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Some Patients with Coma can awaken to Music

June 23rd, 2012 · Music and Coma, Music and Emotion, Music Healing, Music in the Hospital

After suffering a brain hemorrhage, 7-year-old Charlotte Neve slipped into a coma. The British girl was unconscious for several days and doctors feared she wouldn’t recover. Her mother, Leila Neve, was at her bedside when Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” started playing on the radio. Leila and Charlotte often sang the song together and Leila began singing along.

Then something remarkable happened: Charlotte smiled. Within two days, she could speak and get out of bed. Why does music seem to help “awaken” some people from their comas?

“It was a salient stimulus, something that she is familiar with, like [her] name,” says Dr. Emery Neal Brown, professor of anesthesia at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and professor of computational neuroscience at MIT.

Brown suspects Charlotte recovered some brain functioning prior to hearing the Adele song, but it was imperceptible. When she heard the song, she smiled and eventually woke because it held meaning for her (that’s the salient stimulus part).

“Maybe people have function recovered and we don’t know how to communicate with them,” he says, explaining a salient stimulus varies by person.

“Whenever memories have an emotional context to them, they tend to hold much more power in the brain and tend to be processed differently,” says Dr. Javier Provencio, director of the Neurological Critical Care Unit at Cleveland Clinic.

Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees woke from his coma when his family played music for him — music for a professional musician who sang with his brothers would have deep meaningful connections in the brain, sparking a reaction. But for someone who plays tennis or rides horses, a song might not encourage a response.

But sometimes, music causes a reaction because the brain processes songs differently than spoken language. In these cases, the region of the brain responsible for song might be working better while the language lags behind

“Maybe people have function recovered and we don’t know how to communicate with them,” he says, explaining a salient stimulus varies by person.

“Whenever memories have an emotional context to them, they tend to hold much more power in the brain and tend to be processed differently,” says Dr. Javier Provencio, director of the Neurological Critical Care Unit at Cleveland Clinic.

Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees woke from his coma when his family played music for him — music for a professional musician who sang with his brothers would have deep meaningful connections in the brain, sparking a reaction. But for someone who plays tennis or rides horses, a song might not encourage a response.

But sometimes, music causes a reaction because the brain processes songs differently than spoken language. In these cases, the region of the brain responsible for song might be working better while the language lags behind.

“We clearly process music and tonal things differently than language. There are patients [who had strokes] who cannot talk but can still sing,” says Provencio.

The left cerebral hemisphere controls language, while the right processes song and music. Patients who have damage in the left might respond better to song.

“They lose the ability to talk and understand. Music therapy is really useful because it is used in the non-dominate hemisphere,” says Dr. James Bernat, professor of neurology and medicine at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

Music therapists such as Lee Anna Rasar at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire often use music to try to evoke responses from comatose patients. She notes that songs are most effective “if the music is something they knew before that already had meaning.”

All the physicians agree that doctors still have limited understanding of whether someone will recover from a coma, but if Charlotte wasn’t already healing, she wouldn’t have smiled at the song.

“Even in a coma, it’s quite common that these people improve spontaneously,” says Bernat. “They wake up and start responding. It isn’t outside the range of what is expected that there would be improvement over time.”

By Meghan Holohan MSNBC

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In memorium: Don Campbell 1943-2012

June 10th, 2012 · Don Campbell, Music Healing, The Mozart Effect...why Mozart?, Toning and Chanting, Vibrational and Sound Healing

A week ago, the world lost a bright spirit and a pioneer in the field of sound healing and music medicine.  Don was the author of many books, but the best-known book was probably “The Mozart Effect.”  The book introduced millions of people to the concepts of using music, sound and vibration for healing and wellness.  Don had a gift for turning a phrase and explaining complicated concepts in a way that all could understand.  Studying tone and chanting with Don and then working with him as a mentor in his Institute for Music, Health and Education was absolutely life-changing for me!  When we had a our summer “intensives” in Boulder, people came from all over the world and we all learned from each other as well as from Don.

I could write pages and pages about the trips we all took together, up into the Rockies for toning and chanting, as well as to the mountain retreat of Jonathan Goldman to learn from him as well.  Don and I were both studying with Dr. Alfred Tomatis in Phoenix at the same time and together we learned all about the “Electronic Ear,” that Dr. Tomatis created and Don got one to help with the diagnostic process.

Don and I share many experiences and connected on so many different levels.  He studied in France with Nadia Boulanger, famed teacher of so many American composers such as Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein.  He wrote a biography of her in the mid-nineties.  I conducted research on Wanda Landowska in the late 80’s and wrote my Ph.D. dissertation on her life in reviving the harpsichord in 1990.  Don and I loved to talk about Wanda and Nadia and the fact that they both taught and performed in Paris at the turn of the century, but there is no evidence that they were friends or had anything to do with one another!

