Functional Neuroimaging of Stimulation by Music Using Positron Emission Tomography

Music is one of the oldest experimental study subjects in psychology. Functional neurological techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography, are powerful methods of investigation of neural structure and functional correlates of music processing in humans. Herein, we offer a conceptual review of music and methodological guide to illustrate the value of PET as a valuable method of investigating a multitude of complex cognitive functions related to music and the neural mechanisms of these functions with an emphasis on perception of components of musical processing, the emotions induced by music, and the factors that may influence the results of activated brain regions described by literatures in studies of musical neural basis imaged using PET.