WCM-Q shares advances in neuromusicology with specialised centres in Jordan

Dr Ghizlane Bendriss, a neuroscientist and esteemed faculty member at Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar (WCM-Q), recently visited Amman, Jordan, as part of a regional collaboration on music-based interventions.She is at the forefront of pioneering research on the effects of Arab music maqams (the melodic system used in Middle Eastern music) on brain physiology and emotions.During her trip, Dr Bendriss presented initial findings from her electroencephalogram (EEG) clinical trial on Arabic maqams and brain activity, which is the only study of its kind registered on ClinicalTrials.govThe presentation took place at Crescendo Music & Art Academy, a well-established institute with comprehensive music and arts education, in the presence of ethnomusicologists, therapists, and special needs educators.Dr Bendriss’s research results indicated that Maqam Saba can evoke measurable emotional responses in participants with Arab backgrounds compared with participants with no Arab background, challenging the notion that music perception is universal.These findings pave the way for the development of music therapy approaches that are tailored to specific cultural contexts.Dr Bendriss also visited the Orient Spirit Development Organisation, the first specialised vocational training centre in the Middle East dedicated to training individuals with disabilities and learning difficulties, which engages in music therapy, crafts, and income-generating activities to build their autonomy and confidence."It is the first study of its kind to bring neuroscientific evidence to what scholars like al-Farabi and Ibn Sina described centuries ago – the therapeutic power of musical modes, or maqams, used in the earliest mental health hospitals, the Bimaristans,” Dr Bendriss said. "Just as Mozart’s music has been studied neurologically, our work at the WCM-Q examines for the first time the brain’s response to *Howa Sahih El Hawa Ghalab, a classic interpreted by Umm Kulthum in Maqam Saba.”"The findings challenge the idea that sadness in music is universal, suggesting instead that music-based interventions must be culturally grounded,” she continued."Sharing these results in Jordan – home to one of the region’s oldest music therapy degree programmes – was deeply meaningful,” Dr Bendriss said. "It reflects my aspiration to foster lasting regional collaborations that bridge science, heritage, and care, and ultimately serve children with special needs through more inclusive, culturally informed therapeutic practices.”