NAMI Ask the Expert: The Impact of Sound and Music OD050

An on-demand video and transcript of the presentation are available here [opens in new tab].

About The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. They are an alliance of more than 650 local Affiliates and 49 State organizations who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education to people with mental illness and their loved ones. Through awareness, advocacy and education, NAMI is committed to building stronger communities and a better future for everyone affected by mental illness.

Course Summary

Practice Level: Intermediate

This course, based on the Ask the Expert webinar series by NAMI, reviews how sound and music are processed in the brain and how auditory input can influence cognition, emotion, stress responses, and behavior. Drawing on neurobiological concepts, the training connects these mechanisms to practical applications such as pain coping, mood regulation, and supportive strategies for neurocognitive disorders. The course also addresses why individuals may respond differently to the same music and highlights clinically relevant cautions, emphasizing that music-based approaches are adjunctive, individualized, and not a substitute for assessment or evidence-based treatment.

The course, with an intended audience of social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and counselors, translates core neuroscience of emotion, reward, stress, and memory into clinically useful considerations for engagement, behavioral support planning, and adjunctive coping strategies across settings and populations.

Course Format

This course contains a participant guide, practice test, and on-demand video. When you’re ready, purchase the course by clicking the “Add To Cart” or “Enroll” button. This will let you take the test, complete the course evaluation and receive your certificate for CE credits.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify neural systems involved in music-related emotion, reward, stress responding, and memory.
2. Describe evidence-based clinical applications of music-based interventions for pain, mood symptoms, and neurocognitive or neurological conditions.
3. Differentiate appropriate adjunctive uses of music from situations requiring clinical caution, individualized assessment, or referral to specialized care.

Course Syllabus

• Foundations: What sound/music are and why perception differs across individuals
• Neurobiology: Emotion, reward, stress physiology, and auditory-language processing
• Clinical and functional applications: Pain coping, anxiety/anger regulation, and rhythm-based movement support 
• Memory and neurocognitive considerations: Music, autobiographical recall, and dementia-related distress/communication

Current References

Brown, S., Martinez, M. J., Hodges, D. A., Fox, P. T., & Parsons, L. M. (2004). The song system of the human brain. Cognitive Brain Research, 20(3), 363–375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogbrainres.2004.03.016 [opens in new tab]

Cage, J. (1952). 4′33″ [Musical composition]. Edition Peters.

Chen, S., Yuan, Q., Wang, C., Ye, J., & Yang, L. (2025). The effect of music therapy for patients with chronic pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychology, 13, Article 455.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02643-x [opens in new tab]

Chien, C.-Y., Lin, C.-L., Chang, J. S.-K., Lee, T.-L., Lin, T.-Y., & Lin, C.-C. (2026). Discriminative compensatory activation during auditory beat perception in Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 20, 1700800. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2026.1700800 [opens in new tab]

Chopin, F. (1830). Piano concerto no. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 [Musical composition].

Darwin, C. (1871). The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. John Murray.

Lu, L.-C., Lan, S.-H., Lan, S.-J., & Hsieh, Y.-P. (2025). Effectiveness of the music therapy in dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 54(3), 167–186. https://doi.org/10.1159/000542464 [opens in new tab]

Rimsky-Korsakov, N. (1900). Flight of the Bumblebee [Orchestral interlude]. (From The tale of Tsar Saltan).

Spielberg, S. (Director). (1993). Schindler’s list [Film]. Universal Pictures.

Sveinsdottir, V., Assmus, J., Schneider, J., Baker, F. A., Uçaner, B., Kreutz, G., Geretsegger, M., Rasing, N., Bloska, J., Stretton-Smith, P. A., Lee, Y.-E. C., Wake, J. D., Odell-Miller, H., Tamplin, J., Vink, A. C., Ablewhite, J., Neuser, J., Frischen, U., Timmer, A., Wosch, T., … Gold, C. (2025). Clinical effectiveness of music interventions for dementia and depression in older people (MIDDEL): A multinational, cluster-randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Healthy Longevity, 6(12), 100783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanhl.2025.100783 [opens in new tab]

Williams, J. (1993). Theme from Schindler’s list [Musical composition].

Xiong, J., Jiang, X., Cai, B., Zhao, L., Zhang, Q., & Luo, J. (2025). Binaural beats for perioperative anxiety and pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 95, 103299.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2025.103299 [opens in new tab]

Instructors

Dr. Kiminobu Sugaya

Dr. Kiminobu Sugaya has been a Professor and Head of Neuroscience in Burnett School of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida (UCF) since 2004. He is also the Chair of the Multidisciplinary Neuroscience Alliance of UCF, an Honorary Professor at INDICASAT, Panama, The University of United Arab Emirates, UAE and a visiting professor at Tohoku University, Japan. He moved from Japan to the U.S. as a post-doctoral fellow for Mayo Clinic in 1992 when he was a lecturer at the Science University of Tokyo. He was promoted to an associate consultant in 1994. Then he became an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1997 and was promoted to an associate professor with tenure in 2002. He invented iPS cells in 2004, a year before the Japanese group filed their invention, using overexpression of embryonic stem cell gene, Nanog, from adult stem cells. He received the National Honor Plaque of Panama for exceptional contribution to neuroscience based on his study on stem cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. His research has been reported Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC, and other media worldwide. He has been teaching a special seminar, “Music and the Brain,” at Burnett Honors College, UCF with Dr. Ayako Yonetani since 2005, which is a very popular class.

Nicole Errickson, LCSW

Nicole is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of Georgia. She brings over 19 years experience in the social work field, primarily working in school systems as a school social worker and with the McKinney-Vento grant. Over her career, Nicole has had several opportunities to help develop and execute professional development events. Nicole has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of South Alabama and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Alabama.

Accreditation Approval Statements

CE4Less.com is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CE4Less.com maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

CE4Less.com, provider #1115, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 8/8/24-8/8/27.

Social workers completing this course receive 1 general continuing education credits.

We are committed to providing our learners with unbiased information. CE4Less never accepts commercial support and our authors have no significant financial or other conflicts of interest pertaining to the material.