Music Therapy May Improve Vision After Stroke

Music therapy is widely known for its mood-enhancing and stress-reducing effects. Some researchers now speculate that positive emotional responses to music may help restore vision in stroke patients.

More than half of stroke patients develop impaired visual awareness, sometimes called "visual neglect." Individuals are unable to visually process objects on one side of the body because the part of the brain responsible for connecting vision, attention and action is damaged.

In the study, three stroke patients with visual neglect completed tasks while listening to music they liked, listening to music they did not like and in silence.

All participants were able to identify colored shapes and lights in their impaired fields of vision more accurately when they were listening to the music they preferred. One person identified light 65 percent of the time while listening to preferred music compared to just 15 percent of the time under the other two conditions.

In addition, when people listened to music they liked, brain scans showed that areas linked to positive emotional responses were activated. This activation was linked to improved visual performance. The researchers speculate that improved emotional well being may lead to more efficient brain signaling.

However, these preliminary results are limited by the small sample size. Additional research is needed to determine if music therapy is an effective treatment for this condition.

For more information about music therapy, please visit Natural Standard's Health & Wellness database.

Comments

[K T]

The musical stimulation somehow makes the brain make connections better. Obviously three people is a small sample size, but the results do look promising. Does that translate into improved performance while listening to music and studying? I know some artists listen to music while they are working. I wonder if that is because music stimulates the whole process related to visualization and helps the brain go beyond the physiological phenomenon of sight.

[Sara]

Research shows that music can stimulate brain waves to resonate with the beat, and change brainwave activity. Also, rhythmic and dynamic elements can provide special patterns to structure and cue functional movements, potentially helping stoke affected patients. Some research indicates that an internal oscillator (internal time-keeper) entrains or synchronizes with an external oscillator (music) and facilitates an improvement in brain activity.

[Tim]

To my understanding, music therapy can be used to treat or help a great number of ailments. These include: high blood pressure, muscle tension, stress, depression and pain. Where can a person go to receive music therapy treatment? Are there specific centers or hospitals? What qualifications does a music therapist need to have?

[Debbie B]

The brain is a fascinating machine - on one hand, so fragile, and on the other hand, so resilient. The plasticity of the brain and its ability to adapt and compensate for lost function is truly amazing. Any research and anything that can be done to help restore brain function is God's work. The human brain is an amazing machine. Its the difference between us and everything else out there. I'm so glad this work is being done.

[Emma]

I believe music therapy is definitely an effective method to relax people and bring about positive thought. There are many studies that show positive results for using music therapy for a wide variety of conditions, such as dementia and depression. Interestingly, it has been used for relaxing patients before they undergo procedures such as catheterizations and radiation therapy:

Hamel WJ. The effects of music intervention on anxiety in the patient waiting for cardiac catheterization. Intensive Crit Care Nurs 2001;17(5):279-285.

Smith M, Casey L, Johnson D, et al. Music as a therapeutic intervention for anxiety in patients receiving radiation therapy. Oncol Nurs Forum 2001;28(5):855-862.

Smith M, Casey L, Johnson D, et al. Music as a therapeutic intervention for anxiety in patients receiving radiation therapy. Oncol Nurs Forum 2001;28(5):855-862.

[Sara K]

What about music therapy in autistic children or children with other cognitive limitations? I wonder if music therapy would be beneficial for them. Somehow the emotional stimulation of the music is important. I wonder if that would translate for children?

[Sophie]

To Sara K’s question:

Music therapy is great for autistic children because music can be non-threatening and soothing for the autistic child. Since autistic children are hypersensitive to external stimuli, they tend to show a strong likeness for listening and playing musical instruments. It allows the child with autism to experience and explore different ranges of emotion, as well as, develop more meaningful and playful communication. It also may help with speech improvement and eye contact.

[Angela]

If music appears to improve awareness because of its positive emotional effect on the patient, I wonder if there are other things that the patient enjoys that could have the same effect, such as being read to or listening to a favorite TV show. Maybe even spending time and interacting with loved ones could help improve awareness. Does anyone know?

