Jeg tiltrådte Universitetet i Bergen i 2015 som professor i biologisk, medisinsk og musikkpsykologi gjennom det nasjonale Toppforsk‑programmet. Min bakgrunn spenner over psykologi, sosiologi og musikk, med doktorgrad og habilitering fra Max Planck‑instituttet for human kognitiv og hjerneforskning og postdoktoropphold ved Harvard Medical School. Før Bergen hadde jeg professorater ved University of Sussex og Freie Universität Berlins «Languages of Emotion»-klynge.

I forskningen bruker vi musikk som en modell for å utforske grunnleggende prinsipper for menneskelig kognisjon og emosjon og de underliggende hjerneprosessene. Vi kartlegger hvordan hjernen behandler musikalsk struktur og hvordan musikk påvirker emosjonelle nettverk, og vi kombinerer metoder fra nevrovitenskap, psykologi, nevrologi og psykiatri. Gruppen vår oversetter også kunnskapen til praksis, blant annet gjennom undersøker av de terapeutiske effektene av musikk og fysisk aktivitet i pasienter med Alzheimers sykdom, mild kognitiv svikt og subjektiv kognitiv svikt (ALMUTH‑prosjektet), som undersøker effekter av musikkterapi og fysisk aktivitet hos personer med Alzheimer, mild kognitiv svikt og subjektiv kognitiv svikt. Andre prosjekter ser på musikkens rolle i smertereduksjon, stressregulering, rusbehandling og Parkinsons sykdom.

Teoretisk bidrar vi til diskusjoner om hjernen som et forutsigelsesapparat. Ved å studere hvordan musikalsk spenning og oppløsning former forventninger og belønning, samarbeider vi med kolleger som Karl Friston for å forstå hvordan hjernen oppdaterer interne modeller. Jeg har skrevet flere bøker for både fagmiljøer og allmennheten, deriblant Brain and Music, Good Vibrations og Die dunkle Seite des Gehirns, og jeg legger vekt på formidling. 

Vår Brain and Music Group ønsker henvendelser fra studenter og samarbeidspartnere som er interessert i musikk, emosjon og helse.

Mer om hans forskningsgruppe

Mer om Max Planck instituttet

Forskningsinteresser

• Emosjoner og hjernen
  • Humørregulering med musikk
• Kliniske intervensjoner mot Alzheimers sykdom
  • Effekten av musikk og fysisk aktivitet i Alzheimers pasienter
• Nevrovitenskapelige metoder
  • fMRI (funksjonell funksjonell magnetresonanstomografi)
  • MRS (magnetisk resonans spektroskopi)
• Prediktive prosesser i hjernen
• Musikk og hjerne

Populærvitenskapelige bøker

Good Vibrations: Unlocking the Healing Power of Music (Cambridge University Press, 2025) presenterer den nyeste forskningen om hvordan musikk påvirker hjernen, følelsene og helsen vår, med praktiske råd for hverdagen. Den norske utgaven heter Gode Vibrasjoner. Die dunkle Seite des Gehirns (2022) undersøker hvordan ubevisste prosesser påvirker tankene våre og gir strategier for å bryte negative mønstre. 

Foredrag, podkaster og media

Jeg deltar jevnlig i foredrag, intervjuer og podkaster om musikk og helse. Nylige høydepunkter inkluderer  Inside a musician's brain, et arrangement med Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester og pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, og det NRK TV-programmet Demenskoret. Samtalene spenner fra nevrovitenskapelige mekanismer for musikk og emosjon til praktiske temaer som stressregulering, læring og daglig velvære. En fullstendig oversikt med lenker finner du på gruppens nettside.

Podkaster

Below is a selection of podcast appearances over the past 3 years. 

• The New Science of Music as Medicine

  Apple Podcasts – Conversation about Good Vibrations and evidence for music’s therapeutic effects.

• Wie uns Musik hilft, gesünder und glücklicher zu leben (Podcast)

  SPIEGEL Gesundheit – How music supports well-being and health.

• Musik und mentale Gesundheit

  ZDFheute – Feature on music’s benefits for mental health.

• Musik & Gesundheit (Interview)

  ARD Audiothek – Public radio conversation on therapeutic mechanisms.

• Musik als Lebensretter – Auszeit für das Gehirn

  Deutschlandfunk Kultur – On recovery, stress regulation and music.

• Musik und Fragen zur Person

  Deutschlandfunk – Long-form interview on biography and research.

• Music’s healing mechanisms

  Spotify – Discussion of neural and physiological pathways.

