Musicians have different brains – that fact we have known for a long time. The study of musician and non-musician brains is probably one of the first stories in the science of neural (brain) plasticity; the idea that our brains respond and become modified by the things we experience in everyday life. Nowadays the existence of neural plasticity is beyond doubt: We see regular, remarkable examples of how the human brain, at any age although particularly in childhood, is able to re-organise itself in response to circumstances. For example, we know the brain can adapt after stroke or serious injury, after the loss of any of the senses and even…

I love a good summary paper. You know the kind; one where someone takes the trouble to summarise the literature in an area and present the current theories and evidence in an engaging and thorough way. Not many authors produce them nowadays; I can see why, as they will quickly date and it is often hard to get journals to publish papers that contain no unique data. But they are so very valuable! They are wonderful for teaching as they provide a goldmine of references and when they are fresh and new they provide a constructive overview of how a field of study is developing. And so my heart was…