You probably don't realize it when you're listening to your favorite song, but music has an incredibly powerful effect on the human brain.
Singing, playing an instrument, or listening to music have all been shown to activate numerous areas of the brain that control speech, movement, and cognition, memory and emotion – often all at the same time.
Remarkably, research also suggests that music can physically increase brain matter, which could help the brain repair itself.
More intriguing is the impact that music can have even in cases where the brain may not be functioning as it should.
There's also evidence of patients who have suffered brain damage and lost the ability to speak that can still sing when music is played.
Given the powerful effect that music has on the brain, researchers are investigating whether it can be used to treat many different neurological conditions – such as stroke, Parkinson's disease, or brain injury.
One such treatment currently being investigated for use is neurologic music therapy.
Neurologic music therapy works a bit like physiotherapy or speech therapy, in that it aims to help patients manage symptoms and function better in their daily life.
Therapy sessions use musical or rhythmical exercises to help patients regain functional skills. For example, patients relearning to walk after an accident or trauma might walk to the rhythm of music during a therapy session.
Talking, walking, thinking
Researchers have also investigated whether neurologic music therapy can treat other movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.
Most studies in this area have used a technique called rhythmic entrainment exercises, which uses the brain's ability to synchronize with a beat unconsciously – such as having to walk to a specific speed of music or beat.
Compared to doing therapy without music, neurologic music therapy has been shown to improve walking and reduce moments of "freezing" (a temporary, involuntary inability to move) in Parkinson's patients.
For these types of conditions, neurologic music therapy focuses on activating and stimulating areas of the brain which may have been damaged – such as the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain responsible for planning, decision-making, problem-solving, and self-control.
This might involve the patient switching between playing two types of musical instruments when they hear a change in the music they're playing along to (such as the tempo becoming faster or slower).
One research study found that these types of activities improved concentration and attention for patients with traumatic brain injury. This in turn had a positive impact on their wellbeing and lowered feelings of depression or anxiety.
Music and the brain
It's thought that the reason neurological music therapy works is because music can activate and simulate so many different parts of the brain simultaneously.
For patients with neurological conditions, it's often the connections in the brain that are causing problems, rather than a specific area itself.
Research shows that music can uniquely form new connections in the brain. Listening to music also improves neuron repair better than other activities – such as listening to an audiobook – which may mean the brain functions better and builds new connections.
Music is believed to have long-lasting effects on the brain, too. So much so that a musician's brain is actually better connected than people who haven't played music.
This could be important for people with neurological conditions, as music could help to repair damaged connections over time.
This activation of multiple areas of the brain may be the reason why neurologic music therapy is more successful than other standard therapies alone.
Given that many neurological conditions affect the connections in the brain, music's ability to activate multiple areas simultaneously may help bypass these problem connections and build new ones – allowing people to overcome certain symptoms, or better manage them.
Though more research still needs to be done before neurological music therapy is used widely across healthcare systems, early results from studies show how much promise this therapy could hold. Research is also underway to see whether it can be used to help people with age-related diseases, such as dementia or Alzheimer's.
