Neuroscience, music, and exciting discussions at the CoBIC Scientific Opening Symposium: From April 20 to 21, 2026, renowned international speakers provided two days of fascinating presentations and scientific exchange. Many thanks to all guests and partners!

What makes a design a classic? At our Library Talks with Viktoria Heinrich, we explored how objects like the Ulm Stool or Mayday lamp carry stories and become icons over time. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to such a great evening!

The first talk of our #ThinkingDesign series is approaching: On April 23, Anke Haarmann from Leiden University (NL) will discuss “Epistemological #Aesthetics: How Practices of Design Lead to Insights.” Join us on at 6:30 p.m. in our ArtLab Foyer. More info: s.gwdg.de/gKAjol

The #CoBIC Scientific Opening Symposium — two days of scientific exchange, fresh ideas, and collaboration with distinguished speakers. 📍 Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main 📅 April 20-21, 2026 Click here to register: indico.ae.mpg.de/event/39/

During our next #LibraryTalk, Design Historian Viktoria Lea Heinrich will talk about displaying design objects in museums and how to convey their history and meaning. Join us! 📅 April 16, 2026, 6 p.m. 📍 MPIEA Library, Frankfurt am Main 🗣️ Talk in German More: ae.mpg.de/LibraryTalks

We’re excited to launch our discussion series Thinking Design! As part of the World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026, we explore how design shapes perception, generates knowledge and influences social processes. More info: ae.mpg.de/ThinkingDesign-en

Unfortunately, the concert had to be canceled at the last minute for health reasons. Further information will be provided in due course.

At the “Creative Musical Dialogues Between Humans and Machines” concert, pianists David Dolan and Fredrik Ullén will improvise live with the AI system JHAIMI, which was developed by Oded Ben-Tal. 📍 Tuesday, March 31, 2026, MPIEA More info & registration: ae.mpg.de/musicaldialogues

Welcome to Frankfurt, Oleg! We are super happy to have you here @ae.mpg.de and look forward to many exciting research projects! 🤩

#FrankfurtHatHirn – Live took place yesterday evening at jugend-kultur-Kirche sankt peter in Frankfurt. Our booth and flash talks by Julia F. Christensen and Sophie Perizonius offered insights into our research on the human brain. Thanks to everyone making this event possible!

We’re hiring!📢 We are offering a postdoctoral position at the Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology. More information here: ae.mpg.de/7teslajob

Live lebt! 🎶 #Musik in Konzerten aktiviert das #Gehirn stärker und löst mehr #Emotionen aus als z. B. in der gestreamten Version. Ein toller #Podcast mit Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann und Nikita Kudakov (alias Coodiny) @ae.mpg.de im ART-Lab in Frankfurt 🎧 www.swr.de/swrkultur/wi...

An evening of conversations and inspiration.💬 At #LibraryTalks, we discussed with Thomas Meincke the intersections of his novels and music, collective writing processes with the audience, and an AI that recognizes itself in the title “I as Text.” Thanks to everyone involved!

What influences our concert experience? 🎵 Researchers at our Institute, with the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media and the @unicologne.bsky.social, have found that the aesthetic experience varies depending on the concert format. Read the Paper: doi.org/10.1057/s415...

If you are in London, don’t miss this exciting event where human musicians and AI-inspired systems come together! Performance and research-led discussion with our Director Fredrik Ullén, David Dolan, and Oded Ben-Tal at Guildhall School of Music & Drama. More information 👉 s.gwdg.de/q8Zoc1

#Author and #Musician Thomas #Meinecke works at the intersection of literature and music and will share insights into his writing process during our next Library Talk. Don't miss it! 📅 Feb 5, 2026, 6pm 📍MPIAE Library, Frankfurt am Main 🗣️Talk in German More: s.gwdg.de/h1uy03

New paper alert! 🎉 Congrats to the whole team! 👏

Congratulations! @giacomobignardi.bsky.social receives the Frank X. Barron Award for his superior contributions to the psychology of aesthetics, creativity, and the arts as a student. The American Psychological Association honors his research on genetic effects on the perception of art🎶

Distinguished visitors at the MPIEA: our Scientific Advisory Board is here! Six experts from leading universities worldwide are visiting to review our research and exchange ideas—joined by the Vice President of the @maxplanck.de. Looking forward to three exciting days!

