Research

It’s Raining Awesome YouTube Videos!

March 28, 2011

Ever hear the saying “when it rains, it pours”? Well, it was raining awesome YouTube videos for me last week! Below are three videos I highly recommend you watch. The first is an interview between Ellen (yes, THAT Ellen) and Jodi Picoult, author of the music therapist’s favorite new book, Sing You Home. They don’t […]

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It’s Brain Awareness Week!

March 18, 2011
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Did you know that this week is Brain Awareness Week (BAW)? I didn’t! According to the Dana Foundation, BAW is a global campaign aimed at increasing “public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research.” I don’t know the history behind how BAW got started, but it now happens every March. BAW highlights efforts […]

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A Musical Way to Help Babies Sleep

October 13, 2010
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I love podcasts. I’ve written about my favorite podcasts before, and now I have another to add to the list! Earlier this summer, I was introduced to the “Music and the Brain” podcast published by the Library of Congress. They don’t post new episodes often, but when they do, they’re quality and highly informative. The […]

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[VIDEO] Music as a Core Function in Our Brain

September 29, 2010
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So is it a bad thing to brag on your own blog? The bragging isn’t just for me, it’s mostly for my husband. My husband, Steve, is a lifelong band director, conductor, and music educator. The other week, he gave a talk exploring the theory that music is a core function in our brain. He […]

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New Research on the “Mozart Effect”

May 20, 2010
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NOTE: I originally published this article on my Psychology Today blog, Your Musical Self, earlier this week. I thought you may enjoy reading it, so am sharing it with you here today. It’s finally here. I’ve been waiting for this research for a long time. Have you ever heard of the Mozart Effect? The popular […]

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Video: The 3 Neurotransmitters

March 18, 2010

Last fall, you heard The Neurodevelopment Song. In January, it was Watch and Learn: The Mirror Neuron Song. Today, I bring you the third song in this (yet-to-be-named) series: The 3 Neurotransmitters. As therapists, we literally re-wire the brains of our clients. That type of re-wiring happens because of certain chemicals in our brain, called […]

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Watch and Learn: The Mirror Neuron Song

January 28, 2010

In the 1990s, scientists at the University of Parma were studying motor neurons in monkeys. They attached electrodes to a monkey’s brain cells responsible for movements. These electrodes recorded whenever those cells fired…a.k.a. whenever the monkey moved. Monkeys like peanuts. The researchers set out peanuts for the monkeys to grab. Monkey grabs a peanut, motor […]

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The Neurodevelopment Song (Video)

December 3, 2009

You asked for it and here it is–“The Neurodevelopment Song.” Why did I write a song about neurodevelopment? Mostly because I’m a big nerd…but also because I’m trying to improve my songwriting chops. And the only way to do that is to actually write songs. I first performed this during my presentation at the American […]

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“The Traumatized Brain” Handouts

November 14, 2009

If you’ve been following me on this blog or on Twitter and Facebook, you know that I am writing this from the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) national conference. We are in sunny San Diego–the weather is perfect, the palm trees are beautiful, and the tobacco warning signs read: “Warning: This area contains various chemicals […]

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