• Negative Gedanken: Wie wir das Unterbewusstsein überlisten

  Antenne / SPIEGEL – Practical strategies for everyday mental health.

• Stress durch Gedanken – warum Abschalten wichtig ist

  RTL+ Podcast – How to regulate stress and rumination.

• Neustart: Musik hören beim Lernen

  detektor.fm – When (and when not) music helps learning.

• MDR KLASSIK Gespräch

  MDR KLASSIK – Music, longevity and health.

• hr2 Doppelkopf – Musik kann therapeutisch genutzt werden

  hr2 kultur – Interview on clinical and everyday applications.

• Music, Brain & Health

  YouTube – Public lecture / interview highlights.

• Music & Emotion – mechanisms

  YouTube – Overview of emotional processing of music.

• Music, health and the brain

  YouTube – Interview on practical impacts of music on health.

• Music, language & the brain

  YouTube – Conversation on shared and distinct brain mechanisms.

• SR Mediathek Feature

  Saarländischer Rundfunk – Regional radio piece on music & health.

• UNSERDING Mediathek

  SR / UNSERDING – Youth-oriented discussion of music and mood.

• Mensch, Musiker – Interview

  podcast.de – Career path, research and practice.

• Mensch, Musiker (Podigee)

  Podigee – Episode page / alternate feed.

• Megahertz – Interview

  Podigee – Technology, creativity and emotion in music.

• Wie wirkt Musik heilsam?

  podcast.de – What happens in brain and body during music.

• Die heilsame Kraft der Musik

  Apple Podcasts – German-language discussion of music’s healing power.

• Straßenkritik: Good Vibrations

  Deutschlandfunk Kultur – Street review of the book.

• SR2 Podcast

  SR2 – Feature/podcast on music and health.

• turi2 Hörtipp

  turi2 – Media pointer to interview on music and wellbeing.

• Snipd: Appearance index

  Snipd – Collection of podcast highlights and bookmarks.

• IMDb entry

  IMDb – Indexed media appearance.

Vitenskapelig oversiktsartikkel/review

• Kölsch, Stefan; Bradt, Joke (2025). A neuroscientific perspective on pain-reducing effects of music: Implications for music therapy and mental well-being. (ekstern lenke)
• Matziorinis, Anna Maria; Koelsch, Stefan (2022). The promise of music therapy for Alzheimer's disease: A review. (ekstern lenke)
• Menninghaus, Winfried; Wagner, Valentin; Wassiliwizky, Eugen et al. (2019). What are aesthetic emotions?. (ekstern lenke)
• Kölsch, Stefan; Vuust, Peter; Friston, Karl (2019). Predictive processes and the peculiar case of music. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)

