Science Friday A Neurologist Investigates His Own Musical Hallucinations
Dec 24, 2025
In this engaging discussion, neurologist Bruce Dobkin, a professor at UCLA Health, shares his personal journey with musical hallucinosis following a cochlear implant. He vividly describes hearing a relentless choir singing the 'Star-Spangled Banner' and how it connects to Oliver Sacks’ observations. Dobkin explains the brain's tendency to impose musical structure on sounds, the surprising prevalence of this condition, and shares coping strategies. His insights into sensory processing and neuroplasticity make for a captivating exploration of how our brains perceive music.
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Relentless Choir After Implant
- Bruce Dobkin heard the Star-Spangled Banner looped nonstop every 62 seconds for three and a half weeks after his cochlear implant.
- The music later switched to nursery songs and then to nonsense lyrics he couldn't control.
Bacon-Grease Voices
- After his cochlear implant, voices sounded distorted, like
Hallucinations Use Real Music Circuits
- Brain regions active during musical hallucinosis match those used when actually hearing music, including auditory and rhythmic cortex.
- This suggests hallucinated music uses the same neural networks as real perception.