Music & The Brain: How Music Enhances Cognitive Functioning in All Children

Music Therapist Karen Nisenson will discuss the powerful and positive impact music can have on the developing brain, and how exposure to music enhances cognitive functions that are seemingly unrelated to notes, chords, and rhythm. Topics covered will include:

--The importance of music from birth - 3
--Music and its relationship to language development
--Music and pre-reading skills
--Adaptive music instruction for children with processing disorders. How is it different?
--Current research in the connection between music instruction and cognitive development

Karen Nisenson is the Founder/Director of Arts for Healing, a non-profit organization that services the special needs population of children and adults living with communication disorders through integrated music therapy and art therapy. She holds a M.M. in Piano Performance from the Julliard School and an M.A. in Music Therapy from New York University.

Karen is a certified music therapist and an adjunct faculty member in Music Therapy at NYU where she has taught since 1978. she is also affiliated with the Nordoff-Robbins Center at NYU and has worked in the field of creative arts therapy for 25 years.