Meet the U24 MDRN Pilot Grant Awardees—our collaborators advancing innovative research at the intersection of music, health, and aging. Through their diverse expertise and groundbreaking projects, these teams are helping expand the evidence base and shape the future of music and dementia research.
Dr. Assal Habibi
Pilot Study Title: Neural Mechanisms Supporting Music-Evoked Nostalgia in Mild Cognitive Impairment
Position: Associate Professor of Psychology and Neurology; Director, Center for Music, Brain and Society, University of Southern California
Research goal: This project is a continuation and expansion of our research using music-based interventions to enhance well-being in older adults experiencing cognitive decline. It examines how personalized nostalgic music supports autobiographical memory recall in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), with a particular focus on identifying the underlying neural mechanisms.
Background: PhD in Cognitive Sciences from the University of California, Irvine, with expertise in auditory and music processing, emotional and cognitive responses to music, and the impacts of music engagement across the lifespan.
Why this study: As we expand the use of music-based approaches in healthcare for older adults, it is essential that these interventions are designed with careful attention to participants’ musical tastes, histories, cultural backgrounds, and current contexts. My work has long focused on how engagement with music shapes cognitive, brain, and socio-emotional development across the lifespan. By identifying the brain networks engaged by personalized nostalgic music in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment, this study will not only deepen our mechanistic understanding of music’s impact on autobiographical memory, but also help inform more person-centered and effective music-based interventions.
Dr. Sarah Hennessy
Pilot Study Title: Neural Mechanisms Supporting Music-Evoked Nostalgia in Mild Cognitive Impairment
Position: Postdoctoral Scientist at the University of Arizona
Research goal: This project aims at understanding the neural mechanisms underlying the impact of personalized nostalgic music on autobiographical memory recall in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment.
Background: PhD in Brain and Cognitive Sciences completed at the University of Southern California, focusing on neural correlates of music-evoked emotion and memory.
Why this study: Listening to nostalgic music may temporarily improve autobiographical memory and sense of self in individuals with cognitive decline, yet the neural mechanisms of this improvement remain elusive. This project seeks to identify brain networks responsible for nostalgic music's beneficial effects. By understanding these neural mechanisms, we aim to develop more targeted and effective music-based interventions for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and provide a scientific framework for implementing these treatments.
Dr. Borna Bonakdarpour
Pilot Study Title: Central Auditory Processing Modulation Underlying Anxiety Reduction Using Clinically Designed Improvisatory Music
Position: Associate Professor of Neurology; Director, Northwestern Music and Medicine Program
Dr. Lou Awad
Pilot Study Title: Use of Mobile Brain-Body Imaging to Evaluate the Effects of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation on Gait and Brain Function in Alzheimer's Disease
Position: Associate Professor of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; Director Neuromotor Recovery Laboratory, Boston University.
Research goal: Research integrates clinical biomechanics, neuromotor control, and rehabilitation to develop and evaluate technologies that diagnose, assist, and treat movement impairments following neurological injury or disease
Background: Joint DPT/PhD at University of Delaware. PhD in Biomechanics and Movement Sciences. Postdoctoral Fellow at Wyss Institute at Harvard University and Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Why this study: Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) experience a nearly threefold higher rate of falls than neurotypical older adults due to impairments in both gait and cognition. There is an urgent need for fall-prevention interventions tailored to the unique deficits of individuals with AD. Music-based interventions are emerging as highly promising non-pharmacological treatments for individuals with AD. The goal of this study is to examine the neural correlates of AD-related gait dysfunction and the mechanisms underlying RAS-induced improvements in walking ability.
Dr. Setor K. Sorkpor
Pilot Study Title: Mechanistic Biomarkers of Music-Induced Analgesia in Early-Stage ADRD
Position: Assistant Professor, Florida State University College of Nursing
Research Goal: To evaluate neural and autonomic biomarkers of music-related pain modulation in adults with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) and chronic pain, and determine whether these responses vary by time of day.
Background: Chronic pain is common among people living with ADRD but can be difficult to assess and manage. Music-based interventions offer a promising nonpharmacologic approach, yet important questions remain about how music influences pain and the underlying neural and physiological mechanisms in this population.
Why This Study: Chronic pain can become increasingly difficult to recognize and manage as changes in cognition and communication make it harder for people living with ADRD to describe their pain. Studying people with early-stage ADRD allows us to examine self-reported pain alongside physiological measures to better understand music-related pain modulation and whether responses differ across the day, which could help inform when music-based interventions are delivered. This study will generate preliminary evidence to inform the design of a larger clinical trial and future research on personalized pain management, including whether physiological biomarkers could eventually complement established approaches to pain assessment when self-report becomes more difficult in later stages of dementia.
Dr. Kyurim Kang
Pilot Study Title:
Rhythmic Entrainment and Alertness Co-modulating Test in Dementia with Lewy Bodies (REACT-DLB)
Position:
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Center for Music and Medicine, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Research Goal:
To examine whether rhythmic auditory stimulation can engage auditory-motor responses in people with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and how fluctuations in alertness may influence an individual’s ability to synchronize movement to rhythm.
Background:
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is associated with both motor and cognitive symptoms, with fluctuations in attention and alertness being a particularly prominent feature. While rhythmic auditory stimulation has been shown to support movement and timing in other neurological populations, its effects in DLB remain largely unexplored. In particular, it is not well understood whether individuals with DLB can reliably synchronize to rhythm or whether changes in alertness influence their neural and behavioral responses to rhythmic cues.
Why This Study:
Understanding the relationship between rhythmic entrainment and fluctuating alertness may help us better understand how people with DLB respond to rhythmic stimulation. By combining EEG with a rhythmic finger tapping task and measures of alertness, this pilot study will characterize neural and behavioral responses to rhythm and help inform future studies of music- and rhythm-based interventions in DLB.
Dr. Kaitlin Seibert
Music-Based Empathy Training for Frontotemporal Dementia (MET-FTD) Feasibility Pilot Study
Behavioral Neurologist, Center for Brain Health, Cleveland Clinic
To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of Music-Based Empathy Training for Frontotemporal Dementia (MET-FTD), an individualized music-based intervention designed to target empathy and social cognition in people with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). The study will also explore the feasibility of social cognition relevant novel biomarkers before and after the intervention.
Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia often causes profound changes in empathy, social cognition, and behavior. These symptoms can be particularly difficult for families and contribute substantially to caregiver burden, yet there are currently no effective treatments that specifically target loss of empathy. Music engages many of the same brain networks involved in social cognition and empathy, making it a promising therapeutic approach for bvFTD, where these areas often degenerate.
Our team developed MET-FTD to translate what we know about music and the social brain into a targeted intervention for people with bvFTD. Preliminary data (N=5) demonstrated that the program could be successfully delivered and was engaging for participants and caregivers. This pilot will allow us to refine the intervention, determine how feasible it is to implement in a healthcare setting, and investigate biological and behavioral signals that could inform a larger clinical trial.