

Behavior

“In patients with Parkinson’s, music can trigger a behavioral ‘flow’ that bypasses the broken circuits of the motor cortex.” (p. 245)

Game Theory

“Ensemble playing is a game of social coordination where the players must predict each other’s timing with millisecond precision.” (p. 120)

Cognition

“Amusia—the inability to perceive music—reveals that the brain has specialized modules for melody and rhythm.” (p. 102)

Memory

“Musical memory is often the last to go in Alzheimer’s; the ‘where’ and ‘what’ fade, but the ‘how it felt’ remains in the melody.” (p. 336)