[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Trainor_Laurel1.jpg” caption=”Laurel Trainor, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, Faculty of Science. File photo.”]The McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind (MIMM), based in the Faculty of Science, has been awarded a prestigious grant from the Grammy Foundation in the United States. The University is the only Canadian institution to receive such honours.

The Foundation, which works in partnership with The Recording Academy, known internationally for the Grammy Awards, awarded McMaster nearly $40,000 to support research in the Suzuki Early Childhood Education program.

The project will explore whether the participation of parents and infants, who could not otherwise afford such classes, would result in better and lasting perceptual, cognitive and social development.

“The quality of interaction between a parent and child is known to change how the brain develops and to have extensive long-term influence on both mental and physical health,” says Laurel Trainor, a scientist in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, Faculty of Science. “Long before infants understand language, parents use singing and 'musical speech' (where the words don't matter) when interacting with their infants, but family stress can diminish the amount of such interactions.”

Trainor, who is also a musician, will work on the project with David Gerry, a world-renowned music educator and teacher-trainer in the Suzuki method.

In announcing the grant, the Foundation cited the program for its multi-disciplinary team, consisting of psychologists, neuroscientists, music educators and social workers. It also pointed to the unique research, which is directed at infants whose brains are most plastic, and for involving parents as learning partners.

“Opportunities like this, through funding sources like the Grammy Foundation, will enhance collaborations between Science and the Arts,” says John Capone, dean of the Faculty of Science. “The McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind has done a phenomenal job of engaging community participation, and programs like this will generate both vital scientific research, and provide a worthwhile musical learning opportunity for children who otherwise might not get this kind of early-years stimulation.”