Narayan Sankaran

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of San Francisco, where I head the Auditory Neuroscience & Perception Lab.

My research seeks a mechanistic account of how the human brain enables music perception - a hallmark of human culture. Such insight informs our overall understanding of brain function and has the potential to unlock music-based interventions for treating mood, anxiety, and various neurological disorders. To do this work, I take an interdisciplinary approach, combining human neurophysiological measurements of brain activity (EEG, MEG, ECoG) with machine-learning, computational modelling, psychophysics and behavior.

In addition to my scientific research program, I write about the ethical and societal implications of emerging neurotechnologies like brain computer interfaces.

Before joining the faculty at USF, I completed two postdoctoral fellowships: one in the lab of Edward Chang (Department of Neurosurgery, UCSF) and another at the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public at UC Berkeley.