Effects of Music Therapy

     Music, an integral part of human existence and culture, has recently been the subject of rigorous scientific evaluation and study. In his discussion, Dr. Dye presented compelling evidence of the positive effects playing music can have on someone. These positive impacts included improved cognitive function, hearing, and memory in older individuals and increased neuroplasticity and attention skills in younger individuals. This fascinating data prompted me to think about other impacts music can have on individuals. A study called “A Neuroscientific Perspective on Music Therapy” found music therapy to have five contributing factors: attention, emotion, cognition, behavior, and communication.
    Attention, the first component of music therapy, was analyzed, and it was found that when music is playing, it diverts the listener's attention, which can, in a way, “distract” the individual experiencing negative things such as pain, sadness, or anxiety. Scientists infer that music being played throughout medical procedures would lower anxiety and stress surrounding the procedure. This could also be applied to everyday life; if someone is experiencing a rough time, uplifting music could have the potential to “distract” the mind and improve the state of their being. 
    Emotion, the second component of music therapy, was analyzed through neuroimaging. As seen in PET scans, scientists have found that music positively affects the limbic system. Music was seen to be able to cause the onset of emotions. Different types of music have various impacts on the parts of the brain that govern emotional response, which can be used for people experiencing negative emotions due to their condition. While there is limited data surrounding this aspect of music therapy, scientists believe that music therapy could help treat and mitigate the effects of diseases and conditions that stem from the limbic system, such as depression, PTSD, and anxiety. 
    Cognition, the third contributor to music therapy, examined music’s effect on memory encoding, storage, and decoding. They found that music therapy can be utilized to ease the acclimation process of Alzheimer’s into a new environment, such as a long-term care facility. Additionally, the effect of music on social cognition was evaluated, and it was found that music prompts individuals to think about the feelings and intentions of the creator of the music, essentially trying to figure out the meaning behind the song. Through fMRI scans, scientists found that listening to music involves activating areas of the brain such as the medial prefrontal cortex and the temporoparietal junctions –related to understanding the intentions behind other people's actions. 
    Behavior, the fourth component of music therapy, was affected by the connection between cognitive and motor task initiation. This indicates an interchangeable relationship between the two, meaning that behaviors affect cognitive processing, and cognitive processing affects behavior. Additionally, behavior effects were primarily seen through emotional changes, as someone's behavior and actions change with their emotional perception of the situation. 
    The final aspect of music therapy that this article discusses is its transformative impact on communication. Music therapy can be used to aid nonverbal individuals in communicating through the sounds and actions of making music. This relates to the social cognition aspect as well due to the ability of music to activate the area of our brains that seeks to understand what the musicians' intention behind their words or sounds is. This indicates that music therapy could be especially effective on individuals who are nonverbal, as it allows them to communicate without the use of traditional language, opening up a whole new world of possibilities.  
    Overall, while there is not much data on the lasting effects of music therapy on a neurological level in individuals, the limited positive effects these scientists have seen will prompt a more in-depth look at the impact of music on a neuronal level. This study shows that just listening to music can positively affect someone’s quality of life. Both this fact and Dr. Dye’s findings regarding the impacts of playing music on individuals' cognitive and psychological development show that music is an integral part of human existence and can be utilized to improve our cognitive ability and quality of life. 
 
References:

Koelsch, S. (2009). A Neuroscientific Perspective on Music Therapy. Annals of the New York  

    Academy of Sciences, 1169(1), 374-384.