Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior
-
During an investigation designed to explore the effects of brain lesions on musical ability in professional musicians, the Seashore Scale was used to discover whether focal damage was associated with specific impairment of any of the basic elements of musical talent. In order to obtain adequate control of the experimental group it was necessary to study a comparable group of professional musicians. ⋯ This unexpected finding sheds doubt on Seashore's assumptions about the requirements for high musical talent. It also raises questions on the use of the Seashore battery in certain areas of psychological research.