bridges vol. 10, June 2006 / Feature Article
by Roland Haas & Vera Brandes

Music affects us in many ways. Whether conscious or unconscious, our brain and our body act and react to musical stimuli. For example, we may find we are suddenly humming a melody when we walk in the dark, or we may notice our foot tapping to a beat before we have even realized that there is music in the room. Since new research technologies have revealed how strongly the brain reacts to rhythms and melodies, music has become one of the prominent topics of European Neuroscience. An Austrian research team has now developed a method for measuring the influence of music outside of the laboratory, by monitoring the reactions of the autonomic nervous system.

From October 1st through 4th, an international conference on music impact research entitled "The Impact of Music - A Dialogue of the Sciences and the Arts about the Effects of Music in Art, Education, and Medicine" will take place in Baden, near Vienna, Austria.

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