Decoding reveals the neural representation of held and manipulated musical thoughts.

Imagining vividly a sequence of sounds is a skill that most humans exert with relatively little effort. However, it is unknown how the brain achieves such an outstanding feat. Here, we used decoding techniques and non-invasive electrophysiology to investigate how sequences of sounds are represented in the brain. We report that auditory regions represent the sensory properties of individual sounds while association areas represent melodies as abstract entities. Moreover, we show that mentally manipulating a melody changes its neural representation across the brain. Understanding auditory representations and their volitional control opens the path for future work on decoding of imagined auditory objects and possible applications in cognitive brain computer interfaces.