Author/neuroscientist to speak about music and the brain

Follow-up sessions Two follow-up, Q&A panels at the KANEKO — on Wednesday, Sept. 22, and Monday, Oct. 18 — will be held following Dr. Levitin’s visit. The informal panels, titled “Conversations with UNMC Neuroscientists,” will highlight neurosciences at UNMC and begin at 6 p.m. at KANEKO. Scheduled to participate on Sept. 22 are: Sanjay Singh, M.D.; Dan Murman, M.D.; Chris Kratochvil, M.D.; and Michele Aizenberg Ansari, M.D. The panelists on Oct. 18 will be: William Burke, M.D.; Howard Gendelman, M.D.; Diego Torres-Russotto, M.D.; Wayne Fisher, Ph.D.; and William Thorell, M.D. The panelists will answer questions from a moderator as well as from the audience. “We have some of the world’s leading experts in various areas of neuroscience here at UNMC, and this is a great venue to share their information with the public,” said UNMC’s Jim Linder, M.D., who along with his wife, Karen, is sponsoring Dr. Levitin’s visit.

Daniel Levitin, Ph.D., helped produce records by the Blue Oyster Cult and Chris Isaak and he’s been a recording engineer for Santana and the Grateful Dead.

He’s also a cognitive neuroscientist who wrote two best-selling books on music and the brain — a topic he will speak about at UNMC on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at noon in the Durham Research Center Auditorium. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided.

Coinciding event

Dr. Levitin’s presentation at UNMC coincides with his performance at 7:30 p.m. that evening with Grammy Award winner Roseanne Cash at the KANEKO, 1111 Jones St. The UNMC College of Medicine, as well as Dr. Jim and Karen Linder, are sponsoring Dr. Levitin’s visit to Omaha.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for UNMC faculty, staff and students to hear from a leading scientist who is known in both the scientific world and in the public for his work on cognitive psychology and brain function,” said Dr. Linder, chief executive officer of UNeMed and professor of pathology and microbiology at UNMC.

Changed perceptions

Dr. Levitin is credited with changing the way scientists think about auditory memory.

Currently a professor of psychology and behavior neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal, Dr. Levitin authored “This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of Human Obsession” and “The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature.”