MUSICTHERAPYANDITSEFFECTSON

DEMENTIA,BRAINDEVELOPMENT,&
DEPRESSION~CAPSTONEOUTLINE

purpose: to discover the benefits of music therapy on specific conditions
and whether it is an effective, reliable of therapy for patients

Thesis: Music therapy is a complex system of forms and techniques which effectively and beneficially
treat symptoms of dementia, brain development, and depression.

*ABSTRACT* & *INTRODUCTION*

1. Physical/Psychological Effects & Benefits of Music on the Brain

a. Music has a positive effect on a wide variety of parts in the brain, broadening the benefits of music
therapy for patients with a wide range of conditions/diseases.
i. Physical
1. Raises feel-good hormone levels such as serotonin
2. Raises ones pain threshold
3. Can help with developing reading and language skills
4. The auditory nerve has an immediate contact to theamygdala (fight or flight). As
soon as someone hears a sound, they become aroused or suddenly pay attention
5. The same areas in the brain that are active in processing language, auditory perception,
attention, memory, executive control, and motor control are also all areas that music
can reach / affects
a. Brocas Area is used for processing a problem in a sentence or a musical piece,
like a wrong note in a melody.
6. Learning, keeping, and creating rhythm all can help coordinate ones movements
7. Music gives the brain the opportunity to process in chunks which also helps increase
memorization skills (mnemonic device ABCs)
8. Through the link between the auditory complex and the limbic system in the brain,
sound/music is able to be processed at hyper speed to these areas that are used for
long-term memory and emotions.
9. Music activates multiple parts of the brain at once while language activates only one
side of the brain. The combination of the two increases the chance of activating more
neurological pathways that language cannot do alone.
10. According to researchers in Finland who used fMRIs:
a. processing musical pulses recruits motor areas in the brain tying music with
movement
 b. processing timbre activates the default mode network in the brain, which is
assumed to be associated with mind-wandering and creativity
c. suggest music can help the brain organize incoming information
ii. Psychological
1. Music provides a distraction for people going through pain.
2. Through guided imagery, it can help create altered states of consciousness in order to
provoke hidden emotional responses and stimulate creative insights
3. Through receptive methods, it guides people through the process of expressing
themselves in socially accepted ways and look deeper into personal issues
4. Music therapy is also a source of non-verbal communication
5. Music stimulates the reward center of the brain therefore acting as a motivator/source
of encouragement
6. Can stimulate clients to reduce negative responses
7. Gives the opportunity to learn how to form appropriate expressions for emotions right
now

2. Types of Music Therapy & Techniques

a. Through the different types of MT, patients can personalize their therapy to receive the greatest impact.
With an expanding amount of techniques within each type of MT, patients can further personalize their
treatment and gain the best results.
i. Active MT
1. Patients interact with instruments; can be used to maintain motor skills
a. Aesthetic the mood of the music therapy session (using a low bass note to
create suspense or high harmonic to reinforce the tonal center)
i. Can be used to entice a withdrawn person to engage in the musical
relationship
ii. A successful aesthetic provides for the potential of catharsis among
patients as well as giving them a feel of the risk of doing things
differently with others and, ultimately, to behave differently towards
one another and towards the patients themselves
b. Physical the act of actually playing an instrument
i. Allows people to be a part of something meaningful in the
here-and-now
1. Music automatically has a sense of meaning and humans
naturally participate in that meaning by tapping their foot or
moving along with the beat
2. Through the physical participation with music, people hear and
feel themselves in the context of the aesthetic experience
c. Relational therapist musically nurtures the patient to facilitate a process of
discovery in oneself and in relation to others
i. Music naturally engages people in active participation
1. We are hard-wired for communicative musicality and music
therapy increases the ability to do that
 2. We experience a kind of relating that does not compare to that
of talking
2. Techniques
a. Free improvisation a means of self-projection and free association
i. Allows patients to connect with emotional memories and images
ii. Can be solo improvisations or duets (therapist and patient)
1. In the duet improvisations, the same instrument is played
between the two
2. The drum is often used to express inner pressure and feelings
(or any mallet instrument)
b. Songwriting
c. Playing pre-composed music
ii. Receptive MT
1. The idea of listening to music; the patients becoming the recipients of the musical
experience
a. Patients discuss during or after the music is played
b. Address thoughts, feelings, and emotions evoked by the music
c. Can be used to reach states of deep relaxation and meditation
2. Awakens creativity and provides reflections on personal relationships, feelings, and
personality
a. Techniques
i. Relaxation
ii. Imaginal listening
1. Directed music imaging;
a. Patient imagines what a therapist presents while
listening to music
b. Usually incorporates a journey
c. Imaging script could be based on a place special to the
patient
2. Unguided music imaging
a. Imagery is self-generated by the patient and may depict
issues that the patient is facing in his/her life
iii. Song/lyric discussion
1. Song acts as springboard for discussion of issues of patient
2. Patient analyzes lyrics and relates them to his/her personal life
iv. Song reminiscence
v. Music appreciation activities
vi. Eurythmic listening

3. Applications of Music Therapy

a. Specifically, MT has been proven effective in treating symptoms of dementia, brain development, and
depression.
i. Dementia
1. Music therapy may reduce aggressive/agitated behavior
 2. Patients with dementia and Alzheimers wake up when they listen to familiar songs
they enjoy or did enjoy before they got dementia.
a. Music has the power to restore them to themselves for awhile at least.
b. In a 45-person test, patients with dementia who regularly sang had an increase
in mental acuity over a four-month period (determined by the mini mental state
examination).
c. Some Alzheimers patients deemed non-verbal, started speaking again in
response to songs they associated with memories.
d. As soon as the state of Wisconsin began a program using personalized playlists
of music as a caregivers daily routine, the entire states use of psychotic drugs
dropped.
3. Music gives the brain the opportunity to process in chunks which also helps increase
memorization skills (mnemonic device ABCs)
4. Music captures and maintains attention, which is crucial in order for a patient to get
better
5. Musics ties to historical events or peoples own significant experiences acts as a strong
stimulus to engage responses in people with dementia
6. By listening to and playing music, patients have the chance to move better, remember
more, and regain speech.
7. Benefits of music therapy in dementia patients according to John Carpenter
(board-certified music therapist)
a. Memory recall
b. Positive changes in moods and emotional states
c. Sense of control over life
d. Stimulation that promote interest
e. Promotes rhythmic, continuous movement and vocal fluency
ii. Brain development
1. May increase responsiveness to antidepressants
2. Neurologic Music Therapy can help with language, cognition, and motor control.
3. By learning music, the auditory and motor areas of the brain grow and function more
efficiently.
4. When patients learn to keep rhythm in music, they are improving their motor control.
5. Singingwhich relies mainly on right-hemisphere brain systemscan bypass injured
left-hemisphere center to help people produce speech
6. Music can activate the attention network on both sides, which can help overcome
attention problems caused by stroke or traumatic brain injury
7. Speech naturally has a rhythm and a meter Singing enhances these functions
iii. Depression
1. Music brings changes in the brain waves which in turn create alterations in the bodily
functions controlled by the autonomic nervous system.
2. Music increases dopamine levels which influence our drive to seek awards and obtain a
sense of pleasure
 3. Study shows that music therapy is most effective in patients with mild depression rather
than those with severe depression

4. Music Therapy Research

a. Personalization
i. Difficult to have statistical evidence because each musical therapy session is tailored and
personalized to fit each individual patients needs
1. Makes it difficult to conduct random controlled trials

*CONCLUSION* & *REFERENCES*