Rebecca J. Lepping, Ph.D.

Professional Background

I am a cognitive neuroscientist (Ph.D.), music psychologist (M.A.), and musician (M.A.) with more than 15 years of experience in magnetic resonance imaging research, specializing in MRI and functional MRI methodology. I have expertise in many imaging and cognitive neuroscience techniques including Functional MRI (fMRI), Functional Connectivity MRI (fcMRI), Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), Arterial Spin Labeling Perfusion (ASL), MR Spectroscopy (MRS), Amyloid and 19-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and Event Related Potential (ERP) Electroencephalography (EEG), along with cognitive, behavioral, and psychophysiological measures.

I am Assistant Professor of Neurology, Director of the PROMUS Lab in the Neuropsychology Division, Director of Research for the Human Brain Mapping Program, and Creative Health Director for the Lied Performing Arts Center of Kansas. I am Imaging Data Manager for the Kansas Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Center, and previously, I served as the Assistant Director for the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Neuroimaging Core, and Data Manager for the Kansas Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Research Center (KIDDRC) Clinical Outcomes/Biobehavioral Technology Core, and the CTSA Translational Technology and Resources Core. My specific role in these cores has been in developing, implementing, and facilitating neuroimaging research studies.

• BA, Psychology, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS
• MA, Psychology of Music, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, N/A
• MA, Piano Performance, University of Missouri - Kansas City, Kansas City, MO
• PhD, Cognitive Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Research

Overview

My primary research is in music neuroscience, understanding the psychological and physiological mechanisms by which music might function in the brain and the body to impact our health and wellbeing. To understand how those processes interact, I use tools from neuroimaging and cognitive psychology to measure how music impacts the human brain and body in mood disorders, fibromyalgia, memory disorders and other chronic conditions. As Director of the PROMUS (PoweR Of MUSic) lab, my program of research aims to study why individuals choose to engage with music, and how they use music as to regulate their mood states, experience of pain, and other psychological and physiological symptoms. By combining rigorous scientific methodology, including imaging techniques, with a deep understanding of music theory, performance, and engagement, my research investigates how information is transmitted through music, how performers and listeners parse that information in a meaningful way, and how music impacts the central nervous system in humans.

• ADRC Consortium for Clarity in ADRD Research Through Imaging (CLARITi), NIH