Muse TECHNOLOGIES
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Music Therapy |
Music’s ability to work and connect multiple parts of the brain makes it a great way to treat many neurological disorders. Music therapy is “found to work well in helping treat amnesia, Parkinsonism, and dementia” (Maldonado 2). Music therapy consists of trying to engage the brain in a variety of ways through music. Music engages a wide variety brain areas that are involved in “emotion, motivation, cognition, and motor functions, musical interventions have been used to increase socialization and cognitive, emotional, and neuromotor functioning” (Raglio 3). Because the brain activates this wide variety of areas, it can assist in connecting these areas and reestablishing connections in the brain that have been lost. Patients who are suffering from damage to the premotor zone of their brain can hardly speak, but “some still retain the ability to sing the words of songs” (Maldonado 2). This goes to show the power that music has in a person’s memory. It has been shown that “Musical perception, musical sensibility, musical emotion, and musical memory can survive long after other forms of memory have disappeared” (Maldonado 3).
There are three main approaches to treatment with music therapy. The three principle domains are “relational approaches, rehabilitative approaches, and music listening” (Raglio 3). The relational approach includes creating a connection between the the patient and the therapist by methods including improvisation, singing, and songwriting. The receptive musical listening approach “induce the psychological beneficial effects and to evoke and process emotions and thoughts” (Raglio 3). The rehabilitative approach, like Neurological Music Therapy uses a neuroscientific model to activate areas of the brain to apply to therapeutic uses for sensory, cognition, and motor skills. These three domains of music therapy are each used to treat different disorders and are frequently used on a patient-by-patient basis to see which method works best for them. Music therapy has even been used in rehabilitation by patients looking to avoid side effects.