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Research

Research on Music, the Brain, and Neuroplasticity!

Research Article Summaries on Music, the Brain, and Neuroplasticity!

Benefits Regarding

Music and the Brain!

Research Article Summaries on Music and the Brain!

OUR ESTEEMED MEMBER: DR. RUDY TANZI!

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Dr. Rudy Tanzi is a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and is the Vice Chair for the Neurology Department at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research revolves around the genetic makeup of Alzheimer's and is world-renowned for discovering the first Alzheimer's gene. Dr. Tanzi is an honorary member of Music Mends Minds.

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To view more of Dr. Tanzi's Research, Click Here!

MMM is continuing to pursue opportunities to confirm the beneficial effects of music therapy and to explore it as a viable alternative treatment in delaying the symptoms of neurodegenerative dementias. The goal is to spread awareness about music’s ability to synchronize the mind and connect people with one another. Playing a musical instrument is likened to a full-body work out for the brain, integrating motor, heightened sensory and auditory function, emotion, and other higher order processes of the brain. In addition, it seems to affect lower, more primitive areas of the brain as well. The effect? Music seems to be retained in the brain differently from other sorts of cognition such as memory and language, and can be accessed as a form of communication when other avenues are lost. Please view some relevant research articles in the links below. 

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Testimonials

Service

I liked seeing people reacting to the music in their own ways—singing, clapping, getting up and dancing, even conducting. It meant so much to me

Expression

There was something about the music. My husband was able to express himself better after a session.

Communication

My husband was at the stage where he was totally uncommunicative. After a session, he was like a 10! His good mood lasted through the day

Music

I was grateful that the 5th Dementia existed. It added to my husband’s life. I was thrilled he could play music somewhere

Music & Cognitive Decline Reduction

Does Music Therapy Enhance Behavioral and Cognitive Function in Elderly Dementia Patients? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Zhang et al. (2017)

Music-Based Therapeutic Interventions for People with Dementia

van der Steen et al. (2018)

Benefits of Music Therapy for Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease or Alzheimer’s Disease

Lewis (2015)

Music Therapy is a Potential Intervention for Cognition of Alzheimer's Disease: A Mini Review

Fang, Ye, Huangfu, & Calimag (2017)

Global Music Approaches to Persons with Dementia: Evidence and Practice

Raglio, Filippi, Bellandi, & Stramba-Badiale (2014)

What We Talk About When We Talk About Music as Medicine

Ahtisaari (2015)

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Music & Cognitive Decline Prevention

Playing a Musical Instrument as a Protective Factor Against Dementia and Cognitive Impairment: A Population-Based Twin Study

Balbag, Pedersen, & Gatz (2014)

What Science Says about Music Education

The Discovery of Human Auditory-Motor Entrainment and its Role in the Development of Neurologic Music Therapy

Thaut (2015)

Learning-Induced Neural Plasticity of Speech Processing Before Birth

Partanen et al. (2013)

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Music & Brain Function

Large-Scale Brain Networks Emerge from Dynamic Processing of Musical Timbre, Key and Rhythm

Alluri et al. (2012)

Increased Corpus Callosum Size in Musicians

Schlaug et al. (1995)

Music Drives Brain Plasticity

Jancke (2009)

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Music & Mental Function

Determining the Impact of Passive Music Exposure on Brain Activation and Functional Connectivity Using fMRI in Patients with Early Alzheimer's Disease

Leggieri et al. (2018)

How Musical Training Affects Cognitive Development: Rhythm, Reward and Other Modulating Variables

Miendlarzewska & Trost (2014)

Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Executive Functioning in Musicians and Non-Musicians

Zuk et al. (2014)

Music Training and Working Memory: An ERP Study

George & Coch (2011)

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Music, Mood & Quality of Life

Influence of Music Therapy on Coping Skills and Anger Management in Forensic Psychiatric Patients

Hakvoort et al. (2015)

The Effect of Music Therapy on Mood and Anxiety–Depression: An Observational Study in Institutionalised Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury

Guetin et al. (2009)

The Unforgettables: A Chorus for People with Dementia With Their Family Members and Friends

Mittelman & Papayannopoulou (2018)

Aphasia in a Composer

Luria et al. (1965)

A Philosophical Defense of the Idea that We Can Hold Each Other in Personhood: Intercorporeal Personhood in Dementia Care

Zeller (2013)

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Music & Physical Health

Music & Physical Health

Music Therapy for Motor and Nonmotor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled, Single-Blinded Study

Spina et al., (2016)

Meditation-Music and Diet are Effective Holistic Approaches to Strengthen Neuroplasticity, Boost Immune System and Maintain Synaptic Connections Between Neurons to Combat Alzheimer's, Depression and Other Related Disorders

Mruthinti (2018)

Music-Induced Analgesia in Chronic Pain Conditions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Garza-Villareal et al. (2017)

The Effect of Group Music Therapy on Mood, Speech, and Singing in Individuals with Parkinson's Disease—A Feasibility Study

Elefant et al., (2012)

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Music, the Brain & Neuroplasticity

Music and Brain Plasticity: How Sounds Trigger Neurogenerative Adaptations

Reybrouck et al. (2018)

Rapid and Flexible Creativity in Music Improvisation: Review and a Model

Loui (2018)

Music Training and Working Memory: An ERP Study

George et al. (2011)

Neuroplasticity and Clinical Practices: Building Brain Power for Health

Shaffer (2016)

NIH/Kennedy Center Workshop on Music and the Brain: Finding Harmony

Cheever et al. (2018)

Active Music Classes in Infancy Enhance Musical, Communicative and Social Development

Gerry et al. (2012)

Non-Pharmacological Interventions and Neuroplasticity in Early Stage Alzheimer's Disease

Herholz et al. (2014)

Music Training for the Development of Auditory Skills

Kraus & Chandrasekaran (2010)

Memory for Music in Alzheimer’s Disease: Unforgettable?

Baird & Samson (2009)

Music-Based Interventions in Neurological Rehabilitation

Sihvonen et al. (2017)

Neurologic Music Therapy Training for Mobility and Stability Rehabilitation with Parkinson’s Disease – A Pilot Study

Bukowska, Krezalek, Mirek, Bujas, & Marchewka (2016)

Moving with Music for Stroke Rehabilitation: a Sonification Feasibility Study

Scholz et al. (2015)

Creative and Opportunistic Use of Everyday Music Technologies in a Dementia Care Unit

Morrissey & McCarthy (2015)

Musical Training, Neuroplasticity and Cognition

Rodrigues et al. (2010)

Musical Experience and Dementia. Hypothesis

Grant & Brody (2004)

Neurologic Music Therapy Improves Executive Function and Emotional Adjustment in Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation

Thaut et al. (2009)

The Immediate and Long-Term Effects of Singing on the Mood States of People with Traumatic Brain Injury

Baker & Wigram (2004)

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