https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250602155001.htm Skip to main content ScienceDaily --------------------------------------------------------------------- Your source for the latest research news Follow: Facebook X/Twitter Subscribe: RSS Feeds Newsletter New! Sign up for our free email newsletter. Science News from research organizations --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dancing brainwaves: How sound reshapes your brain networks in real time What happens inside your brain when you hear a steady rhythm or musical tone? According to a new study from Aarhus University and the University of Oxford, your brain doesn't just hear it--it reorganizes itself in real time. Date: June 2, 2025 Source: Aarhus University Summary: Listening to sound doesn t just trigger brain activity it reshapes your brain s internal networks in real time. Scientists have unveiled a powerful new imaging method, FREQ-NESS, that traces how different sound frequencies ripple through brain regions like shifting waves. This discovery could revolutionize how we understand perception, attention, and even consciousness. Share: Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email FULL STORY --------------------------------------------------------------------- Featured Image Your brain dances to music more than you think -- it reconfigures itself in response to sound. A new technique reveals how rhythmic tones spark shifting brainwaves across neural networks. Credit: Shutterstock What happens inside your brain when you hear a steady rhythm or musical tone? According to a new study from Aarhus University and the University of Oxford, your brain doesn't just hear it -- it reorganizes itself in real time. Every beep, tone and new sound you hear travels from the ear to registering in your brain. But what actually happens in your brain when you listen to a continuous stream of sounds? A new study from Aarhus University and University of Oxford published in Advanced Science reveals that the brain doesn't simply register sound: it dynamically reshapes its organization in real time, orchestrating a complex interplay of brainwaves in multiple networks. The research, led by Dr. Mattia Rosso and Associate Professor Leonardo Bonetti at the Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, introduces a novel neuroimaging method called FREQ-NESS -- Frequency-resolved Network Estimation via Source Separation. Using advanced algorithms, this method disentangles overlapping brain networks based on their dominant frequency. Once a network is identified by its unique frequency, the method can then trace how it propagates in space across the brain. "We're used to thinking of brainwaves like fixed stations -- alpha, beta, gamma -- and of brain anatomy as a set of distinct regions," says Dr. Rosso. "But what we see with FREQ-NESS is much richer. It is long known that brain activity is organized through activity in different frequencies, tuned both internally and to the environment. Starting from this fundamental principle, we've designed a method that finds how each frequency is expressed across the brain." Opens the door to precise brain mapping The development of FREQ-NESS represents a major advance in how scientists can investigate the brain's large-scale dynamics. Unlike traditional methods that rely on predefined frequency bands or regions of interest, the data-driven approach maps the whole brain's internal organization with high spectral and spatial precision. And that opens new possibilities for basic neuroscience, brain-computer interfaces, and clinical diagnostics. This study adds to a growing body of research exploring how the brain's rhythmic structure shapes everything from music cognition to general perception and attention, and altered states of consciousness. "The brain doesn't just react: it reconfigures. And now we can see it," says Professor Leonardo Bonetti, co-author and neuroscientist at Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, and at the Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, University of Oxford. "This could change how we study brain responses to music and beyond, including consciousness, mind-wandering, and broader interactions with the external world." A large-scale research program is now underway to build on this methodology, supported by an international network of neuroscientists. Due to the high reliability across experimental conditions and across datasets -- FREQ-NESS might also pave the way for individualized brain mapping, explains Professor Leonardo Bonetti. * RELATED TOPICS + Mind & Brain o Brain-Computer Interfaces o Brain Injury o Intelligence o Neuroscience o Psychology o Perception o Language Acquisition o Disorders and Syndromes * RELATED TERMS + Alpha wave + Functional neuroimaging + Traumatic brain injury + Brain damage + Electroencephalography + Brain + Psychology + Psychoactive drug --------------------------------------------------------------------- Story Source: Materials provided by Aarhus University. Original written by Vibe Bregendahl Noordeloos. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Journal Reference: 1. Mattia Rosso, Gemma Fernandez-Rubio, Peter Erik Keller, Elvira Brattico, Peter Vuust, Morten L Kringelbach, Leonardo Bonetti. FREQ-NESS Reveals the Dynamic Reconfiguration of Frequency-Resolved Brain Networks During Auditory Stimulation. Advanced Science, 2025; 12 (20) DOI: 10.1002/advs.202413195 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Cite This Page: * MLA * APA * Chicago Aarhus University. "Dancing brainwaves: How sound reshapes your brain networks in real time." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 June 2025. . Aarhus University. (2025, June 2). Dancing brainwaves: How sound reshapes your brain networks in real time. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 12, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/ 250602155001.htm Aarhus University. "Dancing brainwaves: How sound reshapes your brain networks in real time." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/ 2025/06/250602155001.htm (accessed June 12, 2025). 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