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Music on your mind
Thursday 20 June, 6:30 pm
Clinical neuropsychologist Sharon Naismith and music scholar Neal Peres Da Costa uncover the question: can music participation help to prevent dementia?
Currently there’s no cure for dementia, which is estimated to affect nearly half a million Australians and this is expected to double over 30 years. So a key question is prevention and there is potential we have an effective, and enjoyable, way to do just that.
We know there’s a link between music training and brain plasticity. Neuroimaging has shown that music improves structure and function of the brain. Studies on young people and musicians show that learning or playing an instrument boosts brain connectivity. But there hasn’t been robust evidence to show how these benefits can be leveraged for later in life.
In this Sydney Ideas event, Professors Sharon Naismith (Brain and Mind Centre) and Neal Peres Da Costa (Sydney Conservatorium of Music) share insights from their new research, which tests whether musical activity is a viable health intervention for people experiencing mild cognitive decline, the stage before dementia develops.
Event details
| When | Thursday 20 June, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm |
| Where | The event will be held at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, CBD campus. Register for the details. |
| Getting here | In the interest of sustainability and where possible, we encourage attendees to take public transport to this event. Visit Transport for NSW to plan your journey. For details about parking and travel options, visit the University's getting to campus page. |
| Accessibility | When you register for this event, please advise of any access requirements. If you have any questions, get in touch with the team via email (sydney.ideas@sydney.edu.au). |
| Will this event be recorded? |
Subscribe to the Sydney Ideas podcast to get this event in your feed or check back this page after the event to catch up later (video, podcast and transcript). |
The speakers
Professor Sharon Naismith, School of Psychology
Sharon is a practicing clinical neuropsychologist, NHMRC Dementia Leadership Fellow and holds the Leonard P Ullman Chair in Psychology at the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney. She also Heads the Healthy Brain Ageing Program at the Brain and Mind Centre, a one-of-its-kind early intervention research clinic for dementia. Sharon is also a member of the Australian Psychological Society.
Professor Neal Peres Da Costa, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Neal is a world-renowned performing scholar, researcher and educator. He has held academic posts at the University of NSW, University of Leeds, Trinity College of Music (London), and Royal Academy of Music (London). He is Professor of Historical Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where he founded the Historical Performance division in 2007, and was the division's chair for eight years. Subsequently, he was Program Leader of Postgraduate Research. Currently, he is Associate Dean (Research).