I have a mental iPod

Imagine having a radio in your head with a dial that you can't control. Such is the fate of a small number of people who have a neurological condition that causes them to have musical hallucinations. These people hear music even when none is being played. 30 patients studied by Dr. Victor Aziz, a phychiatrist at St. Caddoc's Hospital in Wales, reported hearing a variety of music, including "don't cry for me Argentina" and "3 blind mice". 6 reported hearing the hymn "abide with me." Aziz's study also shows that these auditory hallucinations are different from those of schizophrenics, who hear voices as well as music. Instead, the songs arise in special networks of neurons whose only function is to perceive music. Aziz says people tend to hallucinate songs they've heard hundreds of times, or which have special significance to them. In the future, he believes, musical hallucinations will be more common, because people hear music everywhere they go-in elevators, on TV, and through their iPods. "People will hear more pop and classical music than they do now," Aziz tells the New York Times. "I hope I live long enough to find out myself in 20 years' time."