Music, Mind, Body and Brain
@coe-mmbb.bsky.social
Official BlueSky of the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain (est. January 2022) #musicscience jyu.fi/en/mmbb
PhD student & postdoc positions for 2027-2029 open soon in Jyväskylä, Finland! We aim to recruit 6-9 postdoc researchers and 4-7 doctoral researchers for 3-year positions. Details and instructions will be updated at the websites of the CoE MMBB and JYU: www.jyu.fi/en/research/... 1/
Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain (CoEMMBB)
A dynamic research consortium studying music as a multimodal human experience and as a versatile engine of change.
jyu.fi
Are you a musician or a sportsperson? Does it matter for your health? New study explores how music & sport identities relate to mental and physical health in adults. A stronger sport identity was associated with better mental health and higher self-efficacy. 1/2 Read more: doi.org/10.7717/peer...
doi.org
What counts as robust evidence in creative health? In this critical reflection on the UK Creative Health Review (2023), we critically examine the evidence used to support claims that arts and cultural engagement can help address health inequalities. 1/2 Read: doi.org/10.1080/0954... #musicscience
Arts, cultural engagement and health inequalities: critical reflections on the UK Creative Health Review (2023)
The Creative Health Review (CHR) published in 2023 is an advocacy document by the UK National Centre for Creative Health and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing. The CHR...
doi.org
Why does it matter how music-based research is conducted with preterm infants in neonatal ICU? It's important to use age-appropriate methods with preterm infants, taking into account their developmental stage and individual capacities to receive & process stimuli. Read: doi.org/10.3389/fpsy...
Frontiers | Music-based research in neonatal intensive care units requires guidelines grounded in developmental neurology and responsive to the individual needs of preterm infants
Music-based research involving preterm infants is increasingly being conducted in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The objectives and methods of such r...
doi.org
Participate in a study about scary music! 🦇💀 📝 Anonymous online survey (20–30 min) 👥 Open to adults and adolescents over 15 years 🔤 Good English skills required 🎧 Please wear headphones! ♫ Listen to music clips, answer questions. Participate here: link.webropol.com/s/mapping-sc... #musicscience
Mapping scary music
Survey Powered by Webropol
link.webropol.com
Welcome back in August, @tuomaseerola.bsky.social!
Tuomas Eerola@tuomaseerola.bsky.social · 2mo agoLast day at Durham University today. 13 years have flown by. I'm grateful for the students, colleagues, collaborators & friends who made Durham such a rewarding place. In August, find me at the Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain (@coe-mmbb.bsky.social), Univ. of Jyväskylä, #finland
Had a lovely time presenting some of our research from @coe-mmbb.bsky.social on #music and #love at this special meeting of @royalsociety.org in Edinburgh. It was an exciting couple of days, filled with stimulating discussions about the variety of ways that people form connections with each other.
Our latest research on music and sport performance has been featured by Finnish national broadcaster Yle (article in Finnish): yle.fi/a/74-20223829 “Research confirms: Self-selected music improves endurance during high-intensity exercise” #MusicScience #Musiikintutkimus
Tutkimus vahvistaa: Itse valittu musiikki pidentää jaksamista kovatehoisessa liikunnassa
Itse valittu soittolista parantaa jaksamista kestävyysliikunnassa, käy ilmi suomalaistutkimuksesta. Tutkimuksessa poljettiin kuntopyörällä musiikkia kuunnellen ja ilman musiikkia.
yle.fi
Can a 6-week self-compassion program change brain activity & reduce stress in uni students? Portable EEG showed reduced alpha/beta power during meditation tasks - interpreted as lower cortical arousal and greater neural efficiency. 1/2 Read more: doi.org/10.1007/s104... #MusicScience
Investigating the Effect of the 6-Week Mindful Self-Compassion Program for Emerging Adults (EYL) on Stress Response, Brain Activity, and Self-Compassion Among Chinese University Students: An Electroencephalogram (EEG) Quasi-experimental Study Using Portable EEG Headband - Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) programs have demonstrated benefits for psychological well-being, yet their neurophysiological mechanisms remain underexplored, particularly in naturalistic settings using portable electroencephalography (EEG). This study examined the effects of a six-week MSC program, Embracing Your Life (EYL), on stress response, brain activity, and self-compassion among Chinese university students. A quasi-experimental design was used with 62 participants (31 in the experimental group and 31 in the control group; mean age = 26.6 years). The experimental group participated in six weekly 1.5-h EYL sessions, while the control group received no intervention. EEG data were collected using a portable headband (channels AF7, AF8) during baseline and post-intervention, involving three meditation tasks: resting state, mindfulness breathing, and a self-compassion break. Power spectral density (PSD) was calculated, and self-reported measures included self-compassion (SCS-SF), perceived stress (PSS), resilience (CD-RISC), mindfulness attention (MAAS), and well-being (SWEMWBS). Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the data, controlling for baseline differences. The experimental group showed significant improvements in self-compassion (MD = + 0.28, p = 0.003), mental well-being (+ 1.75, p < 0.001), and perceived stress (− 3.48, p < 0.001), with a marginal increase in resilience (+ 2.88, p = 0.045). EEG analyses revealed condition-specific reductions in alpha and beta power during mindfulness and self-compassion tasks, with significant Group × Time interactions (e.g., alpha: Wald χ2 = 14.55, p < 0.001; Wald χ2 = 225.34, p < 0.001). Theta activity showed nuanced patterns, with suppression during mindfulness and partial recovery during self-compassion. While during the intervention, formal practice segments exhibited the lowest power values across all frequency bands, indicating deeper meditative engagement and enhanced neural efficiency. The EYL program improved psychological outcomes and induced distinct EEG changes. These findings support the feasibility of portable EEG devices for monitoring mindfulness-based interventions and suggest that self-compassion practices engage in unique neural mechanisms beyond traditional mindfulness meditation. Future research should employ larger samples and multi-channel EEG to validate these results.