So, what exactly is a #researchreport? 🤔 A research report documents the progress and results of research projects and is usually published by an institute itself, not sold in bookshops. Our latest one is out now—a great snapshot of what’s happening at our Institute. 🤩 Read it online: ae.mpg.de/rr

At Christmas, we enjoy the little joys – like singing carols together. This fits perfectly with our Institute, where we explore why music and art move us. In this spirit, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a joyful start to 2026! 🎄✨

Podcast-Empfehlung! Camila Bruder, Wissenschaftlerin am MPIEA, spricht in der Reihe „IQ - Wissenschaft und Forschung“ über KI-Stimmen in der Musik und die Berechenbarkeit von Pop-Hits. Die Folge ist ab Samstag, 20. Dezember in der ARD-Audiothek verfügbar. Zum Podcast ➞ s.gwdg.de/f5hyZ3

New paper out: An international research team, including researchers from the MPIEA, explored how children’s attachment security and empathy influence their emotional experiences while listening to fairy tales. Read the paper here: doi.org/10.1007/s42761-025-00339-4

Open science breakthrough: @arc-cogitate.bsky.social has launched an open-access iEEG dataset of 38 people, including work from @ae.mpg.de. This high-resolution resource tests competing theories & is available to researchers worldwide: bit.ly/49gRhne

It’s almost time! The 2nd Annual Conference on #AestheticDevelopment takes place on November 20, 2025, at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main. Registration to attend the conference is open until November, 10 ⏰. More information: s.gwdg.de/5XdgmU

What does it mean to be ripe—and why do we find it so beautiful? Philosopher #LeonJoskowitz explores how #ripeness, #taste, and #perception shape our #senseofbeauty. 📅 Nov 6, 2025 | 🕕 6 p.m. 📍 MPIEA Library, Frankfurt am Main 🗣️ Talk in German More: www.aesthetics.mpg.de/newsroom/ver...

🗣️ Can you tell an #AIvoice from a human one? Researchers from our Institute and the University of Applied Arts Vienna #dieangewandte found that while synthetic #TextToSpeech voices often fool us, they’re still rated as less attractive than human ones. Learn more: doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2025.100211

Today, our Institute hosted a distinguished delegation from the #UniversityOfSeoul, led by President Yongkul Won, during their visit to @goetheuni.bsky.social. The visit focused on Germany’s model of cooperation between university and non-university #ResearchInstitutions. @maxplanck.de

Nikita Kudakov and his project partners have successfully advanced to Phase 2 of the @maximize-incubator.bsky.social start-up program of @maxplanck.de! Get involved: Are you a singer, rapper, or DJ and would like to enhance your live performance? Read more → s.gwdg.de/K2dgbC

Hindemith „bewusst“ oder „gefühlsbetont“ erleben: Das Max-Planck-Institut für empirische Ästhetik lädt zu zwei Konzerten mit Vortrag und einer begleitenden Studie ein. Wann? 21. und 25. November, 2025 Wo? MPIEA, Grüneburgweg 14, 60322 Frankfurt am Main Mehr Informationen: ae.mpg.de/hindemith

📢 Call for Abstracts! The 2nd Annual Conference on #AestheticDevelopment takes place on Nov 20, 2025, at the MPIEA. We invite submissions on how children engage with and develop through the arts. 🗓 Deadline: Oct 12, 2025 🔗 indico.ae.mpg.de/event/29/abstracts/ #Aesthetics #Conference

Today is a special day for us—it's #InternationalMusicDay! We investigate why and how people create art and how they perform, experience, and evaluate it, with a particular focus on #music. Learn more about our diverse #research 👉 ae.mpg.de/en

We look forward to welcoming the next generation of scientists!

