Stefan Koelsch (Kölsch) is a brain scientist and bestselling author recruited by UiB in 2015 as a Toppforsk (excellent research) Professor. His main research fields are neuroscience and experimental psychology. He is known for highly interdisciplinary work, co-authoring publications with neurologists, immunologists, psychiatrists, physicists, philosophers, musicologists, literary scholars, and psycholinguists. His ISI h-index is >60 (>80 in scholar.google), with an average of >80 citations per article.

If you are interested in doing a B.Sc. or M.Sc. thesis in my group please click on the tab to the right. 

Prof. Koelsch describes his research interests as follows: “I am interested in which brain processes make us happy and healthy, and unhappy and sick. I have a powerful personal connection to music (being a former musician myself), and I am particularly interested in how music can support mood-regulation, social connection, and self-motivation. I am also interested in the therapeutic effects of music on disorders and diseases, especially neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders. My group is currently running a large study funded by the Norwegian Research Council (Forskningsradet) investigating the therapeutic effects of music therapy and physical exercise in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Subjective Cognitive Decline. Other neuroscience projects in my group investigate neural correlates of emotion, learning, and predictive processes.”

Stefan Koelsch is also a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig (Germany), and at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. 

More on his research group

Research Interests

• Emotions and the brain
  • Moodregulation with music
• Clinical Interventions in Alzheimer's disease.
  • The therapeutic effects of music and physical activity in Alzheimer's disease
• Neuroscientific methods
  • fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
  • MRS (Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy)
• Predicitive processes in the brain
• Music and the brain

 

"Gode Vibrasjoner" (Norsk oversettelse av min bok om musikk, emosjoner, hjernen, og terapeutiske virkninger av musikk)

Sammen med Sandvik: Leif Ove Andsnes og Stefan Kölsch (NRK radio) 

Inside a musician's brain (Bergen Philharmonic Video Presentation) 

På sangens lykkepille (News article in A-Magasinet about neuroscience and music)

Selected publications

• Cheung, V. K., Harrison, P. M., Meyer, L., Pearce, M. T., Haynes, J. D., & Koelsch, S. (2019). Uncertainty and surprise jointly predict musical pleasure and Amygdala, Hippocampus, and auditory cortex activity. Current Biology, 29(23), 4084-4092.

• Koelsch, S. (2014). Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15(3), 170-180.

• Koelsch, S., Vuust, P., & Friston, K. (2019). Predictive processes and the peculiar case of music. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(1), 63-77.

• Koelsch, S., Skouras, S., & Lohmann, G. (2018). The auditory cortex hosts network nodes influential for emotion processing: An fMRI study on music-evoked fear and joy. PloS one, 13(1), e0190057.

• Hohmann, L., Bradt, J., Stegemann, T., & Koelsch, S. (2017). Effects of music therapy and music-based interventions in the treatment of substance use disorders: A systematic review. PloS one, 12(11), e0187363.

• Taruffi, L., Pehrs, C., Skouras, S., & Koelsch, S. (2017). Effects of sad and happy music on mind-wandering and the default mode network. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1-10.

• Pehrs, C., Zaki, J., Schlochtermeier, L. H., Jacobs, A. M., Kuchinke, L., & Koelsch, S. (2017). The temporal pole top-down modulates the ventral visual stream during social cognition. Cerebral Cortex, 27(1), 777-792.

• Koelsch, S., Boehlig, A., Hohenadel, M., Nitsche, I., Bauer, K., & Sack, U. (2016). The impact of acute stress on hormones and cytokines, and how their recovery is affected by music-evoked positive mood. Scientific reports, 6, 23008.

• Koelsch, S., Busch, T., Jentschke, S., & Rohrmeier, M. (2016). Under the hood of statistical learning: A statistical MMN reflects the magnitude of transitional probabilities in auditory sequences. Scientific reports, 6, 19741.

• Lehne, M., Rohrmeier, M., & Koelsch, S. (2014). Tension-related activity in the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala: an fMRI study with music. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 9(10), 1515-1523.

