MUSICAL BRAINWAVES

Assal Habibi discusses her research into how music education promotes neurological changes in the brain. She describes the positive impact of music education on a range of cognitive, emotional and social developments, leading to a huge range of positive outcomes, from fostering empathy to conflict resolution.

Assal Habibi

Assistant Research Professor of Psychology
Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, USA
Culture and Education

Dr Habibi is an Assistant Research Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute at University of Southern California. Her research takes a broad perspective on how biological dispositions and environmental factors interact and how learning experiences during childhood shape human development. She is an expert in the use of electrophysiological and neuroimaging methods to investigate human brain structure and function. Her research has been published in several peer reviewed journals. Habibi completed her doctoral work at UC Irvine, investigating the effects of musical training in musicians, non-musicians and patients with auditory impairments. Currently, she is the lead investigator of a multi-year study, in collaboration with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and their Youth Orchestra programme, investigating the effects of childhood music training on brain, including cognitive, and social development.