Stories by Amy M. Belfi

Amy is a neuroscientist and a musician, and my research combines these two interests. I am especially interested in how music can cause us to feel strong emotions and remember memories from our lives. I study this in people with brain injury, to better understand what parts of the brain are important for connecting music and emotions. I have been a musician for almost 20 years, and enjoy singing in choirs and playing piano. My favorite types of music are punk and ska. In my spare time, I enjoy going to concerts, playing video games, and riding my bike around Iowa.

Mind & BrainMay 26, 2015

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.

Amy M. Belfi, Daniel Tranel