Vitenskapelig artikkel

• Matziorinis, Anna Maria; Leemans, Alexander; Skouras, Stavros et al. (2024). The effects of musicality on brain network topology in the context of Alzheimer’s disease and memory decline. (ekstern lenke)
• Cheung, Vincent K. M.; Harrison, Peter M. C.; Koelsch, Stefan et al. (2024). Cognitive and sensory expectations independently shape musical expectancy and pleasure. (ekstern lenke)
• Werner, Lucy Madeleine; Skouras, Stavros; Bechtold, Laura et al. (2023). Sensorimotor synchronization to music reduces pain. (ekstern lenke)
• Daikoku, Tatsuya; Jentschke, Sebastian; Tsogli, Vera et al. (2023). Neural correlates of statistical learning in developmental dyslexia: An electroencephalography study. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• Matziorinis, Anna Maria; Gaser, Christian; Koelsch, Stefan (2022). Is musical engagement enough to keep the brain young?. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• Tsogli, Vera; Skouras, Stavros; Koelsch, Stefan (2022). Brain-correlates of processing local dependencies within a statistical learning paradigm. (ekstern lenke)
• Tsogli, Vera; Jentschke, Sebastian; Koelsch, Stefan (2022). Unpredictability of the “when” influences prediction error processing of the “what” and “where”. (ekstern lenke)
• Taruffi, Liila; Skouras, Stavros; Pehrs, Corinna et al. (2021). Trait Empathy Shapes Neural Responses Toward Sad Music. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• Kölsch, Stefan (2020). A coordinate-based meta-analysis of music-evoked emotions. (ekstern lenke)
• 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). (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Bashevkin, Tobias; Kristensen, Joakim et al. (2019). Heroic music stimulates empowering thoughts during mind-wandering. (ekstern lenke)
• Tsogli, Barbara; Jentschke, Sebastian; Daikoku, Tatsuya et al. (2019). When the statistical MMN meets the physical MMN. (ekstern lenke)
• Kölsch, Stefan (2018). Identifying Emotional Specificity in Complex Large-Scale Brain Networks. (ekstern lenke)
• Cheung, Vincent K.M.; Meyer, Lars; Friederici, Angela D. et al. (2018). The right inferior frontal gyrus processes nested non-local dependencies in music. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• Pehrs, Corinna; Zaki, Jamil; Taruffi, Liila et al. (2018). Hippocampal-Temporopolar Connectivity Contributes to Episodic Simulation during Social Cognition. (ekstern lenke)
• Taruffi, Liila; Pehrs, Corinna; Skouras, Stavros et al. (2017). Effects of Sad and Happy Music on Mind-Wandering and the Default Mode Network. (ekstern lenke)
• DePriest, John; Glushko, Anastasia; Steinhauer, Karsten et al. (2017). Language and music phrase boundary processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An ERP study. (ekstern lenke)
• Wassiliwizky, Eugen; Kölsch, Stefan; Wagner, Valentin et al. (2017). The emotional power of poetry: Neural circuitry, psychophysiology and compositional principles. (ekstern lenke)
• Pehrs, Corinna; Zaki, Jamil; Schlochtermeier, Lorna H. et al. (2017). The Temporal Pole Top-Down Modulates the Ventral Visual Stream during Social Cognition. (ekstern lenke)
• Menninghaus, Winfried; Wagner, Valentin; Hanich, Julian et al. (2017). The Distancing-Embracing model of the enjoyment of negative emotions in art reception. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• Glushko, Anastasia; Steinhauer, Karsten; DePriest, John et al. (2016). Neurophysiological correlates of musical and prosodic phrasing: Shared processing mechanisms and effects of musical expertise. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Friederici, Angela D.; Koelsch, Stefan (2014). Neural correlates of music-syntactic processing in two-year old children. (ekstern lenke)
• 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. (ekstern lenke)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Skouras, Stavros; Jentschke, Sebastian (2013). Neural correlates of emotional personality: a structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging study. (ekstern lenke)
• Fritz, Thomas; Schmude, Paul; Jentschke, Sebastian et al. (2013). From Understanding to Appreciating Music Cross-Culturally. (ekstern lenke)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Enge, Juliane; Jentschke, Sebastian (2012). Cardiac signatures of personality. (ekstern lenke)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Koelsch, Stefan (2011). Neurokognition von Musik und Sprache [Neurocognition of music and language]. (ekstern lenke)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Jentschke, Sebastian (2010). Differences in Electric Brain Responses to Melodies and Chords. (ekstern lenke)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Koelsch, Stefan (2009). Musical training modulates the development of syntax processing in children. (ekstern lenke)
• Fritz, Thomas; Jentschke, Sebastian; Gosselin, Nathalie et al. (2009). Universal Recognition of Three Basic Emotions in Music. (ekstern lenke)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Sammler, Daniela; Jentschke, Sebastian et al. (2008). EEG correlates of moderate intermittent explosive disorder. (ekstern lenke)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Jentschke, Sebastian (2008). Short-term effects of processing musical syntax: An ERP study. (ekstern lenke)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Kölsch, Stefan; Sallat, Stephan et al. (2008). Processing of musical syntax in children with and without Specific Language Impairment. (ekstern lenke)
• Koelsch, Stefan; Remppis, A; Sammler, Daniela et al. (2007). A cardiac signature of emotionality. (ekstern lenke)
• Kölsch, Stefan; Jentschke, Sebastian; Sammler, Daniela et al. (2007). Untangling syntactic and sensory processing: An ERP study of music perception. (ekstern lenke)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Koelsch, Stefan (2006). Gehirn, Musik, Plastizität und Entwicklung [Brain, Music, Plasticity, and Development]. (ekstern lenke)
• Jentschke, Sebastian; Koelsch, Stefan; Friederici, Angela D. (2005). Neural Correlates of Processing Structure in Music and Language – Influences of Musical Training and Language Impairment. (ekstern lenke)

Fagartikkel

• 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. (ekstern lenke)

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). (ekstern lenke)

Poster

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

Vitenskapelig foredrag

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

Faglig foredrag

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

Vitenskapelig Kapittel/Artikkel/Konferanseartikkel

• 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]. (ekstern lenke)

Se en full oversikt over publikasjoner i Cristin

Utvalgte publikasjoner

• 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.

Publikasjonsliste google.scholar