Marcie Zinn
Academic Appointments
- Experimental Neuropsychologist & Research Consultant, Medicine - Infectious Diseases
Key Documents
Contact Information
- Contact Information
Personal Information Email Tel (925) 209-7671 Tel (650) 723-6135Supervisors Jose Montoya
Professional Overview
Current Role at Stanford
The research we conduct focuses on the cognitive neuroscience of chronic infection-related diseases, such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic Lyme Disease, some types of Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Encelphalitis, Meningitis and others. We are exploring cognitive impairment in neurologically healthy and impaired participants to develop neuropsychological models of how infectious disease can produce cognitive impairment. Using a combination of Clinical Neuropsychiatric techniques, Neuropsychological testing and Electroencephalographic (EEG) measurement, we relate functional brain dynamics to patient symptoms in real time.
Professional Interests
The Cognitive Neuroscience of Infectious Diseases
Development of EEG as part of a clinical diagnosis for infectious diseases such as Polio, Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Lyme Disease, Encephalitis, Meningitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
The Cognitive Neuroscience of Optimal Performance (piano).
Executive Director of the Society for Psychology in the Performing Arts
Education and Certifications
| Ph.D.: | Illinois Institute of Technology, Clinical Psychology, Behavioral Medicine (2004) |
| Scientific Certificate: | Association for Applied Psychophysiology, Clinical and Experimental EEG. (2003) |
| Advanced Certification Hypnosis: | Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, The scientific study of hypnosis; clinical hypnosis and experimental hypnosis (2001) |
| Scientific Certificate: | Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis Certificate (1998) |
| Professional Certificate: | UCLA School of Medicine, Neuropsychiatric Institute, Psychophysiology (1991) |
| M.A.: | Illinois Institute of Technology, Clinical Psychology (1997) |
Internet Links
Honors and Awards
- Professional Member (by nomination), National Association of Business Women (2009 - present)
- Member by Nomination, Pi Kappa Lambda (1984)
Professional Affiliations and Activities
- Executive Director and Founder, Society for Psychology in the Performing Arts (2005 - present)
- Founder, Performing Arts Psychophysiology as a subspecialty within Applied Psychophysiology (1996 - present)
- Founder and PI, Performing Arts Psychophysiology Research Institute (1994 - present)
- Professional Member, American Academy of Neurology (2009 - present)
- Professional Member, American College of Musicians (1980 - present)
- Professional member, American Psychological Association (1994 - present)
Publications
- Psychophysiology for Performing Artists M. S. Schwartz & F. Andrasik, Eds: Biofeedback: A Practitioners Guide (4rd ed.), New York: Guilford. 2012
- Functional neural integration and musical skill: Preliminary EEG evidence. proceedings of the American Psychological Association. 2006
- Is a drop in executive functioning necessary for smooth piano performance? Some evidence from cognitive neuroscience. Poster presentation and proceedings of the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy,. 2005
Personal Interests
My personal interest is, and has been for several decades, to change private music teaching as we know it. Why focus on piano teaching? The reasons are many with the primary reason being to improve the teaching practices of something that offers so many neurologically plastic benefits. Another reason is because most people either aspire to, or take, piano lesson and most of those people fail in those lessons, leaving them with a chronic sense of failure and unfinished business. Most people fail in these lessons, not necessarily by failing to learn to play the piano, but by the experienced failure of the self which affects everything the individual does. People either defend heavily against the perceived failure and develop chronic psychiatric conditions which result from repression, or misinterpret their experience, blaming themselves.
Current teaching models do not extend beyond those of over a century ago. Music students and teachers alike have misconceptions about how people learn and remember, what motivation is (and is not), and tend to attribute failures to lack of talent (genetic predisposition). These beliefs and attitudes do not align with reality. For instance, children are called upon to attend a brief lesson once per week, then successfully carry out the resultant lesson plan on their own, the rest of the week. Even graduate students have trouble with carrying out plans of that magnitude and therefore see their mentors, classmates and have other contact all during the week; music students do not.
There are many other problem inherent in this teaching system. My own personal research interests show, through cognitive neuroscience and stress research, how and why these old models fail in today's society.
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