KINGSTON, R.I., April 3, 2017 \u2014 The 2017 Malford Thewlis Lecture on Gerontology and Geriatrics at the 溏心vlog免费B站 will explore the surprising interconnections among aging, creative expression and brain science. Nina Kraus, professor of communication sciences, neurobiology and otolaryngology at Northwestern University, will speak April 12 on \u201cThe Fine Art of Aging: Connecting Creativity and Neuroscience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tend to associate creativity with younger people,\u201d said Phillip Clark, director of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s gerontology program, a main sponsor of the lecture, which is part of the University\u2019s annual Aging and Health Week. \u201cThat\u2019s not true. Art and creativity are extremely important as we get older.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kraus will speak at 7 p.m. in Edwards Hall<\/a>, Kingston Campus, with a reception beginning at 6 p.m. A live broadcast is available at livestream.com\/universityofrhodeisland<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Her talk will explore emerging research on aging, the impact of creativity on the brain \u2014 particularly regarding music and sound \u2014and the neuroscience linking these elements.<\/p>\n Kraus, who holds the Hugh Knowles Chair at Northwestern, has conducted innovative research involving thousands of participants from birth to age 90 and has revealed that sound and our active engagement with it shape how we live.\u00a0She is the founder of Northwestern University\u2019s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Brainvolts<\/a>, which investigates the biology of auditory learning and presents its findings in easy-to-understand multimedia formats.<\/p>\n \u201cSound is a powerful force in our lives, it is central to human communication,\u201d Kraus said. \u201cWe don\u2019t recognize how incredibly important sound is because it is invisible, but it has the ability to shape our brains for better or worse.\u201d<\/p>\n Sound can harm our brains when it manifests as incessant moderate noise \u2014 the droning of a highway outside a classroom, the beeping of motorized vehicles in an airport \u2014 even when it is not loud enough to damage our ears, she noted. A great deal of hearing happens in the brain, so exposure to such noise can blunt auditory processes, Kraus explained.<\/p>\n Sound can aid brain development and resilience across the life span when we play music, sing or learn a new language, she said. \u201cMusic activates the cognitive, sensory-motor and reward centers of the brain. It is kind of a jackpot, engaging these centers thoroughly,\u201d said Kraus, who hopes audience members leave her presentation thinking about sound in new ways.<\/p>\n While listening to music can be pleasurable, making music \u2014 or learning a new language \u2014 is what provides the benefits. \u201cI tell people you are not going to get physically fit watching sports. Active engagement is what strengthens our neural passages,\u201d said Kraus, an amateur musician.<\/p>\n She said research indicates those who play or have played an instrument, even in childhood, enjoy better cognition and memory as they age, stressing that it is never too late to take up an instrument.<\/p>\n While in Rhode Island, Kraus also will meet in Providence with members of the creative, scientific and health care communities to discuss the arts and aging.<\/p>\n The Thewlis lecture is one of three free events scheduled during Aging and Health Week. The award-winning documentary \u201cAlive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory<\/a>\u201d will be shown April 9 at 3 p.m. at the College of Pharmacy\u2019s<\/a> Earnest Mario Auditorium, Room 170. The film highlights the powerful impact of music on persons with dementia. A brief panel discussion follows the screening. The Intergenerational Community Event will be held on\u00a0 April 12\u00a0from\u00a02 to 4 p.m.\u00a0in Atrium 1 in the Memorial Union. This event will bring together students,\u00a0faculty,\u00a0staff and older adults\u00a0from the community to\u00a0explore including music, writing, theater and photography in their lives.<\/p>\n The 溏心vlog免费B站 gerontology program, part of the College of Health Sciences\/Academic Health Collaborative, launched the Thewlis lecture 11 years ago to recognize the contributions of Dr. Malford W. Thewlis, a former resident of Wakefield, pioneer in the field of geriatric medicine and a founder of the American Geriatrics Society in 1942. He wrote the landmark book \u201cThe Care of the Aged: Geriatrics\u201d in 1919.\u201d <\/em>Each year the lecture highlights an important element of aging.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>Aging and Health Week sponsors are: 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Program in Gerontology, Office of the Provost, College of Health Sciences\/Academic Health Collaborative and the George and Anne Ryan Institute as well as the Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center.<\/p>\n