American Music Therapy Association

In the last 20 years, the field of music, music education, music therapy and neuroscience has blossomed into a recognized research entity. Things are moving quickly, making it difficult for practitioners and clinicians to keep up with new developments. Synthesize, disseminate, and discuss the latest and greatest in music and neuroscience research with the goal of translating basic research to the clinical setting (i.e., from bench to bedside).

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will interpret common methods used in music and neuroscience research (e.g. behavior + neuroimaging + biosensors). (BCD II.D.14.)
2. Participants will understand and explain the importance of study design. (BCD 11.D.2.b)
3. Participants will learn and interpret recent meta-analyses in the field (e.g. basic + education + clinical). (BCD III.B.7; IV.A.6)
4. Participants will apply basic research to your clinical practice (e.g. bench to bedside). Techniques for application will be discussed throughout the entire presentation. (BCD III.3.f)

​Schedule: 

• During the first hour of the presentation, common music and neuroscience techniques will be discussed. These will include neuroimaging (e.g., structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography), neurophysiology (e.g., transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct stimulation), biomechanics (e.g., electromagnetic sensors and electromyography), psychological stimuli (e.g., Stroop, go/nogo, stop signal, digit span) and music specific psychological stimuli.
• During the second hour of the presentation, music and neuroscience study design will be discussed. These will include descriptive vs. experimental, quantitative vs. qualitative, phases of clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, non-randomized controlled trials, placebo-controlled trials, pragmatic trials, cross-over trials, cross-sectional studies, meta-analyses, systematic review.
• During the third hour of the presentation, attendees will learn how to interpret music and neuroscience meta-analyses. We will also discuss the latest music and neuroscience meta-analyses regarding within different clinical populations (e.g., dementia, anxiety and depression, Parkinson’s disease).
• During the fourth hour, attendees will learn and discuss how to apply all they’ve learned from the latest and greatest in neuroscience research into their clinical practice. We will discuss examples of neuroscience and music studies demonstrating  “from the bench to the bedside” Finally, the intersection and application of research in neuroscience and music education and music therapy will be
• The session will wrap-up with main takeaways from each hour and a short feedback survey.