Lecturers Dr Rebecca Schaefer and Johanna Perschl, both clinical neuropsychologists and researchers of music cognition (ability to perceive and experience the inner and outer world) present in detail the connections between music and movement. These complex connections not only specify the temporal scope of motion, but also motivate people towards it. Along with a general overview of brain function in relation to music, a case study is presented in which music-based movement was found to have a positive effect on motor skills as well as on psychological, cognitive and social aspects.
Johanna Perschl states: "I'm sure everyone knows that feeling of not hearing a song for many years, maybe even decades, but when they hear it again it takes them back in time, years or decades back to a specific moment. It makes the individual feel elated, it's a fantastic emotion. I think that if music can be used this way for rehabilitation purposes, to improve an individual's quality of life, wellbeing, happiness, then this is an area that should definitely be explored in more detail."
The host of the discussion is Manca Kok, student of psychology at the University in Leiden, who is preparing her graduation thesis on the influence of interpersonal synchronization on the cooperative relationship under Dr Rebecca Schaefer and Johanna Perschl. She told us the following: "I see music as an extraordinary multifunctional tool, masterfully developed in the process of evolution. The understanding of its universal effects must be linked with concrete applications – 'where and how' is then the puzzle we must solve on the go, as our life surroundings and situations change."
Johanna Perschl
Rebecca Schaefer
Manca Kok