Petr Janata is a cognitive neuroscientist and professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Davis, where he is also a faculty member of the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain. His research explores the psychology and neuroscience of music, focusing on the basic psychological and neural mechanisms that underlie powerful musical experiences—such as music-evoked remembering and the sensation of being “in the groove.”

Professor Janata’s lab employs behavioral studies, functional neuroimaging (EEG/ERP, fMRI), and computational modeling to investigate how music engages the brain. His diverse projects include studying music-evoked autobiographical memory and emotions, the cognitive and neural basis of groove, auditory attention and imagery, and the emotional qualities of timbre.

Recent research highlights include examining how involuntary musical imagery—often referred to as “earworms”—reinforces memory for both music and associated information, and how synchronized tapping with adaptive metronomes in small groups can shape social and emotional processes.