Your Brain on Live Performance

We are exploring the unspoken connection between performer and audience. By scanning brainwaves during live performances at NEC, we hope to gain insight into how classical musicians move you.

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Be a part of the study!

Collaboration

Arun Asthagiri

I am extremely excited to embark on this project with you! I am a violinist at NEC and constant questioner of music and its perception. I am very grateful for this opportunity to explore the intersection of performance, cognition and human connection. In bringing together resources from NEC and Northeastern, we are bridging communities with our goal to understand how we communicate through music.

New England Conservatory

NEC has generously provided funding for the study through an EM Grant. With this funding, we are compensating all musicians and audience members who participate. In addition, we have the privilege of running the study in NEC's concert halls. This is a novel project, and NEC has given us its support in bringing brain scanning equipment into a conservatory setting.

Northeastern's MIND Lab

Dr. Psyche Loui, director of the MIND Lab, has generously decided to mentor the project. The lab's resources allow us to run EEG scans of the brain with state of the art brain scanning technology. Additionally a renowned researcher in her field, Dr. Loui is overseeing the structure, analysis and planning of the project.