Dr. Jessica Grahn, associate professor in the Psychology department and Brain and Mind Institute at the University of Western Ontario, presents the 2017 James C. Carlsen Visiting Scholar in Music Cognition and Learning lecture: Feeling the Beat: Rhythm, Movement, and the Brain.
Synopsis
Moving to musical rhythm is an instinctive, often involuntary activity. But how does the brain produce this behaviour? In this talk Dr. Grahn will describe how perception of musical rhythms activates motor brain areas even when no overt movement is made. Also covered will be studies of individual differences in rhythmic ability, examining how motor and auditory activity relate to important behavioural components of rhythm ability. Finally, she will discuss whether musical rhythm can be used to support movement in patients with movement disorders.
Bio: Jessica Grahn
Dr. Jessica Grahn investigates music neuroscience. Her primary research examines the representation of temporal sequences in the brain. She also studies how music makes us move, how musical training changes brain structure, and whether music can affect cognitive abilities (such as memory or reasoning) or benefit patients with neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Grahn has degrees in Neuroscience and Piano Performance from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. She is Associate Professor in the Psychology department and Brain and Mind Institute at the University of Western Ontario. Dr. Grahn’s research is supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the GRAMMY foundation, Parkinson Society Canada, and several Canadian research councils.
James C. Carlsen Visiting Scholar in Music Cognition and Learning
Dr. Grahn's visit and lecture are made possible with support from the James C. Carlsen Visiting Scholar in Music Cognition and Learning. Additional funding for Dr. Grahn’s visit is provided by the Bobbette Koon Endowment in Music Therapy.
Established in honor of Professor Emeritus James Carlsen, founder of the UW Systematic Musicology graduate program (established in 1967 and active through the mid-1990s), the support fund enables the School of Music to bring multiple scholars to the School each year to share the latest research on music cognition and provide support for Music Education students and faculty to advance research in this field of study.