doi.org
People in Jyväskylä! Join us in Musica at Yläkaupungin Yö to celebrate music science on May 16th! 🤩 Tule Yläkaupungin Yöhön 16.5. tutustumaan tutkimukseen, jota teemme! 🤩 Lisätietoa: www.ylakaupunginyo.fi/en/schedule/... @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social #MusicScience #Jyväskylä #Jyväskylänyliopisto
Musiikin, mielen, kehon ja aivojen tutkimuksen huippuyksikkö (CoE MMBB) ja MUSICONNECT Tiedotus
Musiikin, mielen, kehon ja aivojen osaamiskeskus sekä MUSICONNECT-projekti toivottavat yleisön tervetulleeksi tutustumaan musiikkia ja tiedettä koskevaan tutkimukseen. Jaamme tietoa meneillään olevist
ylakaupunginyo.fi
🎶 Do musicians slow down as they age? Turns out: yes. New research on more than 10k songs shows that as artists get older, their songs get slower. Not laziness (probably) — but biology, creativity, and groove that ages gracefully. Less BPM, more soul. 🎸 👉 doi.org/10.1177/1029... #MusicScience
The ageing musician: Evidence of a downwards trend in song tempo as a function of artist age - Geoff Luck, Alessandro Ansani, 2026
Correspondences between the timing of motor behaviour and that of musical performance are well-established. Motor behaviour, however, is known to degrade across...
doi.org
Ever tried listening to two rhythms at once? Your brain might be better at it than you think. In our study, we show for the first time that people can extract & evaluate timing information from multiple non‑metrically related sound streams simultaneously. 1/2 👉 doi.org/10.1177/2059... #MusicScience
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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[FI] 10v sitten käynnistynyt Lukivauva-hanke on seurannut 200 lapsen kielen ja aivojen kehitystä ja lukutaitoa ennustavia tekijöitä. Kaikille avoin juhlaseminaari 23.4. paikan päällä/livestriiminä. Ennakkoilmoittautumisia pyydetään 15.4. mennessä, lisätietoja: tapahtumat.helsinki.fi/fi-FI/page/6...
Ladataan tietoja...
Helsingin yliopiston tapahtumakalenteri
tapahtumat.helsinki.fi
Deadline postponed 🥳 A few more days to work on your abstract and send it our way 🤗 new DL: 12th April
Margarida Baltazar@margarida-baltazar.bsky.social · 6mo agoWe are excited to announce the MUSICONNEX Conference! The hybrid conference will be hosted @coe-mmbb.bsky.social , @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social, Finland, on Sept 22–24th 2026. Check our keynotes, website, and contact information in the comments. #musicscience #musicresearch #musiconnex
New scoping review out on music and fear! 😱 The relationship between music and fear is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon, ranging from neurological and embodied levels to musical features, and cultural and multimodal contexts. Read more in Music & Science: doi.org/10.1177/2059... #MusicScience
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
doi.org
Does self-selected music improve high-intensity endurance performance? Participants lasted ~6 minutes longer listening to self-selected music; no meaningful differences at exhaustion. Music may increase effort tolerance, rather than changing physiological cost. Read more: doi.org/10.1016/j.ps...
Redirecting
doi.org
Call for Abstracts – 5th Joint Seminar on Music, Sport and Health, 12 June 2026 University of Jyväskylä, Finland & Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain (in-person) Abstract deadline: March 27th, 2026 Details & submission: www.jyu.fi/en/events/5t... #MusicScience #MusicSports
5th Joint Seminar on Music, Sport and Health, 12 June 2026
5th Joint Seminar on Music, Sport and Health
jyu.fi
Have you ever felt a deep, powerful connection to music — a moment when a song pulls you in, moves you, or completely absorbs you in it? We would love to hear about those experiences. Learn more and participate on our study on musical immersion: www.jyu.fi/en/news/join... #MusicScience
Join Our Study on Musical Immersion
We invite you to take part in our Immersion Journaling Study, where we explore how people feel and think when they truly connect with music.
jyu.fi
There's still time to submit abstracts to MUSICONNEX conference. See you in Jyväskylä :)
Margarida Baltazar@margarida-baltazar.bsky.social · 6mo agoWe are excited to announce the MUSICONNEX Conference! The hybrid conference will be hosted @coe-mmbb.bsky.social , @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social, Finland, on Sept 22–24th 2026. Check our keynotes, website, and contact information in the comments. #musicscience #musicresearch #musiconnex
Have you practised music by mentally hearing the sound, seeing the score, or feeling the motions? That’s voluntary musical imagery (VMI). A new review explains why imagery can work like physical practice, and what this means for mental practice and teaching. Read more: doi.org/10.3389/fpsy...
