Name That Tune: What Parts of Our Brains Do We Use for Naming Songs?

Proper nouns are names for unique persons, places, and things. One of these “things” can be songs. Songs have specific names, such as “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” or “Jingle Bells.” When you hear a song, you often think of its name. We conducted a scientific study to find out which parts of the brain are important for naming a famous song. We already had some clues about which brain region might be important – we knew from previous research that the left temporal pole (LTP) is an important brain region for naming proper nouns. Proper nouns refer to unique persons, places, and things. One of those “things” can be songs, and famous songs have specific names like “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and “Jingle Bells.” We conducted a scientific study to determine which parts of the brain are important for the process of naming famous songs. We already had some clues – we knew from previous research that people with damage to the left temporal pole (LTP) lost their ability to name famous people and places (landmarks). These people had strokes or surgery that damaged the LTP, and were unable to come up with names such as “Barack Obama” or “the Grand Canyon.” In a new study, we investigated whether persons with LTP damage could name famous musical songs. The participants listened to famous songs and tried to name them. We found that participants with damage to the LTP had difficulty naming these songs. They named significantly fewer songs than participants with damage in other parts of the brain or participants with no brain damage whatsoever. Our findings support the theory that the LTP is the key brain region necessary for naming unique items, and for the first time, we know these items also include music.