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It has been well established that Epipremnum aureum (Golden Pothos) has the capability to rid the air of various toxins, including carbon monoxide, benzene, and formaldehyde. However, while various studies have looked into the threshold of toxins Pothos can remove, the metabolic pathway and products of the detoxification process, as well as its effects on the overall metabolic health and stability of the purifying species, remain unknown. In this study, an isolated Pothos leaf underwent 24-hour exposure periods during which formaldehyde solution (5.43M) was introduced at a constant rate (evaporated at atmospheric pressure) into the isolation chamber. Mass spectroscopy analysis revealed atmospheric CO2 levels to fall into a negatively-correlated phase pattern with formaldehyde vapour concentration, in contrast to control fluctuations within atmospheric O2 and N2 levels. Results implicate a C1 metabolic pathway as Pothos’ primary purification mechanism for formaldehyde, in addition to partial oxidation of the end product (i.e. formate) into CO2.

If, in fact, neuronal activity patterns in the brain are dominantly driven by external forces and environmental stimuli (Hasson et al. 2004), rather than individual variation, music, and certain musical features, should elicit directly correlated neuronal responses across specific structures of the brain—effects as strong as that examination and analysis of brain activity in one subject could accurately predict activations in another (brain). Importantly, locating areal responses and activity patterns to musical stimulation could uncover novel information as to brain network functions, as well as yield insight into the neural foundations of the creative mind. Subjects, comprised of highly trained (HT) classical musicians (St. Louis Symphony) undergo functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) scanning to map neuronal activity triggered by intervals of music (Haydn Symphony No. 3), silence, and noise. Observed activation included the auditory, posterior cingulate, and visual cortices. The posterior cingulate cortex, a central node in the brain’s Default Mode Network, has been strongly implicated in associations with episodic memory retrieval, working memory performance, human awareness, and several intrinsic control networks. The visual cortex is responsible for processing visual information; such activation may affirm the neuro-physical manifestation of HT performers’ staple sensualization of music—music experienced as color, flavor, feeling, mood, etc.