Event overview
Music therapy, moments of interest and social neuroscience approaches to mechanisms of change
Abstract
In several randomised controlled trials and related Cochrane reviews we can see that music therapy changes outcome measures of corresponding diseases, but we only begin to understand how change works.
Mechanistic investigations can be challenging for music therapist researchers seeking clinically- relevant outcomes within individualized approaches. Neuroscience research typically demands standardized protocols and basic science that feel removed from clinical contexts.
This presentation examines how “Moments of Interest” (MOIs) emerge within music therapy and how these moments can be analysed using multimodal, ecologically valid neuroscientific tools. Traditional laboratory paradigms struggle to capture the spontaneity, relational dynamics, and situated cognition that characterise real world therapeutic interaction.
To address this, the talk outlines an in situ measurement framework that combines continuous EEG, physiological recording, audio, video, and music information retrieval (MIR) techniques, enabling fine grained temporal analysis of therapist–client interaction without disrupting clinical authenticity.
Detailed case studies of music therapy sessions illustrate how EEG and ECG hyperscanning, MIR extracted from music therapy interaction, and expert identified MOIs provide converging evidence of interpersonal synchronisation, affective alignment, and neural coupling.
Contrasts between MOIs and Moments of No or Less Interest (MONIs) reveal how brain coordination, leadership exchange, and therapist support shape therapeutic engagement. Findings indicate that neural and cardiac synchrony increases during MOIs, with the therapist’s brain activity often leading the interaction.
The presentation concludes by envisioning future neuro music information retrieval (NMIR) clinics where AI enhanced systems assist therapists by integrating multimodal data in real time to support clinical intuition, deepen understanding of therapeutic change processes, and guide personalised interventions.
Bio
Dr. Jörg Fachner (Doctor of Medical Science and MSc in Education) is Professor of Music, Health and the Brain and Co-Director of the Cambridge Institute of Music Therapy Research at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK. Working over 25 years in music therapy (MT), psychology and medical research projects in Germany and Finland, he is a specialist for translational research topics in the social, medical and music sciences.
He is keen to use technology to investigate the social neuroscience of music (therapy) and has secured over 3 millions to analyse the emergence of change in Moments of (therapeutic) Interest (MOI) and by this to add (and analyse) contextualised data to what is otherwise considered ‘anecdotal evidence’.
Please join us in person if you can. Or click here to join the lecture on Teams.
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Mar 2026 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm |
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