BRAMS-CRBLM Lecture Series – Conference by Dr. Giacomo Novembre, Neuroscience of Perception & Action Lab, and Italian Institute of Technology (Italy)
CANCELLED ! Wednesday October 30th, 2024, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m., followed by a cocktail. Come and meet him in person!
Please note that the conferences are now half an hour earlier!
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- Université de Montréal, Pavilion Marie-Victorin, Room D-427: Please register via the Doodle link.
- The lecture will also be available via Zoom and will be recorded. No registration required. Meeting ID: 843 8514 6149 / Passcode: 005696
- The lecture will not be streaming live on Facebook.
Music as a universally accessible platform for social interaction
Abstract: Musicality − the capacity to perceive and produce music − is widely recognized as a human universal, yet its origins and functions remain elusive. In this talk, I will present research from my lab that seeks to address these gaps in understanding. First, I will present comparative research demonstrating that some of the neural mechanisms underlying music perception are phylogenetically conserved in non-human primates and are also observable in human newborns and infants within their first year of life. Second, I will explore the spontaneous connection between music and movement, examining its development and crucial role in social and communicative contexts such as infant-caregiver interactions, dyadic dance, and joint music-making. Together, these findings indicate that musicality is built on deep-rooted neurophysiological mechanisms, providing a universally accessible platform for social interaction and non-verbal communication.
Bio: Dr. Giacomo Novembre is the Principal Investigator of the Neuroscience of Perception and Action Laboratory (est. 2021) at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rome, Italy. Dr. Novembre holds a BA from San Raffaele University (Milan, ITA, 2007), an MSc from the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour (Nijmegen, NL, 2009), and a Ph.D. from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Leipzig, DE, 2013). Before starting his lab, he was appointed as a Research Lecturer at the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development (Sydney, AUS, 2013-2016), Research Associate at University College London (UK, 2016-2018), and Senior Researcher at IIT (Rome, ITA, 2018-2021). Dr. Novembre’s research utilizes neuroscience, behavioral, and computational methods to investigate two widespread human capacities: social interaction and musicality, i.e., the biological predispositions that make humans universally apt to musical behavior. He studies these capacities in musicians, dancers, non-musically trained adults, infants, individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, and even non-human primates. His research integrates traditional (i.e., laboratory-based) and naturalistic approaches to human brain and behavior, notably including free behavior and ecologically valid sensory stimulation. His research is supported by the European Research Council.