Don and I were both Methodists, he from Texas and I from South Carolina.  We were both steeped in Methodist hymns and liturgy and yet both of us drifted into a more metaphysical and Universal perspective.  Still, those Methodist hymns stay in your head, your heart and your soul.  I felt as though Don was a brother because he was so down-to-earth and easy to talk to and be with.

Don was a wonderful friend to me and when I began to work with music and surgery, he was kind enough to mention this in “The Mozart Effect” and I’m sure that this mention has been instrumental in helping me to get the word out to lots of people!  Don will be greatly missed but he leaves a huge body of work in the form of books, CD’s, tapes, and videos.  I hope his work will live on for hundreds of years!

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Music Can Aid in Pain Relief, Especially When Anxiety Involved

May 11th, 2012 · Music Healing

Listening to music can provide a distraction that can help to relieve pain finds a new study published by researchers from the University of Utah Pain Research Center in The Journal of Pain, a publication of the American Pain Society.

For the study, 143 subjects listened to music tracks, following the melodies and listening for deviant tones. During the music tasks, the volunteers were given safe levels of pain shocks using fingertip electrodes. While listening to music and distracted by the activities, the volunteers experienced less pain during the shocks

When the brain senses injury to the body, pain signals that begin in the somatosensory cortex and the hypothalamus work their way downward through the “pain pathway”, ultimately sending signals that provide pain relief. There are also signals that stimulate the release of neurotransmitters such as endorphins, dynorphins, and enkephalins. Music appears to help in pain reduction by activating these sensory pathways.

Music is one alternative therapy that is studied for pain relief, primarily for its ability to distract the patient from the discomfort. This new research finds that it is especially beneficial to those with high anxiety levels about the pain, such as when doctors are giving vaccines or performing painful procedures that must be done without anesthesia. Music also has the ability to soothe, inspire, energize and uplift a person, which may be beneficial to those with chronic pain who need to learn coping techniques.

Currently, there are approximately 5,000 trained music therapists that work with patients in pain management centers, hospitals, clinics, senior centers, and rehabilitation facilities in the United States. Those who use music therapy to cope with chronic pain tend to require less pain medication, have significant improvements in clinical markers such as respiration, blood pressure, and heart rate, and also tend to have an improved quality of life.

Source Reference: David H. Bradshaw, Gary W. Donaldson, Robert C. Jacobson, Yoshio Nakamura, C. Richard Chapman. Individual Differences in the Effects of Music Engagement on Responses to Painful Stimulation. The Journal of Pain – December 2011 (Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages 1262-1273, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2011.08.010)

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Can music prevent organ rejection?

March 24th, 2012 · Music Healing

Music has a fundamental affect on humans. It can reduce stress, enhance relaxation, provide a distraction from pain, and improve the results of clinical therapy. New research published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery demonstrates that music can reduce rejection of heart transplants in mice by influencing the immune system.

The link between the immune system and brain function is not clearly understood, nevertheless music is used clinically to reduce anxiety after heart attack, or to reduce pain and nausea during bone marrow transplantation. There is some evidence that music may act via the parasympathetic nervous system, which regulates the bodily functions that we have no conscious control over, including digestion.

Researchers from Japan investigated if music could influence the survival of heart transplants in mice. They found that opera and classical music both increased the time before the transplanted organs failed, but single frequency monotones and new age music did not.

The team led by Dr Masanori Niimi pinpointed the source of this protection to the spleen. Dr Uchiyama and Jin revealed, “Opera exposed mice had lower levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon gamma (IFN-?). They also had increased levels of anti-inflammatory IL-4 and IL-10. Significantly these mice had increased numbers of CD4+CD25+ cells, which regulate the peripheral immune response.”

It seems that music really does influence the immune system – although the mechanism behind this still is not clear. Additionally, this study only looked at a limited selection of composers, so the effect of music on reducing organ rejection may not be limited to opera.

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Notes to Editors

1. Auditory stimulation of opera music induced prolongation of murine cardiac allograft survival and maintained generation of regulatory CD4+CD25+ cells Masateru Uchiyama, Xiangyuan Jin, Qi Zhang, Toshihito Hirai, Atsushi Amano, Hisashi Bashuda and Masanori Niimi Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery (in press)

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central’s open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request on the day of publication.

2. Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal that encompasses all aspects of research in the field of cardiothoracic surgery.

3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.