[JM]

The other day, I read an interesting news story in Science Daily that discussed a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The article mentioned how patients who were partially blind after stroke were able to regain some vision after doing daily visual exercises on a computer. The results of the study were surprising and promising because the patients who participated in the study suffered from the type of brain damage that clinicians generally believe patients cannot recover from.

[Susan]

I read the study that JM mentions, and I agree that the results look promising. However, further studies need to be done in order to evaluate just how effective the visual computer exercises are. Also, the patient population studied was small, only seven patients. This may be a limitation of the study.

[Rick]

I heard about vision restoration therapy (VRT). I believe it is a relatively new treatment that improves brain activity in patients who have had some kind of brain injury or stroke. It provides neurostimulation to regions in the brain’s vision center. I think it was developed by Nova Vision Inc. It uses a specially designed computer screen; a patient focuses on a point on the screen.

[Kate]

A while back I read the Oliver Saks book, "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat," and the title story was about a man that essentially could only function with music in his life. For example, if he didn’t sing his way through a task, he couldn’t visualize it. The brain is truly remarkable, and as much as we know, we don’t know enough about its functions and capabilities. Music therapy is used in different capacities — cognitive, physical, social, etc. I think music benefits many people every day, and I would like to see more research done for specific illnesses, such as this study on stroke patents.

[Rachael]

I read that music therapy is also very good at reducing stress and changing the mood. The body responds specifically to certain tones and frequencies. Music with a slow rhythm (slower than the natural heart beat, which is about 72 beats per minute) and that has repeating or cyclical patterns is found to be effective in most people. It has been suggested that when people hear tunes, they experience an increase in deep breathing, a reduction in heart rate, and the production of serotonin accelerates. From now on, I will definitely pay more attention to the type of music I am listening to when I am stressed out.

[Lauren J.]

I read somewhere that music or any sound between 5,000 and 8,000 hertz is said to energize and stimulate the brain. For instance, classical music is argued to be very beneficial. Now I understand why one of my teachers from high school always played Mozart during exams.

[WC]

As others have stated, the sample size was incredibly small, with only three stroke patients. And while vision seems to be temporarily improved by listening to music while performing tasks, do patients experience long-term benefits? Would patients have to listen to music all the time to have improvements in their vision? I wonder how this information could be translated into recovery therapy for patients who have suffered from strokes and have vision problems.

[GWE]

Music has the ability to provide more than personal enjoyment, and I believe it could be beneficial in a variety of disease states. Listening to music helps form connections in the brain that normally would never exist. These connections, I believe, can help strengthen the circuitry that already exists. Also, the music provides a pattern, a tempo by which to function by. True musicians have certain pathways within their brain that allow the grasping of visual and auditory stimuli in different methods than those have no basis of musical theory. Music is a science within itself, and if used effectively, can aid in numerous psychological and neurological disease states. This being the case, more trials involving music therapy should be initiated. I’m sure it won’t be too hard to get patients to volunteer for a trial that involves nothing more than the listening of music that pleases the ear and soothes the mind.

[Raymond]

Responding to Tim's questions:

Music therapies in the United States need to have a degree in music therapy at an institution whose music therapy program is accredited by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), and the candidate needs to pass a national examination too. Shriners Hospitals offers a music therapy program for children, and there is also Community Music Center of Boston located in Boston.

[ps]

Literature searches and Web sites confirm that music therapy has been proven to be an effective tool in rehabilitation after a stroke. Areas of benefit of music therapy include movement and muscle control, speech and communication, cognition, mood and motivation. Studies have also shown that listening to music for a few hours a day can help boost a stroke patient's early recovery, especially in verbal memory and focused attention.

This study made me remember when I was on dialysis prior to my kidney transplant; I would have to measure my blood pressure 3-4 times in a day. Over time, I learned visual/cognitive tactics that would help me reduce my points tremendously. For example, after taking one or two readings, on the third reading, just simply closing my eyes and thinking of a pleasant memory seemed to reduce my pressure. There is definitely something to be said with modalities, such as music therapy or energy healing, that can improve a patient’s well-being.