News

Oneka LaBennett (American Studies and Ethnicity; Gender and Sexuality Studies) spoke with NBC News for a story exploring criticism of Kamala Harris’ laugh.

Professor David Raichlen looks at how exercise affects the brain from an evolutionary standpoint. He examines how our ancestors’ lifestyles—from activity on their feet to the way they sat down to rest—may shed light on modern health. Featuring Assal Habibi.

Two Indian American professors have received the IEEE 2025 Technical Field Awards for “exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions” and making a “lasting impact on technology, society, and the engineering profession”. Shrikanth Narayanan was named as one of the winners for this prestigious award.

Where is Descartes wrong? For Antonio Damasio, one of the most prestigious researchers in the field of neurophysiology, who separates body from mind, with his thesis that thinking is the same as being, whereas it is exactly the opposite: first there was being, then thinking; we exist, therefore we think. Damasio’s book, “Descartes’ Error”, makes the list.

USC CMBS recently hosted its first Music, Health and Policy workshop as part of Los Angeles County Arts and Health Week, filling Joyce J. Cammilleri Hall on the University Park Campus. USC Thornton Dean Jason King and LA Opera soprano Renée Fleming were among the speakers at the workshop hosted at Cammilleri Hall on the University Park Campus.

A few neurologists and brain scientists are proposing that the secret underlying all conscious activity must lie with the way cells respond to stimuli they receive from their environment. In a response to this suggestion, Christof Koch asserts that much more is required for a full theory of consciousness.

In 2022, voters overwhelmingly passed California Proposition 28, a state ballot initiative aimed at expanding arts education in K-12 public schools, including charters. The measure gives schools an additional 1% of their annual budgets for visual arts, theater, dance, music or media arts. Beatriz Ilari chimes in on the importance of music education.

The article references neurologist Antonio Damasio to emphasize that emotions, not just rational thought, are fundamental to human experience. His insights are used to highlight the significance of beauty in architecture, suggesting that our emotional connection to our surroundings is essential for creating cities that people cherish and are motivated to preserve.

Assal Habibi was featured in Neuroscience News for a story covering her research exploring the impact of nostalgic music on brain function. The study shows that music can evoke vivid memories, providing a potential therapeutic tool for neurodegenerative diseases.

USC researchers Assal Habibi, Ellen Herschel, and Sarah Hennessy are investigating how nostalgic music can unlock memories and evoke strong emotions in the brain. Their work aims to apply these findings to help individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s experience a temporary “return to self” through personalized music interventions.

A conversation explores various topics from the relationship between suffering and intelligence to the impact of large language models on culture and the internet. Antonio Damasio is mentioned in this conversation for his perspective on the origins of intelligence and the necessity of pain and death in developing forms of cognition, particularly in relation to the potential emergence of artificial intelligence.

CMBS member Beatriz Ilari and co-author Lynne Snyder published an article where they wrote about how AI is transforming the way young people listen to music, affecting their individual preferences and communal bonding, while also exposing them to a broader range of musical genres.

The Walt Disney Company released its trailer for its “The Beach Boys” documentary this April. The documentary will trace the bands beginnings to their impact in the music industry, including interviews with band members, other artists and historians. Rock and roll historian and CMBS member Josh Kun is among those interviewed. This documentary will be available for streaming on Disney+ on May 24th.

USC standout faculty members and students were honored at USC’s annual Academic Honors Convocation. Vice Provost for the Arts and CMBS member, Josh Kun presented Professor Robert Townsend of the USC School of Cinematic Arts with the USC Associates Award for Artistic Expression.

CMBS member and director, Assal Habibi, was featured in a video podcast titled “Coffee with Ish”, hosted by Dr. Ishwar Puri who leads the USC Research and Innovation office. Dr. Habibi sat down with other colleagues at USC where she had the opportunity to talk about her start in music science and her research in music and child development.

CMBS member, Josh Kun, was recognized in President Carol Folt’s 2024 State of the University. He is USC’s first vice provost for the arts, under whose leadership art programs at the university have seen growth and development. His efforts aim to enhance the arts across various schools within USC and foster collaboration among them, reflecting the university’s commitment to artistic endeavors and interdisciplinary engagement.

CMBS member, Jonathan Leal, and his book were featured in PopMatters. “Scholar-musician Jonathan Leal’s Dreams in Double Time serves not only as a corrective to unhelpful (yet persistent) mythologising but goes much further, exploring how bebop created new possibilities for marginalised people in the early 20th century.” Check out the full review.

CMBS member, Dr. Shera, and other faculty were featured in a Keck news article highlighting the significant role of mentorship in shaping the careers of clinicians and researchers in the USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Shera shared his personal experience with mentors who influenced his career path from astrophysics to cochlear mechanics.

The Jacobs School of Music hosted the 16th annual Jean Sinor Memorial Lecture, featuring Beatriz Ilari from the University of Southern California, who discussed her research on “Musical Participation and Well-Being in Childhood and Adolescence.” Ilari’s study found that engaging in musical activities can significantly benefit middle school-aged children’s academic and emotional success. The research highlighted the importance of confidence and competence to well-being, exploring how music fosters social bonding, caregiving, and mental health.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing healthcare by enabling precision medicine, enhancing diagnostics, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. Prof. Shrikanth Narayanan of USC discusses AI’s transformative impact on patient care, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts and AI-driven innovation to reshape the healthcare landscape.

CMBS member, Shri Narayanan, was honored with awards from IEEE Signal Processing Society and IEEE Computer Society “for contributions to spoken language processing technologies and their societal applications” and “for pioneering contributions to speech, language and multimedia processing and affective computing and their human-centered societal applications”.