THE healing power of music has been acknowledged in almost all traditions.
Music therapy has been found to be effective in children, adolescents, adults and the elderly with mental health needs as well as those with developmental and learning disabilities, Alzheimer's and other age-related conditions.
It is also helpful for those with substance abuse problems, brain injuries, physical disabilities and those experiencing acute and chronic pain. Even mothers-to-be benefit from music therapy while in labour.
Listening to music activates a widespread bilateral network of brain regions related to attention, semantic processing, memory, motor functions and emotional processing.
MUSIC AND THE BRAIN
Over the past three decades, music has been studied as a cognitive phenomenon.
Research on music and its effect on brain functions have produced insights into the nature of the brain.
Musical performances engage a host of cognitive functions, including information processing, attention, language, memory functions and executive functions.
It is a strong elicitor of emotion but also facilitates regulation of emotion. Music activates the cortical network associated with emotion, including the frontal system, which is involved in emotion processing.
Music is known to engage brain areas such as the mesolimbic area and the nucleus accumbens, the reward centre of the brain, which is known to be involved in real-life emotional experiences.
It also alters psychophysiological parameters such as pain perception, relaxation, blood pressure, respiration and heart rate.
MUSIC FOR REHABILITATION
Neurorehabilitation is an extensive field of music therapy serving diverse populations and addressing complex clinical needs.
People with neurological disorders demonstrate a variety of aftermaths including physical, cognitive, behavioral and communication impairments, which can lead to psychosocial and daily living difficulties.
Music therapy in neurorehabilitation has grown since the 1980s. Music therapy studies have been conducted with people of all ages across a wide range of neurological disorders including stroke, cerebral palsy and Parkinson's.
In particular, there are various dimensions of physical rehabilitation which can benefit from music therapy such as walking, fine and gross motor movements in both upper and lower extremities, balance, strength, dexterity, mobility and coordination.
In people with disorders of consciousness due to Acquired Brain Injury, music therapy has been shown to be effective in stimulating behavioural responses such as facial expression, blink and respiratory rate.
Several studies reported the effectiveness of music therapy in reducing agitation and other challenging behaviours in people with brain injury.
Singing and vocal exercise have been found to improve normative speech production, and speech intelligibility in people with acquired dysarthria (difficult or unclear articulation of speech).
SPEECH AND EMOTIONS
Music therapy has also been reported to improve speech repetition, naming, reading and verbal fluency in people with aphasia (a communication disorder that impairs a person's ability to process language).
Music therapy also offers great benefits for emotional and social domains in neurorehabilitation.
Participating in group music therapy can enhance mood, confidence, motivation, social engagement, peer support as well as reduce psychological distress for people with acquired neurological injury.
Most patients are referred to music therapy to address social and emotional goals. Relaxation, physical rehabilitation, communication rehabilitation, cognitive rehabilitation, pain management, motivation, and sensory stimulation are also common reasons for referral.
The therapist emphasises specific elements of music in the construction of therapeutic exercises in order to optimise function and/or reroute neural pathways to achieve functionality.
FAMILIARITY BREEDS RECOVERY
Listening to familiar music has recently been reported to be beneficial during recovery from stroke.
Stroke survivors benefit from a variety of different music therapy approaches — the familiar emotional pieces to activate certain areas of the brain, and novel pieces to activate others.
A study by scientists at Houston Methodist Hospital suggests that familiar, positive music may have the power to increase activation and functional connectivity in the brain, and, as such, may provide targeted therapeutic benefits to those recovering from a stroke.
Listening to music regularly enhances structural neuroplasticity in the limbic regions, which is linked to better emotional recovery.
Several studies show positive effect of music therapy on mood in patients with stroke.
The limbic areas of the brain, known to be associated with emotions, are involved in rhythm and tonality processing. The brain areas related to emotion and reward have been found to be activated during intensely pleasurable moments of music listening.
* The writer is a senior lecturer at the faculty of medicine and health sciences, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.