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Dr Nikki Rickard

Dr Nikki Rickard

Biography

How can being exposed to a bunch of sounds for even only a few minutes have such a strong emotional impact on a listener? Why do certain types of music - such as the dance music played at rave parties, or the ritualistic drumming of tribal cultures - produce a trance-like state in its listeners? Does my cat like Tex Perkins as much as I do?

Music is ubiquitous in everyday life as well, accompanying us when we drive home stressed, with us when we spend our week's pay in the goodies aisle at the supermarket, and hopefully soothing us as we swat for tomorrow's exam.

What do we know about its impact on our thoughts, moods and behaviours? Is it helpful? Can it be harmful or used subversively (think elevator and 'on-hold' muzac!).

Finally, while nurses and music therapists swear by the efficacy of music, for instance, in reducing anxiety in the dentist's chair, alleviating pain during childbirth and enhancing the immune system of cancer patients, why isn't music a commonly used tool in the physician's medical bag? Is the evidence all anecdotal and biased, or is there a physiological basis to the effect of music on our health?

I'm personally intrigued by all these questions and believe that a psychobiological approach to these questions can enhance the broader understanding of music psychology. And yes, my cat does like Tex too.

Email Dr Nikki Rickard

Professional Activities

  • Chair, Animal Ethics Committee, School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine.
  • Coordinator for Philosophy of Psychology and Research Methods (PSY3062)
  • Monash University Animal Welfare Committee member
  • Executive member of the PRIMAL Network® of Music Researchers

Research Interests

  • Evaluation of high quality music education on academic, socio-emotional and psychological outcomes of primary and secondary school students
  • Auditory preferences and enrichment for laboratory animal welfare
  • Relationship between music engagement and cognitive performance (and prevention of age-related cognitive deficits)
  • Modulation of memory via emotionally arousing or calming music
  • Decomposition of components of music and other auditory stimuli responsible for cognitive enhancement
  • Physiological concomitants of intense emotional responses to music

Teaching

  • PSY3062: Research Methods and Theory (Coordinator and supervisor)
  • PSY2031: Developmental and Biological Psychology (Lecturer)
  • PSY1011: Introduction to Psychology 1A (Lecturer)

Collaborations

  • Fintan Murphy, Senior Lecturer, Department of Music, Monash University
  • Marilyn Keogh, Music Director, Castlemaine Secondary College
  • Marie Gibbs, Pharmacology Department, Monash University

Grant Support

  • Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grant 2006-2009 $348,000

Publications

Recent Publications

  • Edwards, T.M., & Rickard, N.S. (2007). New perspectives on the mechanisms through which nitric oxide may affect memory processing. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 31(3), 413-425

  • Knox Anderson, H, & Rickard, NS. A preliminary examination of short-term effects of an active class-based music program on young adolescents’ self-esteem and anger expression. Australian Journal of Music Education (accepted 6/5/07).

  • Field, S.E., Rickard, N.S., Toukhsati, S.R., & Gibbs, M.E. Maternal hen calls modulate memory formation in the day-old chick: the role of noradrenaline. Neurobiology of Learning & Memory, 88/3, 321-330.

  • Gill, A., Murphy, F., & Rickard, N.S.. (2006). A preliminary examination of the roles of perceived control, cortisol and perceptions of anxiety in music performance. Australian Journal of Music Education, issue 1, 32-47

  • Edwards, T.M., & Rickard, N. S. (2006). Pharmaco-behavioural evidence indicating a complex role for ryanodine receptor calcium release channels in memory processing for a passive avoidance task. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 86, 1-8.

  • Rickard, N.S., Toukhsati, S.R., & Field, S.E. (2005). The effect of music on cognitive performance: Insight from neurobiological and animal studies. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 4(4), 235-261.

  • Smith, A. & Rickard, N. S. (2004). Prediction of music performance anxiety via personality and trait anxiety in young musicians. Australian Journal of Music Education, 1, 3-12.

  • Toukhsati, S.R., Rickard, N.S., Perini, E., & Ng, K.T., & Gibbs, M.E. (2005). Noradrenaline involvement in the memory-enhancing effects of exposure to a complex rhythm stimulus following discriminated passive avoidance training in the young chick. Behavioural Brain Research, 159, 105-111 .

  • Edwards, T. M., & Rickard, N. S (2004). A scavenger of peroxynitrite prevents long-term memory formation using a single trial passive avoidance task for the day-old chick. Neurobiology of Learning & Memory, 83, 163-167 . Impact factor: 4.091

  • Rickard, N.S. (2004). Intense emotional responses to music: A test of the physiological arousal hypothesis. Psychology of Music, 32, 371-388.

Full list of publications