Experience
University of
Jyväskylä
Research Assistant
Worked part-time as a research assistant for the project "Rhythm of Life", assisting in data collection.
February 2025 - July 2025
University of Jyväskylä
Research Assistant
Assisting in an EEG study on interpersonal coordination, at the Center of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body, & Brain, as part of completing credits towards my masters.
My responsibilities included participant recruitment and communication, scheduling of the experiment sessions and EEG data collection.
February 2024 - December 2024
University of Jyväskylä
SysMus24 Conference Organizing Committee Member
I was a student volunteer in the organizing committee of SysMus24, which took place at the university in June 2024.
This included being present in meetings, assisting in the social media posts of the event, and the event organization on the days of the conference.
January 2024 - June 2024
University of Jyväskylä
Volunteer for Researcher's Night 2023
I was a volunteer assisting in the event of Researcher's Night which took place in the Department of Music, Art and Cultural Studies and the Center of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body & Brain.
September 29th, 2023
University of Jyväskylä
Research Interests
- Music in sports and physical activity contexts.
- Music Information Research.
- Music Perception and Cognition.
- Music and Neuroscience.
- Music and Emotions: themes related to depression, stress and emotion regulation through music.
Master's Thesis Abstract
Several studies have examined the effects of tempo variations on the brain in both controlled and naturalistic experimental settings, using either short musical excerpts with different tempos or gradual tempo changes, proving the engagement of auditory, motor, and emotion-related brain areas. However, these studies have not focused explicitly on real-time tempo fluctuations. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how tempo fluctuations impact brain activation during naturalistic music listening, aiming to bridge the gap between artificial music listening conditions and real-world experiences, by using real musical pieces with diverse tempo variabilities and genres. A previously collected fMRI dataset was utilized, where 36 healthy adults (18 female) listened to three musical pieces while undergoing fMRI. Each piece lasted approximately 8 minutes and had different levels of tempo variability and instability. The tempo fluctuations were computed using MIR Toolbox and quantified through the derivative of tempo over time. This was then correlated with the fMRI time series to determine which brain areas were involved in the processing of tempo fluctuations. The results showcased some common correlations between musical stimuli, however, there were some brain areas that were distinct for each stimulus. Negative correlations were observed in the auditory cortices (superior temporal gyrus, Heschl's gyrus) and sensorimotor area (Rolandic operculum) for two out of the three stimuli, while the cerebellum showed a negative correlation for one stimulus and a positive correlation for another. Other key areas of interest were seen in the occipital area (cuneus, lingual gyrus) and precuneus, but this was not consistent with all stimuli. Findings from this research could be applied in everyday music listening and within sports and physical activity contexts, neurologic music therapy, and inform therapeutic strategies for motor recovery after brain-related injuries.
Presentations:
18th International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology (SysMus25)
June 11-13, 2025 - Zoom (Poster)
20th Rhythm Perception and Production Workshop (RPPW 20)
June 16-19, 2025 - University of Jyväskylä, Finland (Poster)