Morning Keynote
Anna Palumbo
Research Manager,
Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy
Into the Groove: The neurobiology of
musical reward and pain management
Abstract
The shared neural pathways of pain and reward suggest that reward may play a key role in modulating acute and chronic pain. Live music also engages reward through both receptive music listening and active playing. The mechanisms of musical reward have been linked to social connection, synchronization, and processes of co-creation. This talk will review what is known about the neural mechanisms of pain and reward, and how live music may beneficially modulate these pathways. Clinical excerpts will provide examples of the shared processes of live music making that may be especially significant for engaging reward and reducing pain.
Biography
Dr. Anna Palumbo is the Research Manager at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology at New York University. Her research examines the contributions of music engagement and improvisation to outcomes in music therapy, with a focus on neurorehabilitation and child development. This work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association, and the NeuroArts BluePrint Initiative.
Dr. Palumbo completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences at New York University. Prior to her doctorate, Anna received an MA in Music Therapy at New York University and conducted clinical work in the areas of neurorehabilitation, acute psychiatric care, and child development.