News Articles

1. The Effect of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) on Gait Characteristics of Cadence, Velocity, and Stride Length in...

   Clair, Alicia Ann; O'Konski, Marjorie, Journal of Music Therapy, 07-01-2006

   Persons (N = 28) diagnosed with dementia in late stage who had locomotion Functional Independence Measure (FIM) ratings of 1, total assistance required, and 2, maximal assistance required, participated as subjects. All participants were enrolled in a restorative ambulation program which was implemented in this study under 3 conditions: Rhythmic auditory stimulation in which metronomic beats were imbedded in music, rhythmic auditory stimulation which consisted of metronomic beats without music, and no auditory stimulus. Gait characteristics of cadence, velocity, and stride length were compared across the 3 conditions. No statistically significant differences were found, however, observation showed that assistive burden seemed less when both forms of rhythmic auditory stimulation were used. Further research is recommended to study the effects of RAS on care burden and continued ambulation throughout the disease trajectory. The risk for functional decline increases as people age, and the potential for deteriorated physical strength and flexibility can lead to falls, the precursor to the most serious injuries and most common medical problems suffered by older adults (Province et al., 1995). Research demonstrates that persons with cognitive impairments and dementia have the risk for falls and fall injuries among persons in residential care (Shaw, 2002; Van Doom et al., 2003; Yap, Au, Ang, & Ee, 2003). Furthermore, the motor impairment which affects walking cadence in late stage dementia is a predictor of falls in persons diagnosed with Alzheimer's type dementia (Camicioli & Licis, 2004). While the risk of falls associated with poor walking cadence is a threat to safety, the hazards of discontinued walking are equally harmful. It is well known that older persons who discontinue active lifestyles have increased physical frailties beyond those associated with chronological aging (Hubert, Bloch, Oehlert, & Fries, 2002; Mitnitski, Song, & Rockwood, 2004). The deconditioning brought on by complete inactivity leads to illness, disability, chronic disease, and the need for additional medications (Rader & Vaughen, 1994). Poor physical outcomes of inactivity lead to markedly diminished life quality, and remarkable increases in associated health care costs (Garrett, Brasure, Schmitz, Schults, & Huber, 2004)...

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2. Stroke; Researchers from Lund University, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center Provide Details of New Studies and Findings in the Area of Stroke

   Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week, 03-12-2011

   2011 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- New research, 'Current trends in stroke rehabilitation. A review with focus on brain plasticity,' is the subject of a report. "Current understanding of brain plasticity has lead to new approaches in ischemic stroke rehabilitation. Stroke units that combine good medical and nursing care with task-oriented intense training in an environment that provides confidence, stimulation and motivation significantly improve outcome," researchers in Sweden report. "Repetitive trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), and trans- cranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are applied in rehabilitation of motor function. The long-term effect, optimal way of stimulation and possibly efficacy in cognitive rehabilitation need evaluation. Methods based on multisensory integration of motor, cognitive, and perceptual processes including action observation, mental training, and virtual reality are being tested. Different approaches of intensive aphasia training are described. Recent data on intensive melodic intonation therapy indicate that even patients with very severe non-fluent aphasia can regain speech through homotopic white matter tract plasticity. Music therapy is applied in motor and cognitive rehabilitation. To avoid the confounding effect of spontaneous improvement, most trials are preformed=3 months post stroke. Randomized controlled trials starting earlier after strokes are needed," wrote B.B Johansson and colleagues, Lund University, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center. The researchers concluded: "More attention should be given to stroke heterogeneity, cognitive rehabilitation, and social adjustment and to genetic differences, including the role of BDNF polymorphism in brain plasticity" ...