Frontiers | Voluntary musical imagery in music practice: contextual meaning, neuroscientific mechanisms and practical applications
Practice is acknowledged as a crucial facilitator for musicians to achieve performance excellence. Despite the rich literature on incorporating musical image...
doi.org
The research of Nella Moisseinen featured in the Finnish national broadcaster YLE: Nella Moisseisen väitöstutkimuksessa selvisi, että kuorossa laulaminen on yhteydessä aivojen rakenteeseen, muistiin ja hyvinvointiin. Lue lisää: yle.fi/a/74-20214353 #Kuorolaulu #Hyvinvointi #Musiikki
Laulamalla aivot terveeksi – suomalaistutkimus löysi hätkähdyttäviä vaikutuksia
Kuorolaulu voi vahvistaa aivojen terveyttä ja lisätä hyvinvointia, selviää Helsingin yliopiston väitöskirjasta. Kuorolaululla on yhteys jopa aivojen rakenteeseen.
yle.fi
Are you clingy or afraid of commitment? New research shows that our way of listening to music reflects differences in attachment style. Read more in Musicae Scientiae: doi.org/10.1177/1029... #MusicScience #MusicListening #AttachmentStyle
The role of attachment style in unhealthy music use - Julia Vigl, Marcel Zentner, Suvi Saarikallio, 2026
Music is a widely used tool for stress reduction and mood regulation, but its effectiveness may differ depending on individual characteristics and the emotion r...
doi.org
Relaxation music isn’t one-size-fits-all. Depression&anxiety influence whether people are more likely to choose energetic/mellow-instrumental tracks for managing stress. Understanding patterns can help us use music more effectively to change our mood and relax. Read more: doi.org/10.1177/1029...
"That sounds like a swan!": A new study shows that children aged 6–9 can make above‑chance matches between music from Peter and the Wolf and The Carnival of the Animals and the characters they depict. 1/2 Read more in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review: doi.org/10.3758/s134... #MusicScience
Auditory-conceptual associations in Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals: Evidence from 6- to 9-year-old children - Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
This study investigated auditory-conceptual associations in children using complex audiovisual stimuli, namely musical excerpts from the Western classical repertoire and drawings. In Experiment 1, we ...
doi.org
New study out: Can we measure people’s preferences for listening to music alone or with others? Yes, we can now! We developed a new scale (ISMUS-LI) and found the two preferences to be uncorrelated and partly dependent on gender and age. Read more: doi.org/10.1016/j.pa...
We're delighted to announce that professor Tuomas Eerola will return to the University of Jyväskylä @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social, thanks to a grant from the Research Council of Finland. Welcome back @tuomaseerola.bsky.social! 🤩 www.jyu.fi/en/news/rese... #MusicScience
Research Council of Finland funds return of leading international music researcher to University of Jyväskylä
The Research Council of Finland has allocated a total of 27.5 million euros for recruiting high-level researchers from outside Finland. With the funding provided, a total of 11 international researche...
jyu.fi
New study on lexical processing skills and their association with music perception skills in children with bilateral hearing loss. Read more here: doi.org/10.1159/0005... #MusicScience #HearingLoss
Lexical Processing of Children with Hearing Loss Using Bilateral Devices –Associations with Music Perception Skills
Abstract. Introduction: Hearing loss (HL) poses a risk for challenges in lexical processing. While music perception skills are linked to improved lexical processing in normal hearing (NH) children, th...
doi.org
A new project by our researcher Alessandro Ansani has been funded by the Research Council of Finland under the Academy Research Fellow program! 🤩 The project explores the cross-modal connections between features across different senses, such as sight & sound. More info: r.jyu.fi/Fgw #MusicScience
Music and cross-modal associations
Exploring how people with different cultural and musical backgrounds associate music with images, shapes, colours, emotions, and words.
r.jyu.fi
Music listening turns everyday moments into cinematic scenes. How do young people use music as a soundtrack for their lives to reflect, imagine & understand themselves? New study explores the cinematic side of music listening & identity construction.🎬 Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
“It is the Soundtrack for my Life” – Cinematic Construction of Self- Identity Through Music Listening - Lotta Kourilehto, Suvi Saarikallio, Henna-Riikka Peltola, Elina Westinen, 2026
Transitional changes in youth are directing young people to ponder about themselves and who they want to become. Previous research has largely focused on identi...
journals.sagepub.com
We are excited to announce the MUSICONNEX Conference! The hybrid conference will be hosted @coe-mmbb.bsky.social , @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social, Finland, on Sept 22–24th 2026. Check our keynotes, website, and contact information in the comments. #musicscience #musicresearch #musiconnex
