The Psychology of Music & The Nervous System

About this event

Discover how the brain builds sound into music, and why it can move us to tears, action, or a shiver down the spine. Followed by Q&A. We take our ability to hear, understand and be moved by music for granted – yet it's an extraordinarily complex achievement. From vibrations reaching the eardrum, the brain constructs patterns of pitch, rhythm, timbre and structure, weaving them together with memory and expectation to produce powerful emotional and physiological responses. In this workshop, Prof Lauren Stewart explores how much of music's emotional power may come down to prediction. Our brain is constantly anticipating what happens next, while music plays with those expectations – confirming or breaking them to create tension, surprise and pleasure. She’ll also look at how listening to music activates the brain's motor networks, and creates vivid imagery and physiological responses like shivers down the spine. Finally, we'll see how learning an instrument can actually rewire your brain over time. Explore how the brain builds the perception of pitch, rhythm and sound into music Understand how prediction and expectation shape music's emotional power Discover the deep links between music, movement and emotion in the brain Learn how learning an instrument can reshape the brain Stream Opens 5pm, Talk Starts 5:05pm! Lauren is Professor of Psychology at the University of Roehampton.. She has published widely on topics including learning and plasticity, congenital amusia, earworms and therapeutic aspects of music. She has been engaged in several citizen science and public engagement projects, including a Silent Disco earworm experiment at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry, a live experiment on musical plagiarism at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre and an in depth discussion on the ‘Tingle Factor’ in music as part of Radio 3’s Wellcome Collection residency. She is currently leading a large global health initiative called CHIME Project, which explores how culturally embedded musical practices can support women’s mental health during pregnancy. ⭐ Seed Talks have done an incredible job at making insanely cool topics easily digestible and enjoyable to learn about for ones self improvement. It's like Ted Talks, but cooler? And more accessible! - Eva W ⭐ I've attended a few of your talks over the past few months and have absolutely loved them so first of all thank you so much for bringing joy and understanding to the world of neuroscience. - Joe F This event is 16+