Jessica Grahn - Home

Welcome to the Music and Neuroscience Lab! The lab is run by Dr. Grahn, a cognitive neuroscientist who studies music. Dr. Grahn is an Associate Professor in the Brain and Mind Institute and the Department of Psychology at Western University, in London, Ontario.

Before that, she was at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, England, and an Associate Lecturer in Biological Psychology with the Open University. 

(And a little tip: Grahn rhymes with "on", not "an").

Research Interests

  • Why do we move to music? 
  • How is musical rhythm processed in the brain? How do brain responses to musical rhythm differ from similar types of movement and timing? 
  • How and why do other animals' brain responses to music differ from ours? 
  • Can musical rhythm have therapeutic benefit? (more information). 

Other areas in which I have expertise include:
  • the use of real-time fMRI scanning to examine if people can change their own brain activity (neurofeedback)
  • the effects of training on cognitive function (brain training, musical training)
  • how listening to different types of music affects memory

Research Opportunities

If you are interested in research opportunities in the Music and Neuroscience lab, please get in touch. Students may want to read about important traits I look for in both undergrads and grads.  

Undergraduate students should send Dr. Grahn a CV, transcript, writing sample, as well as a short description of why they are interested in this area of research and the time commitment they are able to make.

Post-docs may want to look at the Banting Fellowships, Marie Curie fellowships (Europeans), CIHR Fellowships, NSERC Fellowships, or other lists of fellowships. This list, too.
The BMI has its own fellowship competition  twice per year.

News

- Here are our recent publications

​September: 
Listen to Dr.Grahn discuss the influence of music on emotions in the Guardian's Brain Waves Podcast Express yourself: how music plays with our emotions.

Western BrainsCAN initiative receives $66 Million Federal Grant for Brain Research.

Commentary: Reprogramming ideas about leadership, success A commentary on Dr.Grahn's lecture 'What Do Leaders Look Like? Combating Myths, Bias, and Anxiety on the Path to Success'.

​June: Lab member Daniel Cameron attends meeting between the Canadian Prime Minister and Mexican President to discuss international exchanges.
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 Jessica Grahn
 Brain and Mind Institute
 Department of Psychology
 Natural Sciences Building, 229
 Western University
 London, ON, CANADA

jgrahn@uwo.ca