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For the past 20 years, Nicole O’Malley has traveled across Rhode Island to provide a unique yet important service: using music to treat patients with physical and cognitive challenges. The work is part of her effort to apply her clinical experiences to new research collaborations with peers in disciplines such as psychology and physical therapy. “I have been in this position for five minutes, but my lab will be the first in the region that focuses on the neurobiological impact of music,” says O’Malley, recently promoted to assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island (URI), and currently conducting research with fellow faculty member Christine Clarkin, URI assistant professor of physical therapy. “Because we’ve been clinicians for so long, we want to know the impact of our studies and how they can be disseminated to communities at large.” When people run, they often listen to music to keep their movement in time with the beat. Or they go to a concert and connect with a stranger over a favorite band’s new song. In these situations, the brain releases neurotransmitters and adapts its neural networking system to improve cognitive, communicative, and sensorimotor capabilities, while strengthening social and emotional responses to the surrounding world. O’Malley has treated nearly every clinical condition possible, from elderly patients looking to regain motor skills after a stroke to children suffering from mental health issues after the death of a parent.

“MY LAB WILL BE THE FIRST IN THE REGION THAT FOCUSES ON THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL IMPACT OF MUSIC.”

- NICOLE O’MALLEY

is also director of URI’s music therapy program. “What is the emotional impact? Will you learn to walk again if you’re depressed?” Recognized as a clinical profession since the 1950s when World War I and II veterans needed innovative treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), music therapy has evolved to incorporate culturally responsive practices based on patient choice. “Music feeds us,” she says. “Just listening to a song we like turns our reward circuits on, circuits that help with a lot of other skills.” O’Malley’s work helps to not only treat individuals clinically, but also build community. “I don’t just slap on a song and say, ‘you’re cured!’” she says. “Driven by music preference and neuroscience, we work in a variety of settings, including aging. I had a client from Cambodia with whom we were working on strategies for emotional coping. She preferred Khmer music for relaxation, which is not music our ears are accustomed to in Western cultures. “Khmer was the style of music we needed to reach her goals.”

Music, she says, is innate.

“When you’re relearning how to walk at 50, 60, 70 years old, all of a sudden you have to reacquire skills that don’t come second nature anymore,” says O’Malley, who

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