Music & Science
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, or how they may affect musicians and non-musicians differently. This study investigates how tempo fluctuations impact brain dynamics during naturalistic music listening, aiming to bridge the gap between artificial music listening conditions and real-world experiences, using real musical pieces with diverse tempo variabilities. Brain dynamics here refer to the changes in neural activation and patterns, involved in processing, adapting to, and responding to music. The data used comes from a previously collected fMRI dataset, where thirty-six healthy participants (18 female) listened to three musical pieces while undergoing fMRI. Half of the participants were professional musicians, while the rest were non-musicians. Each piece lasted approximately 8 minutes and had different levels of tempo variability and instability. Tempo was extracted using MIR Toolbox, and its rate of change was quantified by calculating the derivative of tempo over time. These data were correlated with the fMRI time series, and group differences were tested using non-parametric t-tests. It is expected that motor system areas will be activated during fluctuating tempos, including the premotor cortex, basal ganglia, cerebellum, and supplementary motor area. Additionally, tempo accelerations are expected to induce an increased frontal activation in the left hemisphere and temporal cortex. The results will provide further insights into the neural mechanisms underlying tempo fluctuations while enhancing our understanding of how the brain processes complex auditory stimuli in real-world contexts. Furthermore, these insights could have applications in neurologic music therapy and inform therapeutic strategies for motor recovery after brain related injuries.
MA Music and Science
University of Jyväskylä, September 2023 - present
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)
Research Interests
- Music and Neuroscience
- How musical features affect brain processes and their applications in music therapy, rehabilitation, etc.
- Music Perception and Cognition
- Music and its applications in sports and physical activity.
- Music and Emotions: themes related to depression, stress and emotion regulation through music.
- Music Information Research
Experience
Research Assistant
Currently working 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