Don Satz writes:

>Just one more thing.  How many fibers are in each inner ear?  Do we all
>have the same number, or do the musically enlightened have more of them?

Rather than attribute special properties to the ear itself, I think it
would be more appropriate to look at the brain, particularly the right
middle temporal region.  Amusia, the impaired capacity to recognize or
properly process non-verbal acoustic stimuli, is usually associated with
lesions in that area.  Aphasia, the inability to process speech, seems
to be associated with the *left* hemisphere.  There are many records of
aphasic patients retaining musical ability, even being able to sing, even
though the words themselves have no meaning to the patient.  There is some
speculation that trained musicians experience a shift in the area of music
processing to include both hemispheres - I can't think of just how far
research has gone in establishing the actual extent of this.

(I know, I know, Jourdain's book "Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy" is
out there and I just haven't read it. Yet.)

Mark
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