Musical rhythms can help children with speech and language processing difficulties in finding their voice by improving their capacity to repeat sentences they just heard, according to a study led by a Western Sydney University researcher and co-authored by Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

A genomic study of musicality conducted by Vanderbilt researchers identified 69 genetic variants associated with beat synchronization, meaning the ability to move in synchrony with the beat of music.

Vanderbilt researchers, in collaboration with 23andMe, have made a significant discovery about the biological underpinnings of musical rhythm.  

Vanderbilt researchers mined electronic health records to find medical diagnoses that are more or less prevalent among musicians, who are present in large numbers in “Music City.”

Reyna Gordon, PhD, assistant professor of Otolaryngology and director of the Music Cognition Lab in the Department of Otolaryngology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator Award of $2.3 million in total costs for her project, “Biomarkers of Rhythmic Communication: Integrating Foundational and Translational Approaches.”

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has designated the Program for Music, Mind and Society at Vanderbilt as a 2018 National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab for its focus on the arts, health and socio-emotional well-being in families of children with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Blair School of Music will host a one-day symposium Sept. 12 called "The Science of Song."