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JD, Usha Vance visit Greenland as Trump administration eyes territory; Maine nurses, medical workers call for improved staffing ratios; Court orders WA to rewrite CAFO dairy operation permit regulations; MS aims to expand Fresh Start Act to cut recidivism.

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The Dept. of Health and Human Services prepares to cut 10,000 more jobs. Election officials are unsure if a Trump executive order will be enacted, and Republicans in Congress say they aim to cut NPR and PBS funding.

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Rural folks face significant clean air and water risks due to EPA cutbacks, a group of policymakers is working to expand rural health care via mobile clinics, and a new study maps Montana's news landscape.

Arts educators reach out after L.A. fire disaster

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Wednesday, February 19, 2025   

Music lessons. A trip to the theater. Experiences like these can help students recover from cataclysmic natural disasters like the LA fires, according to experts in music and the brain.

Research shows that learning to play an instrument improves listening skills and language development.

Neuroscientist and Associate Professor Assal Habibi, PhD, is director of the Center for Music, Brain, and Society at the University of Southern California, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences.

She said music students see improved decision-making, planning, and focus.

"We're not just giving them a toolbox of musicianship," said Habibi, "but we are giving them a toolbox to have better emotion regulation and better impulse control, and perhaps better respond to stressors around them when natural disaster happens in their environment."

The center works with children in the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, and researchers noticed improved resilience during and after the COVID lockdowns.

They're also working with several children affected by the Altadena fire - kids who are part of the Los Angeles Children's Choir, which is based in nearby Pasadena.

Habibi said participation in musical and art experiences is especially helpful in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event, because it facilitates access to emotion.

"Some of these students may not be able to really express what is going on for them, and the fear and anger around all that happened so fast," said Habibi. "But by going to seeing a musical performance, it gives them a connection and access to their emotion and a way to express themselves."

As schools rebuild after the fires, Habibi said she hopes art and music education will be available to help students recover and flourish.



Disclosure: University of Southern California Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences and USC Price School of Public Policy contributes to our fund for reporting on Arts & Culture, Cultural Resources, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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