The new application cycle for our fully funded international graduate program has just started. You can now apply via our website, sign up for a Q&A, or participate in the Applicant Support Program cognition.maxplanckschools.org/en ! 👍🏻🧠👏🏾#passionforscience, #maxplanckschools

#Sexlessness: Why do some people never have #sex, even later in life? A new study, conducted by @amsterdamumc.bsky.social and the University of Queensland alongside researchers of our Institute, explores this fascinating question. Check out the @pnas.org paper here: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2418257122

We’re excited to welcome Kaj Duncan David as our new INHABIT artist-in-residence! The renowned composer and performer explores connections between human and synthetic sounds to craft musical dialogues—something he’ll further develop at our Institute. Find out more: ae.mpg.de/INHABIT

Congratulations to @davidpoeppel.bsky.social of the MPIEA, the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Career Award! The Society for the Neurobiology of Language honored his research, which has advanced our understanding of how the brain processes language. s.gwdg.de/rnHI4J #SNL2025 #Neuroscience

You’ve probably heard all about AI taking over the world. So how about a fresh perspective? On Sept 17, 7 p.m. The MPIEA hosts a concert where 3 pianists improvise live—with each other and an AI-inspired system. Curious? Find more info and the link to our livestream here: ae.mpg.de/musicaldialogues

Congratulations to Fredrik Ullén, Director of the MPIEA, on receiving the 2025 Mensa Foundation Prize! He was honored for his pioneering #research on the neural basis of expertise through the lens of #music practice. Read more: s.gwdg.de/EgiytW (Photo: Sandy Marak)

🎶 How does urban life influence our music choices? An international research team analyzed the listening habits of 2.5 million people in France, Brazil, and Germany. The study found that urban dwellers select more diverse music compared to rural populations. Read more: s.gwdg.de/9bdw1Q

What makes us enjoy contemporary dance? 🕺 Researchers at our Institute found that both subjective and objective factors influence our evaluation. In particular, the expressiveness of the dance, but also our age, gender, and personality. Out now in cognitionjournal.bsky.social: s.gwdg.de/tVWVff

🧠 Our #brain is part of us—yet still a mystery. A new study from our Institute reveals how it syncs with rhythmic #sounds and how electrical currents can influence this. Dive deeper: s.gwdg.de/kj7cxy @ycabral.bsky.social

A new acoustic research set has been developed at our Institute: "CoVox" offers over 1,300 recordings of 22 singers in 5 vocal styles. It is a rich resource for the study of speech and singing—providing many opportunities for further research! Check it out: s.gwdg.de/rOdgOK

What is consciousness? 🧠💭 An international research team set out to challenge two theories of #consciousness and offer new perspectives on the way we study complex scientific questions. Find out more: s.gwdg.de/fvr2jk Read the full publication -> s.gwdg.de/fs30Th

To celebrate #InternationalDanceDay, we met our researcher Julia F. Christensen to discuss the benefits of dancing! Find out more and how to implement dancing into your daily life. Take part in Julia's dance study → ae.mpg.de/DanceSurvey More studies → ae.mpg.de/takepart

It's #WorldLaboratoryDay! In our lab, we use a variety of methods to explore how people create, perform, experience, and evaluate art and music. Curious? Take a look—or join us right away: 👉 ae.mpg.de/takepart Audio source: Hip-Hop-Upbeat by Jamendo, AdobeStock

If you enjoy working in the field of #sound #engineering and are interested in #scientific #research, you can become part of our team! 🙌 Apply for the position of a Student Assistant (m/f/d) for the Department of #Music: e-recruiting.pro/jobposting/8...

🎵 Why do some people enjoy #music more than others? New findings published in @naturecomms.bsky.social show that our capacity to enjoy music is partly inherited, with 54% of music enjoyment variability linked to #DNA differences: doi.org/10.1038/s414... @mpi-nl.bsky.social @ki.se #BehaviorGenetics

Why do books have to be beautiful and what makes them beautiful? 📖✨ Join Carolin Blöink (@stiftungbuchkunst.bsky.social) as she discusses the criteria for judging beautiful #books in our next #LibraryTalks on Thurs. April 24, 6 p.m. (in German). More information ➔ ae.mpg.de/LibraryTalks

Congratulations to our scientist Nikita Kudakov! His project Great Gig Group is part of @maximize-incubator.bsky.social, the @maxplanck.de startup program, and was awarded 50,000€ for further development. Based on Nikita's research, it helps rappers improve their stage performances: s.gwdg.de/i6od5O