Should I Paint or Listen to Music?

A couple of weeks ago Bruce Miller, a professor from University of California, San Francisco, came to Loyola University Chicago and gave a talk about the connections between art and the human brain. The main points of the talk had to do with patients who had neuro-disorders, who were being treated with art therapy. I was really fascinated by the art that they produced, and how well some people, with no prior artistic experience, were able to paint. It was also very interesting to see the progression of their art. Some had very detailed pieces, and the technique that they had developed really showed. But then several years later you could see how their art didn’t have that same level of skill. Art therapy tries to strengthen the parts of the brain that have yet to be affected by their neuro-disorder. Also based on what neuro-disease they had, different areas of the brain would be affected, and as a result it would affect their art differently. The right side of the brain mostly deals with copying, while the left side deals with symbolic and conceptual ideas of art. So you can see the potential for how patients with different neuro-disorders could have different strengths.

A Huffington Post article titled “Music Therapy for Individuals With Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias” talked about a video, “Alive Inside”, that showed the effect of music from a one’s era on patients with dementia. If the patient has a strong connection to the song, they “become” the person they once were. The article talked about having personalized IPods for patients to improve their quality of life. Music therapy has been used for patients since the 1940’s, but the difference back then and now is the accessibility of music. While listening to music, patients are more orientated to their surrounding and are able to perform actions they otherwise wouldn’t. For example a patient that had advance dementia and was nonverbal, began to talk after regular music session with songs that related to her childhood. It is still uncertain how music is “pulling” people back into reality, but it is clearly evident that there is a connection.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronna-kaplan-ma/music-therapy_b_1749980.html