The Medical Physics Laboratory of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is pleased to announce that its Postdoctoral Researcher and exceptional partner Evangelos Paraskevopoulos will receive project funding by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) to conduct a three-year research, entitled “MusicPlast: Neuroplasticity of multisensory cortical areas induced by computerized musical training, across the life span: a translational approach”.
Retaining the extensive neuroplastic characteristics of music training, MusicPlast will develop, investigate and deliver a computer provided multisensory training protocol that aims to induce neuroplastic changes in frontotemporal cortical areas. More specifically, the goal of the proposed project is threefold: (a) The in-depth understanding and modeling of the developmental trajectory of the cortical networks underlying multisensory perception, (b) the modeling of the developmental trajectory of the cortical networks underlying multisensory plasticity throughout the life span of healthy subjects; and (c) the translation of this model in a computer provided multisensory training intervention protocol, which will cause beneficial neuroplastic changes in pathological populations. Electroencephalographic, behavioral and neuropsychological measurements, and advanced data analysis procedures, pre- and post the training application are going to be employed in order to evaluate the resulting neuroplasticity holistically.
The project will be performed in the Laboratory of Medical Physics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, offering the opportunity for the results to be integrated with the existing database of the laboratory and hence, to be compared with data obtained from cognitive and physical interventions, which do not use multisensory integration, and are applied in similar populations, augmenting thus the scientific impact of MusicPlast. For further information on MusicPlast’s objectives, please visit the webpage of the project.
A few words about Dr. Paraskevopoulos
Dr. Evangelos Paraskevopoulos completed his bachelor and master studies in the psychology department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH). At the same time he studied music theory and received a music diploma in Harmony, Counterpoint and Fugue. He performed his PhD in cognitive neurosciences and Magnetoencephalography in the Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis in Muenster, Germany. He completed his PhD in 2013 receiving a Summa Cum Laude graduate. He currently holds a post-doc research associate position in the Laboratory of Medical Physics in (AUTH) as a group leader of the Neurosciences of Cognition and Affection group of the laboratory, and a part-time lecturer position at the City College, an International faculty of the University of Sheffield. Dr. Paraskevopoulos has received multiple distinctions for his research work.