Abstract painting depicting a human head and music.

Watch the Sound Health Music and the Mind events from September 7–8, 2018

Renée Fleming and David Jangraw look at brain scan

NIH frames research plan to study how the brain interacts with music

About Sound Health

Music can get you moving, lift your mood, and even help you recall a memory, but can it improve your health? The National Institutes of Health and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have partnered to expand the scope of an initiative that NIH has had with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) for several years called Sound Health. The partnership, in association with the National Endowment for the Arts, aims to:

  • expand current knowledge and understanding of how listening, performing, or creating music involves intricate circuitry in the brain that could be harnessed for health and wellness applications in daily life,
  • explore ways to enhance the potential for music as therapy for neurological disorders,
  • identify future opportunities for research, and
  • create public awareness about how the brain functions and interacts with music.

On September 7 and 8, the Kennedy Center and the NIH, in association with the National Endowment for the Arts, is hosting the second Music and the Mind event, a series of performances, lectures and hands-on workshops that bring leading researchers in the field and performers to explore the intersection of music and science. For more information, visit the Events page.