EVENT    Prof. Michael Casey of Dartmouth College to Deliver Keynote at MERL's Virtual Open House 2025

Date & Time:

Tuesday, November 18, 2025; 1:25 - 2:05 pm EST

Location:

Virtual Event

Description:

MERL is excited to announce the featured keynote speaker for our Virtual Open House (VOH) 2025: Prof. Michael Casey of Dartmouth College.

Title:
Neuroresponsive Music: Deep Learning Approaches to Auditory Perception, Imagination, and Clinical Auditory Stimulation.

Abstract:
In this talk, I will present recent research from my lab on decoding auditory perception and imagination from human brain activity using self-supervised and transfer learning frameworks. We apply deep learning models to functional MRI and intracranial electrophysiology (ECoG/iEEG) data to map neural representations of real and imagined sound. Building on these models, we investigate how tempo-modulated musical stimuli influence epileptic brain dynamics in patients with surgically implanted electrodes. Our findings reveal that certain musical features can significantly reduce epileptiform activity. By performing causal inference on model-derived feature representations, we identify which acoustic and temporal properties most strongly contribute to these neurophysiological effects. This approach enables the recommendation and generation of clinically beneficial music tailored to individual neural profiles. Our broader goal is to develop non-invasive, low-cost, and personalized neuro-responsive music systems for the treatment of epilepsy and other brain disorders.

Speaker:

Prof. Michael A. Casey
Dartmouth College

Michael Casey is the Francis and Mildred Sears Professor in Computer Science and Music at Dartmouth, NH, USA. His lab conducts research in music informatics, auditory neuroscience, and neurologic music therapies. Funding for his research has been awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, UK).





Our VOH this year will take place on November 18th, 1:00pm - 4:30pm (EST). Prof. Casey’s talk is scheduled for 1:25-2:05pm (EST). For details and agenda of the event, please visit: https://merl.com/events/voh25



Join us to learn more about who we are, what we do, and discuss our internship, post-doc, and full-time employment opportunities. To register, go to: https://mailchi.mp/merl/voh25

External Link:

https://faculty-directory.dartmouth.edu/michael-casey