393

H. Kierulf, neurologist, Oslo, Norway.

Shostakovich: Left side ventricle fragment and music?

"It is not possible to localise creative activities such a s compo-
sition o r performance within the brain. Only elementary physio-
logical functiones c a n be assigned to different areas o f cortex...
Composition, performance and listening demand sence of sight and
hearing, intellectual and emotional functiones and sensory motor
activity. This implies wide involvement of the cerebral cortex,
subcortical motor and sensory nuclei and limbic system in the intaci
musician. (1). Music i s not only the upper temporal lobe region,
Brodmann-area 41. ( 2 ) . Indeed w e d o k n o w very little about the
relation between musicality and the brain function, auditory
hallucinationes and eventually musicogenic epilepsy (1).
Norwegian authors have contributed to this discussions, but without
conclusive results. (4, 5).

In the wellknown British magazine: "The musical Times" was present-

ed a short article from a Chinese neurologist, Dajue Wang, named
"Shostakovich: Music o n the Brain?" Our c o l l q u e told the follow-
ing story ( 3 ):
"It w a s shortly after the war. A new patient came to my clinic and
as he entered the room I recognized him a t once as our most celebra-
ted composer. After the usual preliminaries I asked him what his
problem w a s and he explained that he had a piece o f metal embedded
in his head and wondered whether it shoulb be removed. In some
surprise I said I thought it w a s probably advisable, but asked him
how it came to be there. During the w a r , he explained. he had been
in a city which had been under siege and he had been injured when
a shell exploded in the street near him. Medical care had been
limited and i t w a s only after he recovered that the fragment of
metal had been discovered.
I sent him to the X-ray department so that I could check exactly
where the fragment w a s , and a few minutes later I w a s examening the
still wet plates. I saw at once that the fragment was deep inside
the brain and I felt it was certainly better that it be removed. I
told the patient this, but he seemed uncertain and reluctant to ac-
cept my advice. Eventually he explained why. Since the fragment
had been there, he said, each time he leaned his head to one side

50 NEVROLOG
 394

he could hear music. His head was filled with melodies - different
each time - which he then made use of when composing. Moving his
head back level immediately stopped the music".
This interesting story is giving us many new questions:
1. Is the story true? Perhaps not, as the musicologists have
never heard about it. The sovietologwsor his biographers neither
(7, 8, 9, lo, 11, 12, 1 3 and 14).
2. If the story is true, what influence did it have on Shostako-
vich music? It is difficult to find real changes in his music
before and after the siege of Leningrad (September -41 - January
-44), but we will try to elucidate this by presenting examples from
his opus 3 4 , 8 7 , lo., 47, 6 0 and 141,
3. If the story is true, what is the neurophysiological conclu-
siones to be drawn?

Litterature.
1. Critchley, Macdonald and Henson, R.A.: Music and the brain,
London 1977.
2. Brodal, A., Centralnervesystemet, Oslo 1974.
3. Wang, D.; Shostakovich: Music on the Brain?, The Musical
Times, June 1983, 347-48.
4. Monrad-Krohn, G.H.: Dysprosody or altered "melody of language".
Brain 1947, 70, 405.
5. Ustvedt, H.J.: Ober die Untersuchung der musikalischen Funktion
bei Pasienten mit Gehirnenleiden, besonders bei Pasienten mit
Afasie, Helsingfors 1937.
6. Clynes, M.: Music, mind and brain, New York 1 9 8 2 .
7. Blokker, R.; The music of Dimitri Shostakovich. London 1979.
8. Brockhaus, H.A.: ~ i m i t r iSchostakowitsch, LeipZig 1973.
9. Goday, R.I.: Norsk Musikktidsskrift, 1975, 4 , 151-5. 1955.
lo - Kay, N.: Schostakovich. London 1974.
11. Martinov, I.: Shostakovich: The Mand an his work, New York 1946.
12. Meyer, K.: Dimitri Schostakowitsch, Leipzig 1980.
13. Rabinovich, D.: Dimitri Shostakovich Composer, Moskva 1959.
14. Seroff, V.I.: Dimitri Shostakovich, New York 1947.