Cassidy lectured Oct. 29 in the Student Center on her most prominent research, the effects of music on premature infants in neonatal intensive-care units.

Cassidy gave three master classes in Snow Fine Arts Center: Elementary Music Methods on Oct. 28 and Concepts of Music for Early Childhood on Oct. 28 and 29. She also conducted a professional development program for regional music directors and a discussion on teaching music students with special needs on Oct. 29.

Cassidy's lecture on the developmental effects of music on premature infants was well attended, mainly by music education students.

In a slideshow, Cassidy explained some of the basics of the findings her research was based on.

Premature infants are born between 22 and 37 weeks of gestation, instead of after the regular 40 weeks. After 24 weeks, only about 40 percent of premature babies survive. After 27 weeks, 90 percent survive. These babies' neurological development is not complete as they are still supposed to be inside a protective, nourishing environment.

Instead, however, they are in a world of intensive care, with the disturbing noises of beepers, loud speech and phones ringing, which only make matters worse.

"Music therapy looks at how to control this," Cassidy said.

Cassidy said music therapy successfully manages the stress of mothers and infants.

"We're trying to get these babies to the point where they are developmentally appropriate when they go home," she said.

Cassidy said she plays classical string music and lullabies with the voice of a woman on test groups. Music at a slow to moderate tempo with controlled dynamics is played at soft decibel levels, either from speakers within the incubator or from noise-cancelling "ear cups," she said.

Her studies show that with the incorporation of these soothing, controlled sounds, stress levels decrease as heart and respiratory rates decrease. At the same time, levels of oxygen saturation – which relate to heart and lung health – increase, which is a very positive effect.

Cassidy said she used a device called the Pacifier Activated Lullaby (PAL) to further study the effects of music on the infants. The PAL is a pacifier that, when activated by the movement of the child's tongue, plays a lullaby. Infants, at an average of one-and-a-half minutes, learned how to keep the music on by regularly sucking at the pacifier. The PAL is responsible then for teaching nonnutritive sucking.

Cassidy's studies indicated that with music therapy, infants had an increased weight gain and a decreased length of hospital stay.

Cassidy said in the future she wants to study the effects of the PAL on nutritive sucking, in hopes that music-encouraged sucking will lead to positive weight gain and well-being for infants.

"The faster they eat, the faster they go home," Cassidy said.

Ryan Fisher, assistant professor of choral music education, said: "[Cassidy] is a great researcher and her knowledge is prolific … but she brings it to a level you can understand. She is showing the world that music is more than just performance … it's scientific, it's cognitive."