Saturday, January 19, 2013

How Music Helps to Heal the Injured Brain

I know this is a blog about art therapy, but as some of you know, I post occasionally about music therapy also.  Being a musician, I particularly appreciate this sister creative arts therapy.  An article published in "Cerebrum" from the DANA Foundation in 2010 explores how music helps neurologically with injured brains, calling the approach neurologic music therapy.  It is a lengthy article, so I will post the editor's note below, as well as links to the PDF and online articles.  Many thanks to my oboe teacher who shared this with me!

Editor’s note: The use of music in therapy for the brain has evolved rapidly as brain-imaging techniques have revealed the brain’s plasticity—its ability to change—and have identified networks that music activates. Armed with this growing knowledge, doctors and researchers are employing music to retrain the injured brain. Studies by the authors and other researchers have revealed that because music and motor control share circuits, music can improve movement in patients who have suffered a stroke or who have Parkinson’s disease. Research has shown that neurologic music therapy can also help patients with language or cognitive difficulties, and the authors suggest that these techniques should become part of rehabilitative care. Future findings may well indicate that music should be included on the list of therapies for a host of other disorders as well.


2 comments:

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  2. Nice blog, thanks for sharing the information. I will come to look for update. Keep up the good work

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