Publication list in google.scholar

Academic article

• Cheung, Vincent K. M.; Harrison, Peter M. C.; Koelsch, Stefan et al. (2024). Cognitive and sensory expectations independently shape musical expectancy and pleasure. (external link)
• Matziorinis, Anna Maria; Flo, Birthe Kristin; Skouras, Stavros et al. (2023). A 12-month randomised pilot trial of the Alzheimer’s and music therapy study: a feasibility assessment of music therapy and physical activity in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. (external link)
• Daikoku, Tatsuya; Jentschke, Sebastian; Tsogli, Vera et al. (2023). Neural correlates of statistical learning in developmental dyslexia: An electroencephalography study. (external link)
• Werner, Lucy Madeleine; Skouras, Stavros; Bechtold, Laura et al. (2023). Sensorimotor synchronization to music reduces pain. (external link)
• Tsogli, Vera; Skouras, Stavros; Koelsch, Stefan (2022). Brain-correlates of processing local dependencies within a statistical learning paradigm. (external link)
• Flo, Birthe Kristin; Matziorinis, Anna Maria; Skouras, Stavros et al. (2022). Study protocol for the Alzheimer and music therapy study: An RCT to compare the efficacy of music therapy and physical activity on brain plasticity, depressive symptoms, and cognitive decline, in a population with and at risk for Alzheimer's disease. (external link)
• Matziorinis, Anna Maria; Gaser, Christian; Koelsch, Stefan (2022). Is musical engagement enough to keep the brain young?. (external link)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Andrews-Hanna, Jessica R.; Skouras, Stavros (2022). Tormenting thoughts: The posterior cingulate sulcus of the default mode network regulates valence of thoughts and activity in the brain's pain network during music listening. (external link)
• Tsogli, Vera; Jentschke, Sebastian; Koelsch, Stefan (2022). Unpredictability of the “when” influences prediction error processing of the “what” and “where”. (external link)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Cheung, Vincent K. M.; Jentschke, Sebastian et al. (2021). Neocortical substrates of feelings evoked with music in the ACC, insula, and somatosensory cortex. (external link)
• Taruffi, Liila; Skouras, Stavros; Pehrs, Corinna et al. (2021). Trait Empathy Shapes Neural Responses Toward Sad Music. (external link)
• Menninghaus, Winfried; Schindler, Ines; Wassiliwizky, Eugen et al. (2020). REPLY: Aesthetic Emotions Are a Key Factor in Aesthetic Evaluation: Reply to Skov and Nadal (2020). (external link)
• Koenig, Julian; Abler, Birgit; Agartz, Ingrid et al. (2020). Cortical thickness and resting‐state cardiac function across the lifespan: A cross‐sectional pooled mega‐analysis. (external link)
• Kölsch, Stefan (2020). A coordinate-based meta-analysis of music-evoked emotions. (external link)
• Tsogli, Barbara; Jentschke, Sebastian; Daikoku, Tatsuya et al. (2019). When the statistical MMN meets the physical MMN. (external link)
• Orini, Michele; Al-Amodi, Faez; Kölsch, Stefan et al. (2019). The Effect of Emotional Valence on Ventricular Repolarization Dynamics Is Mediated by Heart Rate Variability: A Study of QT Variability and Music-Induced Emotions. (external link)
• Cheung, Vincent K.M.; Harrison, Peter M.C.; Meyer, Lars et al. (2019). Uncertainty and surprise jointly predict musical pleasure and amygdala, hippocampus, and auditory cortex activity. (external link)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Bashevkin, Tobias ; Kristensen, Joakim et al. (2019). Heroic music stimulates empowering thoughts during mind-wandering . (external link)
• Kölsch, Stefan (2018). Identifying Emotional Specificity in Complex Large-Scale Brain Networks. (external link)
• Cheung, Vincent K.M.; Meyer, Lars; Friederici, Angela D. et al. (2018). The right inferior frontal gyrus processes nested non-local dependencies in music. (external link)
• Kölsch, Stefan; Skouras, Stavros; Lohmann, Gabriele (2018). The auditory cortex hosts network nodes influential for emotion processing: An fMRI study on music-evoked fear and joy. (external link)
• Pehrs, Corinna; Zaki, Jamil; Taruffi, Liila et al. (2018). Hippocampal-Temporopolar Connectivity Contributes to Episodic Simulation during Social Cognition. (external link)
• Taruffi, Liila; Pehrs, Corinna; Skouras, Stavros et al. (2017). Effects of Sad and Happy Music on Mind-Wandering and the Default Mode Network. (external link)