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Music and Corporate Wellness

March 17th, 2012 · Music Healing

Businesses are struggling today, no doubt about it.  Businesses are going bankrupt, folding, going under.  Is there ANY chance at all that music, drum circles, or singing could make a difference?  Really?  Well, here are some of the things that music is credited with doing:

Music is a powerful tool that affects our moods, behavior and physiology. When employees are educated about what, when, where and how to listen to music as medicine, they become more self-aware, educated (beyond their instincts), motivated, engaged and happier! The possibilities for self-satisfaction are endless and untapped: recommended music for use as medicine is found in all genres.  Reap the potential benefits:

  • reduce trauma
  • diminish stress
  • minimize anger
  • reverse depression
  • lessen anxiety
  • heal loss

Bringing musicians and music-wellness, music-medicine professionals into the workplace is an option that is increasingly being considered.  Businesses that struggle with:

  • high turnover
  • too many sick days
  • high worker compensation claims
  • high stress, worry, frustrations and disappointments
  • low motivation
  • poor customer satisfaction
  • low sales

are willing to look at any interventions that might work.  Dr. Judith Pinkerton, a board-certified music therapist in Las Vegas, is looking at all of these conditions and options.  In Louisville, KY, I am beginning to implement these workshops in the many small and large businesses our city has.

If YOU or YOUR company is interested in bringing me and some of my colleagues in for an educational/inspirational program on corporate wellness through music and sound and rhythm, contact me at DrAlice@HealingMusicEnterprises.com!

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Having surgery? Music for surgeon and music for patient

March 6th, 2012 · Music and Surgery, Music Healing, Music in the Hospital

Today it is not unusual for the operating rooms of hospitals to have  music playing.   Thats a good thing for sure, but unfortunately, the music that the surgeon wants will usually have no benefit at all for the patient.  Yes, it’s important for the surgeon to feel good and have a high energy level and laser focus.  However, the patient needs to have feel calm, secure, peaceful, optimistic and reassured.  There is no way that the same music can accomplish the same things for both patient and surgeon!

The reason that most people have not considered this yet, is that the medical personnel are assuming that if the patient is under general anesthesia they can’t hear the music anyway.  Often, this is not the case.  Many patients wake up from surgery, saying that they heard not only conversations between nurse and doctor, but they heard the sounds of surgery.  In some surgeries, such as joint replacement surgeries, there is quite a bit of noise, including sawing, hammering and and drilling!  Wouldn’t YOU rather hear some beautiful soothing music, calming music?

If surgery is in your future, please remember to ask your doctor if music will be present in the OR and if it will be chosen for the doctor or the patient.  To be absolutely sure you have the best music for your surgery, check out the Surgical Serenity headphones!  You’ll be glad you did!

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Brain Tumor Surgery: Awake and using music!

January 31st, 2012 · Music and Surgery, Music and the Brain

 

 An interesting article came my way today, written by a man who had undergone his second awake, brain tumor surgery!  In this article he talks about all of the things that helped him and can help YOU, including music!  Enjoy!

The anesthesiologist grabbed my hand as I woke up in the room. As I embraced her touch, my head was locked into metal equipment even when I could move other parts of my body. But I wasn’t supposed to. Standing behind me, my neurosurgeon reminded me not to try moving my head. With his hands in my brain, his touch worked to save my life.

Sometimes life makes people return to difficult places and experiences for survival. For me, that includes my second awake brain surgery in September 2011. My first brain surgery in 1998 and recovery was completely new to me. Since then, I have come to understand some essential health and healing components needed when dealing with cancer. Cancer care cannot only address the cancer diagnosis and instead must support the whole person.

With brain surgery twice saving my life, I’m experiencing once again how the separation of conventional with integrative cancer treatments must end. Integrative cancer care combines conventional cancer therapies with whole person cancer care of full body, mind and spirit, including social and environmental health. Over the last several months, I’ve been creating my integrative cancer care plan post-surgery. Here are some of my self-care strategies and the beginning of my integrative cancer care treatments.

Sleep and Rest: For me it started with the basics of sleep and rest. Most healthy adults need between seven and eight hours of quality sleep nightly. But people dealing with health problems often need more. Post-surgery I couldn’t sleep, with huge side effects from the surgery and my drugs. When I had very little sleep, I spent time the next day trying to relax, although often did too much. Even spending a few minutes to relax helped me to restore and rejuvenate my body, mind and spirit.

Meditation, Imagery and Visualization: When I could not sleep and felt exhausted the next morning, a guided meditation to relax my body helped me move from a tightened mind and muscles to a sense of peace. I also listened to soft music with visualizations guiding me into relaxation. Wonderful CDs that I used after surgery included Peggy Huddleston, Steven Halpern and O. Carl Simonton. Other popular CDs for cancer patients include Martin Rossman, M.D., Belleruth Naparstek and Jeanne Achterberg, Ph.D.

