Dr. Mei Rui is a Yale-trained molecular biophysicist, concert pianist, and clinical researcher at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she runs trials on the measurable effects of music on the human body. In this conversation, we explore what actually happens in the brain the moment music enters it, why the auditory system is the first sense to develop in the womb and the last to go when we die, and how something as accessible as a curated playlist can outperform FDA-approved pharmaceuticals in reducing cortisol. What We Dive Into: 1. Music is not a supplement to healing. In the right context, it is the intervention. 2. The brain responds differently when you actually show up for the music. 3. A longitudinal study in twins showed that three to four years of musical training reduced the risk of Alzheimer's and cognitive decline by 64%, an effect size found in no other single activity. THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Oneskin — Code KNOWTHYSELF for 15% off https://oneskin.co/KNOWTHYSELF BASED Bodyworks — Code KNOWTHYSELF for 20% and free toiletry bag! https://www.basedbodyworks.com ___________ 00:00 Introduction: Dr. Mei Rui 01:44 A Life Between Music and Science 05:26 What Happens When Music Enters the Brain 07:26 How the Brain Processes Sound and Music 11:32 Why Minor Keys Feel Sad: The Science of Tonality 14:37 Live Piano Demo: Matching Music to Mood 19:06 Music in the Operating Room 27:41 Music as Medicine: Clinical Applications 29:10 The 32% Cortisol Study 31:19 The 16 Compositional Elements of Healing Music 35:11 Oxytocin, Familiarity, and the Parasympathetic Response 36:18 Timbre and the Cello's Resemblance to a Mother's Voice 42:31 Cymatics: Sound Made Visible 45:16 The Ancient Roots of Music as Healing 47:09 Listening vs. Playing an Instrument 55:33 The Musician's Brain: Structural Differences 57:46 Music Training and Protection Against Alzheimer's 59:44 Music, Empathy, and Neural Synchrony 1:01:36 The EEG Experiment: Reading André's Brain Live 1:18:21 What the EEG Data Revealed 1:22:26 Music, Flow State, and the Disappearance of Self 1:26:55 Music as Spiritual Medicine 1:30:23 How to Listen More Intentionally ___________ MORE FROM DR. MEI ✨Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@meiruipiano ⭐One of Dr. Mei's Studies: https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/alz.049684 ⭐Another one of Dr. Mei's Studies: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3957486/ 🤲🏽 Support https://mdanderson.donordrive.com/participants/MusicInMedicine MORE FROM KNOW THYSELF 🎙️Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4bZMq9l 🎧Apple: https://apple.co/4iATICX ✨Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/ 🎬TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andreduqum 👥Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/knowthyselfbyandreduqum/ 🌐https://knowthyselfpodcast.com/ MORE FROM ANDRÉ ✨Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@andreduqum 💼Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/know-thyself-podcast 📚Book recs: https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com/book-list