Robert J. Zatorre will receive an honorary doctorate for his pioneering research in the neuroscience of music
Robert J. Zatorre, professor at McGill University in Montreal.
News
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Institutional
(06/05/2025)
On 12 May at 11.30, the Paranymph Hall of the Historic Building will host the conferment ceremony of the honorary doctorate to Professor Robert J. Zatorre. The ceremony, presided over by the Rector, will honour the work of one of the world’s leading figures in cognitive neuroscience, especially for his contributions in the field of auditory processing, music and emotions. The event can be followed online on UBtv.
Robert J. Zatorre, professor at McGill University in Montreal.
News
|
Institutional
06/05/2025
On 12 May at 11.30, the Paranymph Hall of the Historic Building will host the conferment ceremony of the honorary doctorate to Professor Robert J. Zatorre. The ceremony, presided over by the Rector, will honour the work of one of the world’s leading figures in cognitive neuroscience, especially for his contributions in the field of auditory processing, music and emotions. The event can be followed online on UBtv.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1955 and currently a professor at McGill University in Montreal, Zatorre has built an exceptional scientific career marked by the intersection between psychology, neuroscience and art. He studied in Boston and at Brown, and completed a postdoc mentored by Brenda Milner at the Montreal Neurological Institute. Since then, his research has been instrumental in understanding how the brain perceives, recognizes and enjoys music. Together with Isabelle Peretz, creator of BRAMS (International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research), Zatorre has made a decisive contribution to laying the foundations of a new scientific field: the neuroscience of music. His studies on brain lateralization, neuronal plasticity in musicians and the role of the reward system in musical pleasure are today undisputed references. His work accumulates more than 75,000 citations and a h-index of more than 135.
His ties with the University of Barcelona have been intense and fruitful. In 2011, he undertook a sabbatical stay during which he began collaborations that have resulted in a dozen scientific articles written with researchers from the Faculty of Psychology. His name is closely linked to the development of the BMRQ questionnaire and the description of specific musical anhedonia, in collaboration with the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and several UB research groups.
The sponsor will be Professor Josep Marco Pallarès, from the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education. The ceremony will feature the extraordinary bachelor’s degree awards for the 2022-2023 academic year, with Professor Zatorre as institutional sponsor.
With this award, the University is not only honouring a fascinating academic career but a way of doing science with artistic sensitivity, methodological rigour and a vocation for interdisciplinary dialogue. A way to understand that the brain not only thinks, but also listens, remembers and feels.
His ties with the University of Barcelona have been intense and fruitful. In 2011, he undertook a sabbatical stay during which he began collaborations that have resulted in a dozen scientific articles written with researchers from the Faculty of Psychology. His name is closely linked to the development of the BMRQ questionnaire and the description of specific musical anhedonia, in collaboration with the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and several UB research groups.
The sponsor will be Professor Josep Marco Pallarès, from the Department of Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education. The ceremony will feature the extraordinary bachelor’s degree awards for the 2022-2023 academic year, with Professor Zatorre as institutional sponsor.
With this award, the University is not only honouring a fascinating academic career but a way of doing science with artistic sensitivity, methodological rigour and a vocation for interdisciplinary dialogue. A way to understand that the brain not only thinks, but also listens, remembers and feels.