معرفی
Laurel Trainor is a Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University, where she holds multiple prestigious distinctions including Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC), Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), and Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. She is also a McMaster Distinguished University Professor and a Research Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute. Trainor earned her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Toronto in 1991, following an M.A. in the same field (1987) and a Bachelor of Music Performance (1981).
Her pioneering research focuses on the neuroscience of auditory development and music perception, particularly how infants acquire musical systems similarly to language acquisition. Trainor has demonstrated that listening to a beat activates motor networks in the brain even without movement, reveals how predictive processes in rhythms shape communication between people, and shows that synchronous movement to musical beats increases prosocial behavior even in infants. Her work spans multiple disciplines including auditory neuroscience, cognitive development, and music therapy.
Analysis of Trainor's recent publications (2023-2025) reveals a strong focus on infant and child development, particularly regarding rhythm processing, neural mechanisms of musical perception, and applications for developmental disorders. Her research increasingly incorporates advanced methodologies like machine learning for EEG analysis, online motion tracking, and live performance studies in the unique LIVELab environment. Key themes include the relationship between rhythm perception and motor coordination, cross-modal interactions in music processing, and the therapeutic applications of music.
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC)
- Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR)
- Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science
- McMaster Distinguished University Professor
- Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Music Perception and Cognition (2022)
- YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for Arts Culture and Design
- Co-holder of patent for the Neuro-compensator hearing aid
Trainor has secured major funding from prestigious organizations including the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Social Science Research Council of Canada, and the Grammy Foundation. She is the founding and current director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind (MIMM), which houses the LIVELab—a unique research-concert hall with high acoustic control equipped with multi-person motion capture and EEG systems. This facility enables groundbreaking studies on performer-audience interactions and music's role in health and well-being. Trainor is also an accomplished musician, serving as principal flute of the Burlington Symphony.
