February 28, 2002

Contact: Kerri Conan, School of Fine Arts, (785) 864-5567.

KU faculty developing musical model for epileptic seizures

LAWRENCE -- University of Kansas composers, theorists and medical researchers are working together to understand brain functions. Using music as a metaphor to illustrate what happens during an epileptic seizure, Deron McGee, associate professor of music and dance, Kip Haaheim, assistant professor of music and dance, and Ivan Osorio, associate professor of neurology at KU Medical Center, are conducting ground-breaking research with dramatic potential.

Epilepsy affects one of every 100 people in the United States. It is one of the most frightening and least understood diseases of the brain, in large part because of the accompanying seizures. The researchers believe that by translating the brain's activity during an episode into an accessible medium, the disorder will become less frightening. They hope this improved understanding will lead to more funding for epilepsy research and reduce the stigma associated with people who have the disorder.

For the past year, the three research partners have been working on a project that uses music as a metaphor for disease. Each brings a unique perspective to the work: Haaheim teaches composition, and McGee teaches music theory. Osorio, director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center in the KU Medical Center, provides the medical data. Their dramatic first model already shows promising results and is generating buzz for good reason. An adaptation of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor now illustrates musically what happens in the brain during an epileptic seizure.

"The research is totally interdisciplinary and bridges the gap of understanding," said Haaheim. Pulling from mathematics, neurology and music, the breakthrough work explores musical processes and could have larger applications.

"A fine-art person rarely has a chance to contribute to hard science research," says Haaheim.

Apparently, others think so too. Haaheim and McGee have been invited to present their paper, "Developing a Musical Metaphor to Understand Brain Functions," at the Rocky Mountain Society for Music Theory conference in April. Meanwhile, Osorio, his colleagues and the Alliance for Epilepsy are producing a documentary of their epilepsy research. In the documentary, the KU Symphony Orchestra will perform the composers' version of the symphony to introduce the film.

Mozart's popular symphony was chosen for several reasons. The piece is familiar, which helps ensure recognition by a universal audience. It is also suitably complex, to mirror the intricate processes of the brain as it begins to misfire, expands into seizure and eventually recovers. Haaheim and McGee were able to shorten the music to reflect proportionally the actual length of a typical epileptic episode.

"We hope the work begins to stimulate more research into the use of music," says Osorio, "not just as a metaphor but as a model." The three are working on a detailed musical model of how the brain operates, which promises to provide additional insights into the nature of epileptic seizures.