• DePriest, John; Glushko, Anastasia; Steinhauer, Karsten et al. (2017). Language and music phrase boundary processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An ERP study. (external link)
• Wassiliwizky, Eugen; Kölsch, Stefan; Wagner, Valentin et al. (2017). The emotional power of poetry: Neural circuitry, psychophysiology and compositional principles. (external link)
• Cerruto, Giuliano; Mainardi, Luca; Koelsch, Stefan et al. (2017). The periodic repolarization dynamics index identifies changes in ventricular repolarization oscillations associated with music-induced emotions. (external link)
• Pehrs, Corinna; Zaki, Jamil; Schlochtermeier, Lorna H. et al. (2017). The Temporal Pole Top-Down Modulates the Ventral Visual Stream during Social Cognition. (external link)
• Menninghaus, Winfried; Wagner, Valentin; Hanich, Julian et al. (2017). The Distancing-Embracing model of the enjoyment of negative emotions in art reception. (external link)
• Glushko, Anastasia; Steinhauer, Karsten; DePriest, John et al. (2016). Neurophysiological correlates of musical and prosodic phrasing: Shared processing mechanisms and effects of musical expertise. (external link)
• Kölsch, Stefan; Böhlig, Albrecht; Hohenadel, Maximilian et al. (2016). The impact of acute stress on hormones and cytokines, and how their recovery is affected by music-evoked positive mood. (external link)
• Kölsch, Stefan; Busch, Tobias; Jentschke, Sebastian et al. (2016). Under the hood of statistical learning: A statistical MMN reflects the magnitude of transitional probabilities in auditory sequences. (external link)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Friederici, Angela D.; Koelsch, Stefan (2014). Neural correlates of music-syntactic processing in two-year old children. (external link)
• Aust, Sabine; Stasch, Joanna; Jentschke, Sebastian et al. (2014). Differential effects of early life stress on hippocampus and amygdala volume as a function of emotional abilities. (external link)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Skouras, Stavros; Jentschke, Sebastian (2013). Neural correlates of emotional personality: a structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging study. (external link)
• Fritz, Thomas; Schmude, Paul; Jentschke, Sebastian et al. (2013). From Understanding to Appreciating Music Cross-Culturally. (external link)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Enge, Juliane; Jentschke, Sebastian (2012). Cardiac signatures of personality. (external link)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Koelsch, Stefan (2011). Neurokognition von Musik und Sprache [Neurocognition of music and language]. (external link)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Jentschke, Sebastian (2010). Differences in Electric Brain Responses to Melodies and Chords. (external link)
• Fritz, Thomas; Jentschke, Sebastian; Gosselin, Nathalie et al. (2009). Universal Recognition of Three Basic Emotions in Music. (external link)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Koelsch, Stefan (2009). Musical training modulates the development of syntax processing in children. (external link)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Kölsch, Stefan; Sallat, Stephan et al. (2008). Processing of musical syntax in children with and without Specific Language Impairment. (external link)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Jentschke, Sebastian (2008). Short-term effects of processing musical syntax: An ERP study. (external link)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Sammler, Daniela; Jentschke, Sebastian et al. (2008). EEG correlates of moderate intermittent explosive disorder. (external link)
• Kölsch, Stefan; Jentschke, Sebastian; Sammler, Daniela et al. (2007). Untangling syntactic and sensory processing: An ERP study of music perception. (external link)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Remppis, A; Sammler, Daniela et al. (2007). A cardiac signature of emotionality. (external link)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Koelsch, Stefan (2006). Gehirn, Musik, Plastizität und Entwicklung [Brain, Music, Plasticity, and Development]. (external link)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Koelsch, Stefan; Friederici, Angela D. (2005). Neural Correlates of Processing Structure in Music and Language – Influences of Musical Training and Language Impairment. (external link)

