Creating and
Experiencing
the Arts

The Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (MPIEA) investigates why and how people create art and how they perform, experience, and evaluate it. The Institute’s focus is on music, but we also engage with other performing arts such as dance and film.

The MPIEA explores the genetic, biological, and psychological processes that underlie the production and perception of art, as well as their interaction with the cultural, social, and historical factors and functions of aesthetic practices and discourses.

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News

Study shows how concert formats measurably change audience experience and responses

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A recent study shows that the human brain estimates the probability of future events and adapts flexibly to new situations.

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Latest Studies

Labor-Verhaltensstudie zu Sprache, Gesang und Gedächtnis

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EEG-Laborstudie zur Verarbeitung von Musik und Sprache

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Events

#Frankfurt hat Hirn_ Live 2026

Die Veranstaltung findet in der Jugend-Kultur-Kirche Sankt Peter in Frankfurt am Main statt

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Departments

Music

Director: Prof. Dr. Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann

Using a variety of methods, the Department of Music researches the processing, experiencing and evaluation of music, as well as behaviour during its reception.
 

Cognitive Neuropsychology

Director: Prof. Dr. Fredrik Ullén

The Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology investigates the neuropsychological mechanisms of musical expertise, skill learning and creativity, as well as relations between cultural engagement, well-being and health.

 

Research Groups

Neurocognition of Music and Language

Apl. Prof. Dr. Daniela Sammler

The Research Group “Neurocognition of Music and Language” explores perceptual, cognitive, and expressive similarities and differences between music and language, as well as their neural grounding and links with aesthetics.

Neural Codes of Intelligence

Dr. Stephanie Theves

The Neural Codes of Intelligence research group investigates the neural processing principles that underlie central aspects of human intelligence in order to understand how information processing supports intelligent behavior and shapes cognitive abilities.

 

Structural and Physiological Imaging with High-Field MRI

Dr. Dimo Ivanov​​​​​​

The research group studies the human brain using 7T and 3T MRI, developing high-res methods to map structure, function, and pathology in cognition, neurodevelopment, and neuropsychiatric disorders.