Students listen to an auditory illusion that blurs the line between speech and song.
This is an illusion discovered by Dr. Diana Deutsch at the University of California, San Diego. Some researchers spend their entire academic careers studying how the brain misinterprets information, leading to illusions.
Exactly why this illusion occurs is not fully understood, but it does suggest a strong link between speech and music. In Dr. Deutch's study, even professional vocalists with years of musical training and a well-tuned ear hear a melody where no melody exists. Her observations tell us that although the ear may hear the same words with no variation, the brain can transform the information into more than one result, such as spoken words or a melody.
