The Seven Layer Symphony™
Presented by Donna Syed | April 5, 2025
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to the NEST Music Dynamics Lab team for your gracious invitation to present at their 33rd annual meeting at the University of Connecticut. It was my pleasure and honor to present the underpinnings of the ANYA Method™ and I remain encouraged by our collective work in the field of Music as Medicine.
I would also like to thank Dr. Martin Teicher for being the first (circa 2018) to acknowledge this work as worth pursuing.
From the Abstract
The Seven-Layer Symphony:
How Multisensory Engagement and Music Enhance and Optimize Neural Networks
Music is most powerful when it is personally meaningful, paired with movement, and layered with full-body, multisensory engagement. By enhancing and optimizing neural networks through concurrent sensory activation and cue-based learning, this approach provides a novel framework for expanding music cognition research, brain health interventions, rehabilitation strategies, and performance enhancement across a wide spectrum. This presentation invites further discussion on how integrating multisensory inputs with personal music selection can refine and advance existing models of music-based therapy and neural optimization.
Donna Syed
CEO | North Arrow Consulting + Services LLC
Donna Syed is the creator of the ANYA Method™ | The Seven Layer Symphony™ dedicated to brain health, recovery, and personal transformation. Drawing on over two decades of research and development at the intersection of neuroscience, music, and conscious movement, and performance enhancement, and recovery Donna designs experiences that retrain the nervous system and help people reclaim agency over their bodies, health, and performance.
Is there a research project or event you'd like to talk about?
References + Citations
189. 1. Basso JC, Satyal MK, Rugh R. Dance on the brain: Enhancing intra- and inter-brain synchrony [Internet]. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2021. DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.584312
2. Bonne O, Brandes D, Gilboa A, et al. Longitudinal MRI Study of Hippocampal Volume in Trauma Survivors With PTSD. American Journal of Psychiatry. American Psychiatric Association; 2001, p. 1248. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.158.8.1248
3. Burunat I, Alluri V, Toiviainen P, et al. Dynamics of brain activity underlying working memory for music in a naturalistic condition. Cortex. Elsevier BV; 2014. p. 254. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2014.04.012
4. Colverson A, Barsoum S, Cohen RA, et al. Rhythmic musical activities may strengthen connectivity between brain networks associated with aging-related deficits in timing and executive functions. Experimental Gerontology. Elsevier BV; 2024. p. 112354. DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2023.112354
5. Firth J, Stubbs B, Vancampfort D, et al. Effect of aerobic exercise on hippocampal volume in humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis. NeuroImage. Elsevier BV; 2017 [cited 2025 Feb]. p. 230. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.11.007
6. Gargi A, van der Zee EA. The effects of whole-body vibration therapy on immune and brain functioning: current insights in the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms. 2024. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2024.1422152/
7. Gosche KM, Mortimer JA, Smith CD, et al. Hippocampal volume as an index of Alzheimer neuropathology. Neurology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2002. p. 1476. DOI: 10.1212/wnl.58.10.1476
8. Kempermann G. What Is Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis Good for?. Frontiers in Neuroscience. Frontiers Media; 2022. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.852680
9. Kempermann G, Song H, Gage FH. Neurogenesis in the Adult Hippocampus. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 2015. DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a018812
10. Khadavi, M., & Podesta, L., eds. (2022). Orthobiologics, An Issue of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America (Volume 34-1) (The Clinics: Radiology, Volume 34-1). Elsevier.
11. Lanius RA, Frewen P, Tursich M, et al. Restoring large-scale brain networks in PTSD and related disorders: a proposal for neuroscientifically-informed treatment interventions. European journal of psychotraumatology. Taylor & Francis; 2015 Vol. 6(1). DOI: 10.3402/ejpt.v6.27313
12. Levitin D. The Oxford Handbook of Human Memory. Oxford Academic; 2024. p. 2214-2227. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL22559358M/Music_and_Memory
13. Linden D van der, Tops M, Bakker AB. The Neuroscience of the Flow State: Involvement of the Locus Coeruleus Norepinephrine System. Frontiers in Psychology. Frontiers Media; 2021. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645498
14. Logue MW, et al. Smaller Hippocampal Volume in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Multisite ENIGMA-PGC Study: Subcortical Volumetry Results From Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Consortia. 2017. p. 244.
15. Mallik, A. and Russo, F. A.The effects of music & auditory beat stimulation on anxiety: A randomized clinical trial 2022
16. Müller P, Rehfeld K, Schmicker M, et al. Evolution of Neuroplasticity in Response to Physical Activity in Old Age: The Case for Dancing. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. Frontiers Media; 2017. DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00056
17. Rehfeld K, Müller P, Aye N, et al. Dancing or Fitness Sport? The Effects of Two Training Programs on Hippocampal Plasticity and Balance Abilities in Healthy Seniors. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Frontiers Media; 2017, Vol 11. DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00305
18. Russo F, Mallik A, Thomson Z, et al. Developing a music-based digital therapeutic to help manage the neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia. Frontiers in Digital Health. Frontiers Media; 2023. DOI: doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2023.1064115
19. Stubbs B, Vancampfort D, Hallgren M, et al. EPA guidance on physical activity as a treatment for severe mental illness: a meta-review of the evidence and Position Statement from the European Psychiatric Association (EPA), supported by the International Organization of Physical Therapists in Mental Health (IOPTMH). European Psychiatry. Cambridge University Press; 2018. p. 124. DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.07.004
20. Teicher MH. Penn State 4th Annual Conference on Child Protection and Well-Being, Panel Discussion. Reduced Hippocampal Volume + Psychiatric Disorders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEX5jnMCwV4
21. Teicher MH, Samson J. Annual Research Review: Enduring neurobiological effects of childhood abuse and neglect. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Wiley; 2016, Vol 57(3), pp. 241-246. DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12507
22. van der Kolk BA, Stone L, West J, et al. Yoga as an Adjunctive Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial. 2014. DOI: 10.4088/JCP.13m08561
23. Zaatar MT, Alhakim K, Enayeh M, et al. The transformative power of music: Insights into neuroplasticity, health, and disease. Brain Behavior & Immunity – Health. Elsevier BV; 2023. p. 100716. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2023.100716
