Neumes to Neurons: Neural Dynamics in Gregorian Chant
Alexis Kazimira Kutarna, PhD, University of St. Thomas School of Arts and Sciences, Music Department, Corazon Lauren Delumpa, MSN, RN, FNP-C , University of St. Thomas, and Jose “Pepe” L. Contreras-Vidal, PhD, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Univ. of Houston, and the Director of Laboratory for Noninvasive Brain-Machine Interface Systems (UH) and of Human-Machine Interface Systems, TIRR Memorial Hermann
This work presents real-time neural synchronization among Gregorian chanters, revealing how collective singing supports shared human experience.
Within Catholic anthropology, the human person is understood as a unity of body, mind, and spirit, such that intellectual, affective, and spiritual acts are always mediated through embodied faculties (Aquinas, Summa Theologiae). Communal prayer and worship, therefore, are not purely interior acts but involve the voice, breath, posture, memory, and communal presence of the body.
Sacred music—especially Gregorian chant—has historically functioned within the Church as a means of embodied prayer. Chant through its non-metrical rhythm and monophonic texture, subordinates individual expression to a unified, ecclesial voice. Chant shapes attention, temporality, and interior disposition, aligning the person toward contemplation and communion rather than a mere performance or for aesthetic consumption.
Electroencephalography (EEG) studies of prayer, meditation, and ritualized sound frequently report modulation of alpha and theta oscillations associated with contemplative awareness. This live study at the interface of faith and science uses noninvasive mobile brain-body imaging technology to investigate how sacred music - which promotes contemplation, meditation, and liturgical worship -engages the brain and promotes whole person health (WPH). Moreover, by examining how brain activity aligns across singers during Gregorian chanting, the research provides insight into the neural mechanisms underlying shared sacred human experience.
Within Catholic anthropology, the human person is understood as a unity of body, mind, and spirit, such that intellectual, affective, and spiritual acts are always mediated through embodied faculties (Aquinas, Summa Theologiae). Communal prayer and worship, therefore, are not purely interior acts but involve the voice, breath, posture, memory, and communal presence of the body.
Sacred music—especially Gregorian chant—has historically functioned within the Church as a means of embodied prayer. Chant through its non-metrical rhythm and monophonic texture, subordinates individual expression to a unified, ecclesial voice. Chant shapes attention, temporality, and interior disposition, aligning the person toward contemplation and communion rather than a mere performance or for aesthetic consumption.
Electroencephalography (EEG) studies of prayer, meditation, and ritualized sound frequently report modulation of alpha and theta oscillations associated with contemplative awareness. This live study at the interface of faith and science uses noninvasive mobile brain-body imaging technology to investigate how sacred music - which promotes contemplation, meditation, and liturgical worship -engages the brain and promotes whole person health (WPH). Moreover, by examining how brain activity aligns across singers during Gregorian chanting, the research provides insight into the neural mechanisms underlying shared sacred human experience.