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3. Music Therapy Protocol Development to Enhance Swallowing Training for Stroke Patients with Dysphagia

   Kim, Soo Ji, Journal of Music Therapy, 07-01-2010

   Dysphagia, or abnormality in swallowing fluids and/or foods, is commonly associated with severe strokes. The incidence of clinical dysphagia ranges from 67% when screened during the first 72 hours after a stroke attack (Hinds & Wiles, 1998) to 43% within the first 7 days post stroke (Wade & Hewer, 1987). Even though most swallowing problems disappear in a short period of time, at least 11% of dysphagic patients still have difficulties after 6 months of recovery (Gordon, Hewer, et al., 1987; Wade & Hewer, 1987). Dysphagia can seriously affect a patient's quality of life and potentially lead to death if aspiration occurs. With aspiration, food or liquid enters the airway causing an acute risk for pneumonia, which significantly delays rehabilitation. Malnutrition, which is also associated with poor swallowing, may impede rehabilitation outcomes and slow recovery (Logemann, 1995). In dysphagia, four stages of the swallowing mechanism are involved, namely, (a) the oral preparatory, (b) oral, (c) pharyngeal, and (d) esophageal stages (Logemann, 1995). Swallowing requires a successful progression of coordinated, sequenced movements to complete all four stages. The physiological elements of swallowing behaviors include the application of tongue pressure on the food to propel it through the mouth, protection of the airway from food intake, and the opening of the upper esophageal sphincter to allow the passage of food into the esophagus (Logemann, 1995). Damage to any of these physiological elements due to stroke may cause patients to exhibit swallowing disorders. Generally, these are due to damage in the central nervous system and/or to the structures of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx (Logemann, 1995). Because dysphagia involves a life-threatening risk of airway obstruction and/or aspiration pneumonia, the treatment of the swallowing dysfunction is vital to survival (Perry, 2001)...

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4. Music of the hemispheres

   Ehrenberg, Rachel, Science News, DATE

   Playing an instrument calls upon circuitry from many areas of the brain, says Daniel Levitin, director of the music perception, cognition and expertise laboratory at McGiIl University in Montreal. For a long time, music was considered a creative "right brain" endeavor. That idea has now gone the way of the Macarena. Music processing is distributed throughout the brain, says Levitin, and playing an instrument, in particular, is an ensemble activity. It involves paying attention, thinking ahead, remembering, coordinating movement and interpreting constant feedback to the ears, fingers and, in some cases, lips. "If s one of the most complicated tasks that we have," Levitin says. "Take a symphony orchestra. What you have is 80 or 100 of the most highly trained members of our society - more highly trained than astronauts or surgeons in terms of the numbers of hours and years of preparation - and they are performing the works of some of the greatest minds that ever lived. If s really extraordinary." The breadth of the musician's task and the required cognitive effort are probably behind much of the enhancement of other skills, says neuroscientist Laurel Trainor, director of the auditory development lab at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Playing an instrument "engages basically most of your brain," Trainor says. The activity appears to boost executive function, being the boss of your body and mind. Evidence suggests that with musical training comes improved memory, finer motor skills and better attention control - the ability to ignore one thing and pay attention to something else. "Our working hypothesis is that if s these control processes that are what is key for the transfer effects," Trainor says...

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1. HEALING' BY MUSIC TRIED IN HOSPITALS; Federal Project Reports Results of Tests in Which 6,500 Are 'Treated' Monthly Stress on Participation Rhythm Bands Aid Some

   New York Times, Mar 20, 1938

   Abstract (Summary) Music has a therapeutic charm to heal as well as soothe the maladjusted and the ill, according to a report of the Federal Music Project in New York, which for three years has been conducting classes in seven city hospitals and two women's prisons.

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2. Music for Aid of War Wounded On Program of Medical Center

   Christian Science Monitor, Apr 10, 1944.

   Abstract (Summary) WASHINGTON, April 10-- Music will be tested at the United States Armry Medical Center beginning this month as an aid to healing the war wounded.

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3. MUSICAL PROJECT HELPS PATIENTS; Lessons on Instruments and in Singing Given in Wards by Teacher-Therapists

   Emma Harrison, New York Times, Oct 4, 1959.

   Abstract (Summary) There is a popular musical program around town that might be called "Music to Get Well By." It goes on daily, in many places.

