KU faculty developing musical model for epileptic seizures

KU composers, theorists and medical researchers are working together to understand brain functions.

Using music as a metaphor to illustrate an epileptic seizure, Deron McGee, associate professor of music and dance, Kip Haaheim, assistant professor of music and dance, and Ivan Osorio, associate professor of neurology at KU Medical Center, are conducting research with dramatic potential.

Epilepsy affects one of every 100 people in the United States. The researchers believe that by translating the brain's activity during an episode into an accessible medium, the disorder will become less frightening. They hope this improved understanding will lead to more funding for epilepsy research and reduce the stigma associated with people who have the disorder.

For the past year, the three research partners have been working on a project that uses music as a metaphor for disease. Their dramatic first model already shows promising results. An adaptation of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor illustrates musically what happens in the brain during an epileptic seizure.

Haaheim and McGee will present their paper, "Developing a Musical Metaphor to Understand Brain Functions," at the Rocky Mountain Society for Music Theory conference this month.

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