"Huwezi kujua wakati unasikiliza wimbo wako wa kupendwa, lakini muziki una athari kubwa sana kwa ubongo wa binadamu. """ Kuimba, kucheza ala, au kusikiliza muziki wote umeonyeshwa kuamsha maeneo mengi ya ubongo ambayo kudhibiti hotuba, harakati, na utambuzi, kumbukumbu na hisia - mara nyingi wote kwa wakati mmoja. Utafiti unaonyesha kwamba muziki unaweza kuongeza kiasi cha vitu katika ubongo, na hivyo kusaidia ubongo kujirekebisha. Jambo la kushangaza zaidi ni jinsi muziki unavyoweza kuwa na uvutano hata katika hali ambazo ubongo hauwezi kufanya kazi kama inavyopaswa. Pia kuna ushahidi wa wagonjwa ambao wamepatwa na uharibifu wa ubongo na kupoteza uwezo wa kuzungumza ambao bado wanaweza kuimba wakati muziki unapochezwa. Kwa sababu ya athari kubwa ya muziki kwenye ubongo, watafiti wanachunguza ikiwa inaweza kutumiwa kutibu magonjwa mengi ya neva - kama vile kiharusi, ugonjwa wa Parkinson, au majeraha ya ubongo. Mojawapo ya matibabu hayo ambayo kwa sasa yanachunguzwa ni tiba ya muziki ya neva. Tiba ya muziki ya neurolojia inafanya kazi kama tiba ya mwili au tiba ya hotuba, kwa kuwa inakusudia kusaidia wagonjwa kusimamia dalili na kufanya kazi vizuri katika maisha yao ya kila siku. Vipindi vya tiba hutumia mazoezi ya muziki au ya mdundo ili kuwasaidia wagonjwa kupata tena ustadi wa kufanya kazi. Kwa mfano, wagonjwa wanaojifunza kutembea baada ya aksidenti au majeraha wanaweza kutembea kwa mdundo wa muziki wakati wa kikao cha matibabu. Kwa mfano, watu wanaotembea, wanazungumza, na wanafikiri wanaweza kupata msaada wa matibabu ya muziki kwa ajili ya matatizo mengine ya mwendo kama vile ugonjwa wa Parkinson. Utafiti wa utafiti wa kisayansi unaonyesha kwamba mazoezi ya rhythmic entrainment hutumia uwezo wa ubongo wa kusawazisha na mdundo wa muziki, kama vile kutembea kwa kasi ya muziki au mdundo. Ikilinganishwa na kufanya tiba bila muziki, neurological music therapy imeonyeshwa kuboresha kutembea na kupunguza nyakati za "kuyeyusha" (mwisho, kutokuwa na uwezo wa kusonga) katika wagonjwa wa Parkinson. Kwa aina hizi za hali, neurological music therapy inazingatia kuamsha na kuchochea maeneo ya ubongo ambayo inaweza kuwa imeharibiwa kama vile prefrontal cortex, eneo la ubongo linalowajibika kwa mipango, maamuzi, kutatua matatizo, na kujidhibiti. Hii inaweza kuhusisha mgonjwa kubadilisha kati ya kucheza aina mbili za vyombo vya muziki wakati wanaposikia mabadiliko katika muziki wanaocheza pamoja (kama vile kasi inakuwa ya haraka au polepole). Utafiti mmoja uligundua kwamba aina hizi za shughuli ziliboresha umakini na uangalifu kwa wagonjwa wenye majeraha ya ubongo. Hilo lilikuwa na matokeo mazuri juu ya hali yao ya afya na kupunguza hisia za kushuka moyo au wasiwasi. Muziki na ubongo: Kwa sababu ya athari za muziki, muziki unaweza kuamsha sehemu nyingi za ubongo kwa wakati mmoja. Kwa wagonjwa wenye matatizo ya neva, mara nyingi ni uhusiano katika ubongo unaosababisha matatizo, badala ya eneo fulani lenyewe. Utafiti unaonyesha kwamba muziki unaweza kuunda uhusiano mpya katika ubongo kwa njia ya pekee. Kusikiliza muziki pia kuboresha neurons kurekebisha bora kuliko shughuli nyingine - kama vile kusikiliza audiobook - ambayo inaweza kumaanisha ubongo kazi bora na hujenga uhusiano mpya. Inasemekana kwamba muziki una athari za kudumu kwenye ubongo pia. Kwa hivyo, ubongo wa mwanamuziki una uhusiano mzuri na akili kuliko wale ambao hawajawahi kucheza. Hii inaweza kuwa muhimu kwa watu wenye hali ya neva, kwani muziki unaweza kusaidia kurekebisha uhusiano ulioharibiwa kwa muda. "Kufanya kazi kwa sehemu nyingi za ubongo kunaweza kuwa sababu ya kuwa ""therapy ya muziki ya neva"" inafanikiwa zaidi kuliko matibabu mengine ya kawaida peke yake." Kwa kuzingatia kwamba hali nyingi za neva huathiri uhusiano katika ubongo, uwezo wa muziki wa kuamsha maeneo mengi kwa wakati mmoja unaweza kusaidia kuepuka uhusiano huu wa shida na kujenga mpya - kuruhusu watu kushinda dalili fulani, au kusimamia vizuri. Ingawa utafiti zaidi bado unahitaji kufanywa kabla ya tiba ya muziki ya neva kutumika sana katika mifumo ya huduma za afya, matokeo ya mapema kutoka kwa masomo yanaonyesha jinsi tiba hii inaweza kuwa na ahadi. Utafiti pia unaendelea kuona kama inaweza kutumika kusaidia watu wenye magonjwa yanayohusiana na umri, kama vile dementia au Alzheimer.