January 10th, 2017: Canadian University Dubai (CUD) is collaborating with faculty from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in a pioneering research initiative that aims to determine the impact of music on the functioning of the brain.
Dr. Efthymios Papatzikis, Assistant Professor of Educational Neuroscience at CUD, is working alongside Associate Professor Anri Herbst from UCT’s South African College of Music to conclude whether musical elements can induce specific and parallel neurobehavioural responses.
As part of the three year project, studies are to be conducted with volunteers at CUD later this month, to help contribute to data collection on the physiological and behavioural responses of participants to different music styles.
Dr. Papatzikis explained, “We are inviting the community to take part in this unique study focusing on the brain, music and emotion. Participants will listen to two ethnically different pieces of music and through an EEG recording, combined with verbal feedback and artistic responses, we will assess their reactions to the different works.
“As well as contributing to a pioneering project that will help to improve our understanding of the relationship between music and brain development and wellbeing, participants will have the opportunity to interact with high-tech neuroimaging equipment in a research setting.”
The project, which is funded by the National Research Foundation South Africa and the Oppenheimer Foundation, builds upon Dr. Papatzikis’ other research activities surrounding brain and music interfaces, which range from the role of music in children’s neurological development, to its potential in slowing the degenerative effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
The first step in the data collection process involves an EEG recording, which studies electrical activity, measured using electrodes on the scalp. This recording will be made while participants are listening to the two music compositions. The second step requires participants to make a free drawing in response to each of the two pieces when listening to the recordings, while the third step involves participants writing a narrative about each of the compositions.
In the fourth step, participants report continuous responses for each composition by identifying descriptive adjectives and intensity ratings based on intermittent light cues, while the final step involves individual, open-ended interviews with each participant to explore their thought processes.
The data collection will be taking place at the CUD campus from January 14th – 23rd, 2017. Anyone interested in taking part in the study can contact e.papatzikis@cud.ac.ae for further information.
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