SRU research team wins MAR-AMTA award

April 26, 2022

A Slippery Rock University interdisciplinary research team won an award for outstanding professional quantitative research by the Mid-Atlantic Region of the of the American Music Therapy Association. Three faculty members and one alumna won the award for their work, titled “Evaluation of EEG Responses to Sedative and Stimulative Music using MUSE 2,” having presented both a poster and an oral presentation at the 2022 MAR-AMTA conference in Harrisburg, April 7-9.

The team consisted of Amber Eade, assistant professor of biology; Jenna Duncan, a 2021 SRU graduate with a degree in biology; Nichole Hahna, associate professor of music; and Vern Miller, assistant professor of music.

The purpose of the study was to examine participants’ emotional and neurological responses when listening to stimulative and sedative music using a headset that measured electrical activity in different parts of the brain.

Their research was supported by SRU’s 2020-21 College of Health, Engineering and Science Faculty-Student Research Grant.

MAR-AMTA is a regional professional organization that increases public awareness of music therapy and its benefits.