State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University

Faculty

Current Faculty

Yun Nan Ph.D.music cognition, unpack the educational and healing power of music using modern neuroscientific approaches nany#bnu.edu.cn

Educational Experience

Dec 2006 PhD MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Leipzig, Germany) Dissertation: “Music phrase structure perception: the neural basis, the effects of acculturation and musical training” (Graduated Magna Cum Laude)
Supervisors: Dr. Thomas R. Knösche and Prof. Dr. Angela D. Friederici

Professional Experience

State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning　　　　 since Sept 2018

Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

Professor

State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning　　　　 2011 to 2018

Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

Associate Professor

State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning　　　　 2006 to 2011

Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

Lecturer

Auditory Neuroscience lab (Northwestern University), Evanston, US　　2010

Visiting Researcher, Prof. Nina Kraus

BRAMS, Montreal, Canada　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Feb 2009

Visiting Researcher, Prof. Isabelle Peretz

Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China　　2001 to 2003

Research Assistant, Prof. Yuejia Luo

Mental Health Center, Qingdao, China　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　1999 to 2001

Clinic psychiatrist

Research Description

My research interests in brain sciences in general is driven by my training in clinical medicine and the two-year experience of a psychiatrist. During my Ph. D, music became the specific topic through which I tried to understand the functions of the human brain. Ultimately, the passion for both music and brain sciences has led me to a career in research, concentrating on how music is processed and represented in the human brain, and how music learning impacts the development of brain and other processes such as language and social cognitive functions. My long-term goal is to unpack the educational and healing power of music using modern neuroscientific approaches.

Publications

1. Meng, X., Sun, C., Du, B., Liu, L., Zhang, Y., Dong, Q., Georgiou, G. K., & Nan, Y.* (2021, Jul 14). The development of brain rhythms at rest and its impact on vocabulary acquisition. Dev Sci, e13157. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13157

2. Li, M., Tang, W., Liu, C.*, Nan, Y.*, Wang, W., & Dong, Q. (2019, Dec 18). Vowel and Tone Identification for Mandarin Congenital Amusics: Effects of Vowel Type and Semantic Content. J Speech Lang Hear Res, 62(12), 4300-4308. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_JSLHR-S-18-0440

3. Nan, Y.*, Liu, L., Geiser, E., Shu, H., Gong, C. C., Dong, Q., Gabrieli, J. D. E., & Desimone, R.* (2018, Jul 10). Piano training enhances the neural processing of pitch and improves speech perception in Mandarin-speaking children. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 115(28), E6630-E6639. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1808412115

4. Tang, W., Wang, X. J., Li, J. Q., Liu, C.*, Dong, Q., & Nan, Y.* (2018, Jun). Vowel and tone recognition in quiet and in noise among Mandarin-speaking amusics. Hear Res, 363, 62-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2018.03.004

5. Chen, X., Zhao, Y., Zhong, S., Cui, Z., Li, J., Gong, G., Dong, Q., & Nan, Y.* (2018, May). The lateralized arcuate fasciculus in developmental pitch disorders among mandarin amusics: left for speech and right for music. Brain Struct Funct, 223(4), 2013-2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-018-1608-2

6. Tang, W., Xiong, W., Zhang, Y. X., Dong, Q., & Nan, Y.* (2016, Oct). Musical experience facilitates lexical tone processing among Mandarin speakers: Behavioral and neural evidence. Neuropsychologia, 91, 247-253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.08.003

7. Zhao, Y., Chen, X., Zhong, S., Cui, Z., Gong, G., Dong, Q., & Nan, Y.* (2016, May 23). Abnormal topological organization of the white matter network in Mandarin speakers with congenital amusia. Sci Rep, 6, 26505. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep26505

8. Nan, Y.*, Huang, W. T., Wang, W. J., Liu, C., & Dong, Q. (2016, Jan). Subgroup differences in the lexical tone mismatch negativity (MMN) among Mandarin speakers with congenital amusia. Biol Psychol, 113, 59-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.11.010

9. Huang, W. T., Liu, C., Dong, Q., & Nan, Y.* (2015). Categorical perception of lexical tones in mandarin-speaking congenital amusics. Front Psychol, 6, 829. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00829

10. Huang, W. T., Nan, Y.*, Dong, Q., & Liu, C.* (2015, Jul). Just-noticeable difference of tone pitch contour change for Mandarin congenital amusics. J Acoust Soc Am, 138(1), EL99-104. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4923268

11. Nan, Y.*, Skoe, E., Nicol, T., & Kraus, N. (2015, Mar). Auditory brainstem's sensitivity to human voices. Int J Psychophysiol, 95(3), 333-337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2014.12.013

12. Nan, Y.*, & Friederici, A. D. (2013, Sep). Differential roles of right temporal cortex and Broca's area in pitch processing: evidence from music and Mandarin. Hum Brain Mapp, 34(9), 2045-2054. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22046

13. Yang, W. X., Feng, J., Huang, W. T., Zhang, C. X., & Nan, Y.* (2013). Perceptual pitch deficits coexist with pitch production difficulties in music but not Mandarin speech. Front Psychol, 4, 1024. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.01024

14. Peretz, I.*, Gosselin, N., Nan, Y., Caron-Caplette, E., Trehub, S. E., & Beland, R. (2013). A novel tool for evaluating children's musical abilities across age and culture. Front Syst Neurosci, 7, 30. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2013.00030

15. Nan, Y.*, Sun, Y., & Peretz, I. (2010, Sep). Congenital amusia in speakers of a tone language: association with lexical tone agnosia. Brain, 133(9), 2635-2642. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awq178