When you listen to your favorite song, you probably don't realize that it has a powerful effect on your brain.
Singing, playing an instrument, or listening to music all have the same effect on the same areas of the brain.
Music can increase brain matter, which could help the brain repair itself.
Music can have an impact on the brain even if it isn't functioning as it should.
Studies show that music can help people with Alzheimer's remember what they remember.
Patients who have suffered brain damage and lost the ability to speak can still sing when music is played.
Researchers are investigating whether music can be used to treat a variety of neurological conditions, such as stroke, Parkinson's disease, or brain injury.
Music therapy is being investigated for use.
Neurological music therapy is a type of therapy that helps patients manage symptoms and function better in their daily life.
Musical or rhythmical exercises are used in therapy sessions. Patients who have had an accident or trauma can walk to the rhythm of music during a therapy session.
This type of therapy has shown promise in helping stroke survivors to recover language, improve walking, and recover physical movement better than other standard therapies.
Neurological music therapy can be used to treat Parkinson's disease.
Rhythmic entrainment exercises use the brain's ability to Synchronize with a beat unconsciously, which is why most studies use it.
Music therapy has been shown to improve walking in Parkinson's patients by reducing moments of "freezing", a temporary inability to move.
Studies have shown that this type of therapy can be used to treat cognitive issues in people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury or have Huntington's disease.
Music therapy can be used to restore the function of the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that may have been damaged.
When the patient hears a change in the music they're playing along to, they might have to switch between playing two types of musical instruments.
A study found that these types of activities improved concentration for patients with traumatic brain injury. This had a positive impact on their wellbeing and lowered their feelings of depression or anxiety.
The brain and music.
Music therapy works because it can cause so many different parts of the brain to work at the same time.
It's often the connections in the brain that are causing problems for patients with neurological conditions.
Music can form new connections in the brain. Listening to music improves neuron repair and may mean the brain functions better and builds new connections.
Music is thought to have long-term effects on the brain. A musician's brain is better connected than people who haven't played music.
Music could help people with neurological conditions repair damaged connections over time.
Music therapy may be more successful than other therapies because of the activation of multiple areas of the brain.
Music's ability to amplify multiple areas at the same time may help people with neurological conditions overcome their symptoms, or better manage them.
Results from early studies show how much promise neurological music therapy has in it's use. It is being studied to see if it can be used to help people with age related diseases.
Rebecca is a researcher in music therapy.
The Conversation's article is a Creative Commons licensed one. The original article can be found here.
