The Music Cognition Lab at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, is a first-of-its-kind endeavour in India, dedicated to scientific exploration at the intersection of music, brain, behaviour and health.

Research in music cognition and neuromusicology began within the Department of Clinical Psychology in 2009, and the Music Cognition Laboratory was formally established by Dr Shantala Hegde in 2011 as the first laboratory of its kind in India dedicated to neuroscientific investigations of music perception, cognition and their neural underpinnings. Since its inception, the lab has grown into an interdisciplinary research centre spanning basic science, clinical neuroscience, clinical neuropsychology and neurorehabilitation.

Research at the lab is guided by a central aim: to understand how music is perceived, processed and experienced by the human brain, and to translate this knowledge into meaningful applications for health and wellbeing. Research has spanned musical perception and emotion, rhythm processing, the relationship between music and language, musical expertise, and the effects of musical training on cognitive and neural functioning. Particular emphasis has been placed on understanding Indian musical traditions, including research on the perception and identification of Indian classical ragas and the neurocognitive and neural effects of training in Indian percussion traditions. This foundational work has been complemented by research across a range of neurological and psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, depression, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury and other neurological conditions. Across this body of work, the lab has employed a range of behavioural and clinical approaches alongside neuropsychological assessment and neuroscientific methods, including electroencephalography and event-related potentials (EEG/ERP), structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI/ fMRI) and other neuroimaging approaches, to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying music–brain interactions.

An important direction of the lab’s work has been the translation of this scientific knowledge into clinical applications. Research has increasingly explored music- and rhythm-based approaches to neurorehabilitation, with investigations spanning cognitive remediation, attention, motor and cognitive functioning, and rehabilitation following neurological injury and disease. This translational focus seeks to move beyond understanding the effects of music to examining how its cognitive, emotional, perceptual and rhythmic properties can be harnessed in structured interventions to support recovery, functioning and wellbeing. In addition to research in this area, the lab’s efforts have supported the integration of music-based rehabilitation approaches into routine clinical practice within the Clinical Neuropsychology and Neurorehabilitation Units at NIMHANS, where these approaches are applied as part of clinical care.

The lab’s work is inherently collaborative and interdisciplinary, bringing together expertise from clinical psychology, neurology, psychiatry, neurosurgery, neuroimaging, biostatistics, movement disorders and other disciplines within NIMHANS and beyond. The lab has also developed international research collaborations with institutions and investigators across the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Japan, spanning music neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, neurorehabilitation, neuroimaging and related areas. These networks have played an important role in expanding the scope of the lab’s research and fostering interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches to the study of music and the brain.

Beyond research, the lab is committed to education, knowledge translation and public engagement. Through lectures, workshops, conferences, community programmes, clinical and patient-focused initiatives, digital resources and media engagement, the lab has shared knowledge about music, brain health and mental health with researchers, clinicians, students, musicians, patients, caregivers, and the wider public. These efforts have also included the use of ambient music in outpatient settings to create a more supportive and calming environment for patients and caregivers. Together, these activities reflect a broader commitment to taking scientific knowledge beyond academic and clinical settings, fostering dialogue between research and practice, and exploring meaningful ways in which music can contribute to health and wellbeing in everyday and community contexts.
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Today, the Music Cognition Lab continues to build on this foundation: using music as a window into the human brain, as a tool for understanding cognition and emotion, and as a potential pathway towards innovative, culturally relevant approaches to health and rehabilitation.