Currently in my anatomy and physiology of speech class, we are studying the most basic of neuroanatomy. As this is technically an undergraduate course in the speech pathology field, it really is more basic than a full-on neuro course. Nonetheless, I am loving it! How could you not see the way the brain communicates with itself and other parts of the body as fascinating? And if you don't, maybe I can help bring it home to singing.
Let's start with the basic regions of the brain. We all know, in one way or another, about our prefrontal cortex. This is the area located right behind your forehead. This is the seat of your decision making, personality, reasoning, and what philosophers call "qualia." Qualia is the "what it's like to you" character of mental states. It's the way YOU see the color red, smell a rose, etc. The idea behind qualia is that every experience you have had is unique and individual to you, even if someone else was there. It's undefinable...which would be why philosophers like it so much. (Well, it's still pretty cool to the rest of us too.) The frontal cortex is pretty much the "boss" of who we are. It also sends signals out to the motor cortex when we cognitively command our body to do something, like dance, yoga, running, speaking, or singing.
As you can see up there in the brain image I posted, still in the frontal lobe of the brain is the primary motor cortex (called the "somamotor cortex" above). This pretty much does what it's named for: it sends the motor-coordination signals out from the brain (via a lot of different nerves) to the rest of your body. Okay, just to set up my next point here's a quick little brain-fact: the cortex is the upper "layer" of brain tissue that deals in higher functions. The cortex is made up of six layers of different neurons with different jobs to do. So, these layers vary in thickness throughout the cortex depending on what area is in charge of what. In the primary motor cortex, the layer of neurons associated with projecting signals to motor centers beyond the cerebrum is at its thickest throughout the cortex. Just as in the primary sensory cortex, the neurons associated with receiving information from other areas is at its thickest. Pretty cool stuff, huh? Also interesting in the motor cortex is the fact that larger regions of the cortex itself is in charge of fine-motor movements, such as the production of voice, and smaller regions do the gross motor movements, like moving your quadriceps. Yup, even though your quadriceps are the larger muscles, the motor cortex assigns more space to finer movements of smaller muscles. In light of that, here are a few cool facts for ya: A single motor neuron triggers fewer than 10 muscle fibers in the muscles controlling eye movement. A single motor neuron for the calf muscle triggers 1000-2000 muscle fibers, but for the laryngeal motor unit, there are 2-3 muscle fibers per one single motor neuron. That means there are more neurons devoted to moving the laryngeal muscles than your calf muscle and eye muscles. (Did that blow your mind a little bit? It did mine, but I'm a huge geek, so it's hard for me to tell if that's a normal response or not.)
In contrast, the primary sensory cortex doesn't have much space devoted to receiving sensory information from the larynx in comparison to some other areas of the body. So if you're getting all frustrated because you can't "feel" what's happening in there, it's cause your brain has decided it didn't really need to know that much. It didn't devote much space to receiving impulses from there. But...your primary auditory cortex does send sensory information about the sounds it hears. (Just my theory, but I think that's why it's so hard to "stop listening" to yourself as a singer. You're entire speech system is governed by the information received from the auditory cortex. It's known as the feedback loop, and it's very important in speech production. For example, this is why it is very difficult for profoundly deaf people to speak intelligibly: they are getting no information from the auditory to sensory cortex loop to inform the motor cortex of the proper motor planning for speech.)
So where am I going with all of this? Now, this is so much more of a theory than actual researched fact, but I believe this is why "imagery" teaching works so well for some and so poorly for others. It is why teachers who teach well with those techniques can alter their images student to student and why some students can thrive with one "imagery" teacher where others crash and burn. So much of the imagery we use is dependent on our qualia of that image. All our personal experiences and concepts are poured into the image. Due to that, who knows what muscle coordination pattern is being sent to our motor cortex when we command our body to sing off of that image? (For that matter, it's probably why one image works great for a little while and then stops working. Our qualia of that image has shifted due to it's usage, and so the "command center" is sending a different command in relation to it.) I also believe this is why imagery can be such a powerful teaching tool, when in the right hands. The right image can really command the right coordination so much more quickly than trying to "sense" the right coordination. Our frontal cortex is a direct link to our motor planning. Our sensory cortex, which is already a little more "out of it" on the laryngeal side of things, sends it's information to the frontal cortex ,which then process it and sends out motor planning in response. Truth is, even if your image is a scientific one, it's still an image that's working from frontal cortex to motor down to larynx and back up to your sensory/auditory cortex where to process repeats over and over again. I'm personally having a lot of luck with having my high school students imagine the tilting of the thyroid cartilage as their cricothyroid contracts as they go into their higher range. (The thought is not to think "vertically" and send the wrong vertical motor response which I think might have something to do with too much laryngeal elevation.) But, this is still an image, right? Who actually senses their cricothyroid while it contracts? I know I don't. I can also always back up any image I give with a scientific explanation of what I'm trying to get at. That way, I can work with that student to figure out what image will work with their qualia and yield the muscle response I'm after in our lesson.
So next time a teacher or coach gives you an image that just ain't working, consult with your qualia, talk with your teacher, and see if you can find something that will work for you. (And yes, I'm sure I will geek out a lot more about this neuroscience stuff along my new study path since I plan on making it part of my specialty.)
1 comment:
I am soooo enjoying your writing. Great information with a unique, light-hearted style. Qualia anyone?
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