Dr. Vincent Chen and colleagues in their article, “Effects on Noise Electrical Stimulation on Proprioception, Force Control, and Corticomuscular Functional Connectivity,” focused on motor function. Two experiments were conducted in this research. In Experiment 1, the aim was to understand the participants’ sense of force and proprioception. First, participants were tested on grip force, four times at four different intensities of noise stimulation. Next, they were asked to flex their wrist at a 30 degree angle. Again, four times at four different intensities. The objective of Experiment 2 was to evaluate force control and corticomuscular connectivity. This experiment asked participants to hold a contraction before, during, and after noise stimulation. However, this time, the intensity of the noise stimulation was set to the intensity level at which the participant performed greatest in Experiment 1. Although force control was not found to be affected by the stimulus, results indicated that proprioceptive sense, as well as functional connectivity improved.
Following the results in this article, discussions regarding the benefits this may introduce to stroke victims and those with physical disabilities were introduced. Dr. Chen’s research provides great insight into a growing field. Another route of noise stimulation that may be investigated is the effects on cognitive disabilities. This is exactly what Gallego and Garcia intended to study in their article, “Music therapy and Alzheimer’s disease: Cognitive, psychological, and behavioral effects”. This research assessed dementia patients at mild or moderate stages, and their response to sound therapy. These assessments involved cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and functional analysis halfway through their music sessions and after they have completed all of their music sessions. The results from these examinations found that music therapy lowered stress levels, and an outcome of this is that less hallucinations and delusions were prompted. Also, cognitive function, such as orientation and memory was enhanced from music. Since this was more prevalent using music that the patients were familiar with, Gallego and Garcia believe a reasoning of this conclusion may be that the emotional attachment to the music is maintained in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease. Lastly, it was observed that patients made progress in speech and language.
Although both research articles discussed possess uncertainties, and while they each use different forms of noise stimulation, the evidence found in these studies provide a glimpse into a promising future in which sound is used as a form of treatment. Dr. Chen, Gallego, and Garcia have provided readers with a new perspective on the abilities of sound – from physical to mental. They have provided knowledge from which many questions and future experiments may be drawn from. As this therapy is gaining appreciation and recognition, it also brings about a cloud of unpredictability when wondering what else may be aided by something so simple as sound?
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