What I found when I scanned the brains of kids creating tunes on the piano

Research finds that jazz musicians use different parts of their brain when improvising, compared with playing something they know. pasha999/iStock via Getty Images

Research shows that improvisation and creativity are good for the brain. In an episode of the Greater Good Science Center’s “Science of Happiness” podcast, host Shuka Kalantari talked to Karen Barrett about what happens in the brain when people improvise music. Barrett is an assistant professor in the Institute for Health & Aging at the University of California, San Francisco who researches the effects of music on aging and health.