Pablo Ripollés, Assistant Professor of Music Technology and Psychology and Associate Director of the Music and Auditory Research Laboratory (MARL), and Anna Palumbo, a Nordoff-Robbins therapist and researcher, completing her doctoral studies in May, have been awarded the prestigious Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Award.
Their project, “Social Motor Synchrony in Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy: Identifying Benefits for Social Communication among Autistic Children,” received a substantial research grant to explore how Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy can enhance social motor synchrony (SMS) and support social communication in autistic children.
The study lies at the heart of Neuroarts, a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field rooted in neuroaesthetics. Neuroarts investigates how arts and aesthetic experiences affect the brain, body, and behavior—and how these effects can be harnessed to promote health and well-being.
“This project will investigate the use of music therapy to promote social communication in autistic children,” said Palumbo. “The work will continuously measure social motor synchrony with wearable sensors and then relate the information to changes in social communication over the course of therapy.
The measurement systems being used in the project was developed by Dr. Lauren Fink, from the Institute for Music & the Mind and the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior at McMaster University. Fink is a collaborator on the project. Learn more about the Renee Fleming Award.
