The MUSIC (MUsic and Science Interdisciplinary Collaboration) Research Cluster is dedicated to music cognition, an interdisciplinary field encompassing music, cognitive science, psychology, linguistics, biology, neuroscience, medicine, and more. Our research seeks to contribute to the understanding of how we as humans perceive, process, engage with, and respond to music through collaboration across diverse disciplines.
Our research falls broadly into three areas:
- Music in Therapeutic and Clinical Settings: We investigate music's role in treating neurodegenerative, neurodivergent, and psychiatric conditions, focusing on its effects on movement, emotional well-being, and cognition, particularly in Parkinson’s disease.
- Music Learning and Neurodivergence: We research how neurodivergences like dyslexia, ASD, and ADHD affect music learning, aiming to develop diagnostic tools and educational strategies to support these students in music theory and aural skills.
- Music and Language Acquisition and Processing: Our studies explore how music’s rhythm and pitch interact with language processing, enhancing understanding of auditory processing and the music-language connection.
We are a group of 16 researchers from diverse disciplines across UBC Vancouver, united by a shared interest in music cognition, led by Dr. Leigh VanHandel as the Cluster Lead Principal Investigator (PI). Numerous affiliated faculty members, students, and organizations have also expressed interest in joining and contributing to the cluster’s activities.
Through Cluster Workshops, Speaker Series, and Outreach activities, the MUSIC Research Cluster fosters interdisciplinary conversation, collaboration, and research through organized knowledge and idea exchanges. It provides opportunities for collaborative learning and research across UBC's campus. We invite researchers, students, and the wider community interested in music cognition to join us in exploring the powerful connections between music and the mind.