Hardwired for Song and Dance: The Neurobiology of Language and Movement

The Rockefeller University
April 27, 2023
SPEAKERS
Erich D. Jarvis, Ph.D.
Professor, Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language
The Rockefeller University
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Constantina Theofanopoulou, Ph.D.
Associate Research Professor
Hunter College, City University of New York
HOST
Richard P. Lifton, M.D., Ph.D.
President and Carson Family Professor
Laboratory of Human Genetics and Genomics
The Rockefeller University
Dancing and singing are perhaps the most ancient forms of human expression. For Erich Jarvis, a neuroscientist who trained professionally in ballet, it was not entirely surprising to discover that neural circuits enabling us to learn movements are in close proximity to parts of the brain essential to speech. Dr. Jarvis studies songbirds and other animals to identify genes and brain centers that underlie vocal learning. His work is helping to explain how the human brain evolved to produce complex spoken language.
Like Dr. Jarvis, Constantina Theofanopoulou is a neuroscientist as well as an accomplished flamenco dancer. Drawing on the latest findings from many convergent lines of research, Dr. Jarvis and Dr. Theofanopoulou will provide a fascinating look into the genes-to-neurons choreography that connects with motor systems to enable us to sing and dance. They will also discuss movement and speech disorders that stem from disruptions in these neural pathways, as well as the roles that music and dance can play in the treatment of conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and autism.