McMaster Institute for Music & the Mind

The McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind (MIMM) explores fundamental questions about the neurological impact and benefits of music, dance and the arts. Specific questions concern how the auditory and motor systems interact to produce music, how performers synchronize with each other, how people encode and recognize music, and how groups in society are defined by the music they play. The developmental neuroscience perspective informs the research community on how music induces emotional reactions, how musical experience and training affect brain development, and how musical training/exposure affects language, cognitive, and social abilities in both children and adults.