معرفی
John Rehner Iversen, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster University, where he conducts research at the intersection of music, cognition, and neuroscience. Previously spending a decade at the University of California San Diego, Iversen leads investigations into how the brain processes musical rhythm, the cultural influences on rhythm perception, and the neural mechanisms underlying beat perception with emphasis on the motor system's role.
His educational background spans multiple disciplines:
- BA in Physics (Biophysics) from Harvard University
- MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science from University of Cambridge
- PhD in Speech and Hearing Sciences from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Postdoctoral Fellowship at The Neurosciences Institute
Iversen's research primarily focuses on the cognitive neuroscience of music, exploring how humans perceive and produce musical rhythms across cultures, whether rhythm perception is uniquely human, and how the brain processes musical beats. His work extends to mobile brain/body imaging techniques for studying neural dynamics in real-world contexts including navigation, group interactions, and complex motor learning. A significant portion of his current research examines how music training impacts brain and cognitive development in children and adolescents, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Endowment for the Arts.
His most recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on music's impact on child development (particularly through the ABCD study), neural mechanisms of rhythm processing, and methodological advances in neuroimaging. His work spans cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, music cognition, and computational methods, with particular attention to how music engagement relates to language development, executive function, and neural synchrony.
Iversen directs several NIH-funded studies on music training's developmental impact and has championed integrating music research within large-scale developmental studies. His research approach combines traditional laboratory methods with innovative mobile brain imaging techniques to study cognition in naturalistic settings.
He is a member of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind and teaches courses including "The Science of Performance" and "Inquiry in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour."
