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CHAPTER 17 · Music’s Neurological Nexus in Clinical Practice

Functional Neurobiology: Music and Art Therapy: Clinical Applications in Cancer Patients

Herbert B. Newton, MD, FAAN, FRSM · Alejandra J. Ferrer, PhD, MT-BC · Juliet L. King, PhD, ATR-BC, LPC, LMHC

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Abstract

The neurobiological underpinnings of music and art processing are related to multiple circuits and pathways bilaterally in the brain. In the case of music, the pathways involved are evolutionary remnants of the neural apparatus that developed when hominids initially evolved the ability to sing, followed by fully realized speech. For art, the pathways were related to prefrontal brain development and associated emotional circuitry, which allowed for abstract thinking and expression. Music therapy and art therapy are medical and healthcare professions that harness these brain circuits and pathways to stimulate, activate, and improve patients’ function and quality of life with numerous medical and mental health challenges, including cancer. This chapter provides a brief overview of the neurobiology and receptive processing of music and art, followed by the foundations of how music therapy and art therapy are used when working with cancer patients.

Keywords

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Cite this chapter

Chapter references below omit unverified page ranges and chapter-specific DOIs.

APA

Newton, H. B., Ferrer, A. J., & King, J. L. (2026). Functional Neurobiology: Music and Art Therapy: Clinical Applications in Cancer Patients. In P. L. Pearl & S. Arfaie (Eds.), Music, Medicine, and the Neurobiology of Creativity. Cambridge University Press.

AMA

Newton HB, Ferrer AJ, King JL. Functional Neurobiology: Music and Art Therapy: Clinical Applications in Cancer Patients. In: Pearl PL, Arfaie S, eds. Music, Medicine, and the Neurobiology of Creativity. Cambridge University Press; 2026.

Vancouver

Newton HB, Ferrer AJ, King JL. Functional Neurobiology: Music and Art Therapy: Clinical Applications in Cancer Patients. In: Pearl PL, Arfaie S, editors. Music, Medicine, and the Neurobiology of Creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2026.

Chicago

Newton, Herbert B., Alejandra J. Ferrer, and Juliet L. King. “Functional Neurobiology: Music and Art Therapy: Clinical Applications in Cancer Patients.” In Music, Medicine, and the Neurobiology of Creativity, edited by Phillip L. Pearl and Saman Arfaie. Cambridge University Press, 2026.

BibTeX

@incollection{chapter17_2026,
  author = {Newton, Herbert B and Ferrer, Alejandra J and King, Juliet L},
  title = {Functional Neurobiology: Music and Art Therapy: Clinical Applications in Cancer Patients},
  booktitle = {Music, Medicine, and the Neurobiology of Creativity},
  editor = {Pearl, Phillip L. and Arfaie, Saman},
  publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
  year = {2026}
}

Harvard

Newton, H. B., Ferrer, A. J. and King, J. L. (2026) “Functional Neurobiology: Music and Art Therapy: Clinical Applications in Cancer Patients”, in Pearl, P.L. and Arfaie, S. (eds.) Music, Medicine, and the Neurobiology of Creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Herbert B. Newton

Herbert B. Newton

MD, FAAN, FRSM

Medical Director, Neuro-Oncology Program and Brain Tumor Institute; Professor of Neurology and Solid Tumor Oncology; William B. Risman Endowed Chair in Memory and Cognition

University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Profile

Herbert B. Newton is Medical Director of the Neuro-Oncology Program and Brain Tumor Institute at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Seidman Cancer Center. He is Professor of Neurology and Solid Tumor Oncology and holds the William B. Risman Endowed Chair in Memory and Cognition. A Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and the Royal Society of Medicine, he has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and edited or co-edited 14 books in neurology and neuro-oncology.

Scholarship & professional background

He earned his medical degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, completed neurology residency at the University of Michigan, and trained in neuro-oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Music has remained a parallel practice: after early study of classical piano and trombone, he took up bass guitar and performed in a classic rock band. At AdventHealth, he helped develop an integrative program bringing creative arts therapies into care for patients with brain tumors.

Selected work & perspectives

Leader of the Band: A Bass-Playing Neuro-Oncologist
Alejandra J. Ferrer

Alejandra J. Ferrer

PhD, MT-BC

Associate Professor of Music; Coordinator of Music Therapy

Belmont University

Profile

Alejandra J. Ferrer is an Associate Professor of Music at Belmont University’s College of Music and Performing Arts and a board-certified music therapist. With Herbert B. Newton and Juliet L. King, she contributes a chapter on the functional neurobiology and clinical applications of music and art therapy in cancer patients.

Scholarship & professional background

She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music therapy at Florida State University and a doctorate in music education at The Ohio State University. Her clinical experience includes establishing a music therapy program at the James Cancer Hospital, developing musical opportunities for adult cancer survivors, and working with infants and young children at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Her teaching and supervision connect this clinical experience with the preparation of future music therapists.

Selected work & perspectives

Academic profile and professional work
Juliet L. King

Juliet L. King

PhD, ATR-BC, LPC, LMHC

Core Professor, Naropa University; Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology, Indiana University

Naropa University · Indiana University · George Washington University (former faculty)

Profile

Juliet L. King is a Core Professor at Naropa University and Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology at Indiana University School of Medicine. She previously served on the faculty of George Washington University. An art therapist and scholar, she contributes to the medical histories of Ravel and Shostakovich, and to the clinical applications of music and art therapy in cancer care.

Scholarship & professional background

Her training includes a master’s degree in art therapy and a doctorate in translational health sciences. She founded the graduate art therapy program at Indiana University’s Herron School of Art and Design, building clinical internship partnerships across the state. Her scholarship examines the relationships among art therapy, neuroscience, and trauma, including the use of mobile brain and body imaging to study artistic engagement. She has edited work on neuroscience-informed approaches to trauma treatment and is developing tools to make this knowledge more accessible to practitioners.

Selected work & perspectives

Academic profile and professional workArt therapy and mobile brain/body imaging