Multi-talented psychologist and musician at Assembly Series

Sept. 26, 2008 -- Session musician, commercial recording engineer, live sound engineer, record producer, bestselling author and psychologist, Daniel Levitin visits the WUSTL campus at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 8 in Graham Chapel for the next installment of the Assembly Series.

Levitin's talk, "How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature," will explore themes from his recently published second book, "The World in Six Songs," in which he presents six categories that he believes all songs with lyrics fit into: songs of friendship, songs of joy, songs of comfort, songs of knowledge, religious songs and love songs. Music, Levitin says, is the soundtrack of civilization. He feels it is a force that shaped us as a species and prepared us for the higher-order task of sharing complex communications with one another.

"This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of Human Obsession," Levitin's first book, spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list.

Levitin earned his B.A. in cognitive psychology and cognitive science at Stanford University, and went on to earn his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Oregon. Currently, he is an associate professor of psychology, behavioral neuroscience and music at McGill University.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 935-4620 or visit assemblyseries.wustl.edu