Academic literature review

• Matziorinis, Anna Maria; Koelsch, Stefan (2022). The promise of music therapy for Alzheimer's disease: A review. (external link)
• Menninghaus, Winfried; Wagner, Valentin; Wassiliwizky, Eugen et al. (2019). What are aesthetic emotions?. (external link)
• Kölsch, Stefan; Vuust, Peter; Friston, Karl (2019). Predictive processes and the peculiar case of music. (external link)
• Hohmann, Louisa ; Bradt, Joke; Stegemann, Thomas et al. (2017). Effects of music therapy and music-based interventions in the treatment of substance use disorders: A systematic review. (external link)
• Menninghaus, Winfried; Wagner, Valentin; Hanich, Julian et al. (2017). Negative emotions in art reception: Refining theoretical assumptions and adding variables to the distancing-embracing model. (external link)

Academic lecture

• Jentschke, Sebastian; Daikoku, Tatsuya; Tsogli, Barbara et al. (2019). Statistical learning in the developing brain: Towards early diagnosis of impaired language acquisition. (external link)

Poster

• Daikoku, Tatsuya; Jentschke, Sebastian; Tsogli, Barbara et al. (2019). Statistical learning in the developing brain. (external link)

Errata

• Tsogli, Vera; Jentschke, Sebastian; Daikoku, Tatsuya et al. (2019). Author Correction: When the statistical MMN meets the physical MMN (Scientific Reports, (2019), 9, 1, (5563), 10.1038/s41598-019-42066-4). (external link)

Article in business/trade/industry journal

• Koelsch, Stefan; Kölsch, Stefan; Cheung, Vincent K.M. et al. (2019). Uncertainty and Surprise Jointly Predict Musical Pleasure and Amygdala, Hippocampus, and Auditory Cortex Activity. (external link)

Lecture

• Kölsch, Stefan (2017). Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions and implications for therapy. (external link)

Academic chapter/article/Conference paper

• Jentschke, Sebastian; Koelsch, Stefan (2007). Einflüsse von Entwicklungsveränderungen auf die Musikwahrnehmung und die Beziehung von Musik und Sprache [The relationship of music and language and developmental influences on music perception]. (external link)

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

Our current projects include: 

Therapeutic effects of music and physical activity on the brains of individuals with, or at risk for, Alzheimer's disease. 

We also carry out MRI-studies (e.g. on emotions, or on the effects of emotions on thoughts, often using music as experimental stimulus), and EEG studies (e.g. on predictive coding). 

2014-2015 Professor i Psykologi (emosjons og biologisk psykologi), det Psykologiske Fakultet ved Universitetet i Lancaster, Storbritannia.

2010-2014 Professor i Psykologi (Biologisk Psykologi og Musikkpsykologi), Freie Universität Berlin, Tyskland

2006-2010 Seniorforeleser, Universitetet i Sussex, Storbritannia.

2003-2008 Assisterende Professor/Forskningsgruppeleder av en uavhengig juniorforskningsgruppe ved Max Planck Institututtet for kognitiv nevrovitenskap, Leipzig, Tyskland

2001-2002 Postdoktor ved Harvard Medical School, ved Fakultet for Nevrologi/hjerneavbilding (Gruppeprofessor Dr. G. Schlaug), Harvard Univerisity, USA

Annet

2004 Tysk habilitasjon, 06.12.2004, , Max Planck Instituttet for kognitiv nevrovitenskap / Universitetet i Leipzig (fakultet for biovitenskap, farmakologi og psykologi, Tyskland

2000 PhD i Psykologi (Dr. rer. nat.), 08.05.2000, Max Planck Instituttet for kognitiv nevrovitenskap / Universitetet i Leipzig, Tyskland (summa cum laude)