BENGALURU: For the first time, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) will be hosting the 16th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC), in collaboration with European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music. Top scholars across the globe in fields of psychology, cognitive neuroscience, music theory and composition, musicology, psychophysics, music performance, music education, music therapy, music medicine, neurophysiology, ethnomusicology, developmental psychology, linguistics, computer modeling, and related fields will take part in the virtual conference between July 28 and July 31.
“600 peer-reviewed research papers from across the globe will be presented in multi-disciplinary fields including neuroscience of music, music and language, helping patients with difficulty in language processing using music, regulating emotions with music, melody and rhythm impact emotional experience, understanding the function of the human brain, how one acquires musical ability and more,” said Dr Shantala Hegde, Associate professor of Neuropsychology, Department of Clinical Psychology at NIMHANS.
“Music engages both the left and right side of the brain and serves purposes beyond mere entertainment. We study this in our music cognition lab, which is the first-of-its-kind in the country, working towards building evidence-based interventions using Indian music,” the doctor added. There will be a session on the effects of music on Covid as well. There will be four main hubs in Australia, India, UK and US, with symposiums and workshops.