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Dissertations

1. Efficacy of using music therapy combined with traditional aphasia and apraxia of speech treatments

   by Aitken Dunham, Debra Jean, M.S., Western Carolina University, 2010 , 88 pages.

   Abstract (Summary)
   The literature suggests that music therapy is effective in the treatment of aphasia and apraxia of speech (AOS) (Beathard & Krout, 2008; Robey, 1998). To date, no studies have been conducted to determine if traditional speech-language therapy combined with music therapy leads to a more successful treatment outcome than traditional approaches alone. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of utilizing music therapy in addition to traditional speech-language treatment in persons with chronic, stroke-induced aphasia and concomitant AOS. Using alternating treatment, single-subject design, two persons with acquired aphasia and AOS following a single stroke participated in weekly speech-language therapy three times a week for nine weeks to target expressive speech and language. Traditional treatment approaches included Cueing Hierarchy to improve overt naming of selected targets and the Eight-Step Task Continuum to improve speech sound production. The music therapy protocol followed the protocol established by Kim and Tomaino (2008), and included singing, breathing, oral-motor, and intonation exercises. The data collected included rate of acquisition of targets during each treatment block and retention of targets at three- and six-weeks following the end of each treatment block. These data suggest that both participants demonstrated improved speech production and oral naming skills following both treatment approaches. Further, both participants demonstrated improvements on standardized assessments. These data further suggest that not only do both participants demonstrate the greatest treatment effects following the traditional treatment combined with music therapy but also that these treatment effects continued after the music therapy component was removed from treatment.

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2. The relationship between melody and prosody: Perception and production capabilities of musicians and non-musicians

   by Copeland, Naomi Chaya, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2010 , 189 pages.

   Abstract (Summary)
   Music and language are two interconnected acoustic and cognitive phenomena shared by human beings. Among their similarities are their variety of intonations and inflections resulting in melody and prosody, respectively. Previous research has demonstrated that musicians are more successful than non-musicians at detecting pitch errors in speech and melody. These results are often due to extensive musical training beginning at an early age. In examining melodic and prosodic abilities of twenty-nine university undergraduates, this study attempts to better understand the connectedness between these cognitive functions, and the affects various musical experiences may have. To assess these abilities, three production stimuli were developed and Gordon's Advanced Measures of Music Audiation was used. Statistical analysis demonstrated significantly strong correlations between total length of musical experience as well as the age formal instruction first began. In recognizing the potential transferred effects of beginning and continuing musical training, this study may help to support pedagogical and curricular decisions regarding when and for how long to offer music instruction, in addition to contributing to current research on music education and cognitive psychology.

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3. The effectiveness of Melodic Intonation Therapy and Therapeutic Singing on functional communication skills for adults with expressive aphasia

   by Rhee, Yea Ju, M.M., Michigan State University, 2009 , 141 pages.

   Abstract (Summary)
   The study of music and speech for persons with expressive aphasia by Sparks and Holland attracted a fair amount of critical attention in the 1970s. The effectiveness of Therapeutic Singing (TS) and Melodic Intonation Therapy ( MIT) in improving the speech production of persons with expressive aphasia has been established in subsequent research since that time. Based on the present research, the ramming study of Modified Melodic Intonation Therapy (Baker, 2000), which is the systematic combination of Melodic Intonation Therapy and Therapeutic Singing, gives convincing answers to some of this study's research questions regarding whether or not the addition of TS to MIT helps persons with aphasia improve their speech production. Two case studies were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of MIT and TS to improve functional communication skills. Eight variables of spoken language were compared: total length of samples, total number of utterances, total number of words, average length of utterances, average number of words per minute, total number of items named, total number of prompts per item named, and scores for MIT performance. The results showed that MIT and TS interventions helped the subject who had low functioning speech to improve functional communication skills in both the long term and short term. On the other hand, the subject who had high functioning speech skills showed positive numerical gains on some of the variables in functional communication, but there were not statistically supported differences between pre and post-tests in the short-term.

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