CROCODILES LISTENED TO BACH IN A SCANNER

What did they do?

A team of researchers from Ruhr University Bochum in Germany put year-old Nile crocodiles into an MRI scanner and played them Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4.

Why did they do that?

Crocodiles originated over 200 million years ago, and their brains have barely changed since, making them a good modern-day representative of ancient brains. Scientists study crocodiles to understand at which point certain brain structures and behaviours first emerged. The point of the study was to examine how the crocodile brains respond to complex sounds, and see how those compared to the patterns seen in more recently evolved mammals and birds.

What did they find?

Different areas of the crocodilian brain were activated by complex music, such as Bach, compared to those activated by basic notes. The patterns are similar to those seen in mammals and birds exposed to music, suggesting that the ability to process complex sounds was preserved and passed down, and evolved earlier than previously thought.