Large million grant: Music as the key to the brain's creativity
Two Danish foundations are donating a total of 20 million kroner to the Center for Music in the Brain (MIB) at Aarhus University. The Lundbeck Foundation and Salling Foundations have each contributed 10 million kroner to the center over a three-year period.
“It makes perfect sense that these two foundations are supporting research on music and the brain - Lundbeck Foundation, which funds brain research, and Salling Foundations, which has a broader societal mission,” says Peter Vuust, head of the Center for Music in the Brain at Aarhus University and professor at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg.
The grant will enable research into how music affects the human brain. According to Peter Vuust, music plays a special role in the brain’s fundamental functions, particularly its ability to form predictions and adapt through training.
The funding will be used, among other things, to investigate human creativity and innovation. MIB will utilize musical improvisation as a key to understanding what happens in the brain when we create something new. What enables us to generate new ideas, and what conditions must be in place to foster the best environments for creativity and innovation? Are some brains better at it than others? What mechanisms in the human brain allow us to come up with new ideas when working alone or in collaboration with others?
“Music is particularly interesting in brain research because it activates the brain on many levels. When we listen to music, move to it, or are emotionally affected by it, different parts of the brain work together. It is an excellent model for understanding how the brain functions and how it changes when we learn and create something new,” explains Peter Vuust.
The research project could have implications for future treatments of brain disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and stroke. Additionally, the findings may contribute to the development of new methods for pain relief, sleep improvement, and rehabilitation, as well as support for individuals with autism, ADHD, and artificial hearing.
Contact
Professor and Center Director Peter Vuust
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine - Center for Music in the Brain &
Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg
Phone: +45 27 11 94 71
Email: vuust@clin.au.dk