Diet: Throughout my cancer journey, I’ve been learning about cancer-fighting foods with specifics about what to eat and avoid. Post-surgery, I could hardly open my jaw. Similar to what I experienced with the surgery in 1998, my neurosurgeon moved my jaw near my left ear as he cut into my brain. The first three days after surgery, I drank my favorite organic green vegetable juice from Whole Foods and blended vegetable soup my mother made. By the fourth night, my jaw opened enough for me to eat other food. I continued my eating with many organic anti-cancer foods. Recovering from brain surgery and feeling completely weak physically, I craved different foods. Sometimes cancer patients need to change their diet at different phases of their treatments.

Exercise, Stretching and Movement: I started some exercise with brief walks on my street. With visual blurs through my left eye, I couldn’t always see clearly when walking outside and even felt imbalanced. But after a few minutes walking I found my balance and strength each week. Ultimately decreasing my drugs in September, I started feeling able to reconnect to myself in other ways. I stretched daily increasing my circulation, supporting my nervous system and finding deeper calm. As a next step, I slowly began returning to the 5Rhythms movement practice founded by Gabrielle Roth. The more I connect with my body, the more I find myself.

Spirituality: With my awake brain surgery in 1998, I walked through a gateway into a spiritual journey. My brain tumor journey opened a significant window into my soul. I began to see my life experiences as opportunities for my soul’s development. Through my spiritual journey, I look deeply into myself, cultivate new levels of knowledge and understanding about being alive. Those steps continue through this chapter recovery post-surgery. I’m connected to spirit and feel it with, through and around me. I ask questions, tune into guidance, my intuition and instincts. My spirituality has been a very important form of support. Spirituality helps both people with cancer and caregivers improving their quality of life.

Acupuncture: Treatments of acupuncture post-surgery support my recovery through relaxing my nervous system, supporting detoxification through my liver and kidney and building my immune system. Studies indicate health benefits for acupuncture to cancer patients, including reducing side effect from chemotherapy. Some acupuncture treatments can also support soul and spirit. My incredible Five Elements acupuncturist after my first brain tumor surgery supported my healing in those ways and many others.

Social Support: I could not have gotten through the last several months before and after brain surgery without wonderful support from family and friends. While Lotsa Helping Hands organized some of my support, a local non-profit Ceres Community Project even delivered me healthy meals. Along with asking for specific needs and managing it, the experience of receiving support without asking has been very helpful. People with cancer really need that too, and especially when they don’t have the time and energy to request as well as organize their social support.

Osteopathy: Adjustments by my osteopath improve the flow of fluids in my body and better balance, especially within my brain post-surgery. The treatments feel like parts inside of my body become more integrated helping me to feel healthier. Osteopathics can treat the nervous system, immune system, circulation, musculoskeletal, joints, tissues, lymphatics, organs and other functions. I felt incredible adjustments through my osteopath’s light touch. She even reduced the pain from the bruises on my head from surgery. As cancer occurs with imbalance in the body and then cancer treatments create side effects, improved internal functions through osteopathy can also strengthen the innate healing capacity. Osteopathic physicians (DOs) are well-trained in their medicine and specialty. Many people do not know that there are two types of complete physicians in the U.S.– DOs and medical doctors (MDs). Both DOs and MDs are fully qualified physicians licensed to prescribe medication and perform surgery.

Supplements: Appointments with several providers created a daily schedule of supplements I take throughout the day. Providers have varied knowledge about developing supplement protocols for cancer patients. After dealing with a brain tumor for over 13 years, I know some conflicting perspectives. Jeanne Wallace, Ph.D., CNC and her practice Nutritional Solutions specialize in brain cancer and several other types of cancer. Other providers work with all cancer types, but may not have enough knowledge. Learning how to evaluate cancer treatments and their providers is important. I’ve also had supplements through intravenous infusions, including Vitamin C and glutathione.

Journaling: Finishing steroids the month after my surgery and more connected to myself, journaling gave me a vehicle to express my feelings, experiences, self-discovery and more about life. I certainly know that expressing rather than repressing feelings about any stressful life events can enhance well-being and reduce emotional stress. In research studies, psychologist James Pennebaker, Ph.D. and others have found those benefits along with improvements of immune functioning and a decrease in frequency of medical visits.

Massage and Touch: During the weeks that I approached my brain surgery, and as I’ve been recovering from an extremely invasive procedure, I haven’t been very comfortable with massage. Yet I know that massage therapy through a provider with skill and integrity provides ease in the midst of disease. Relaxation, increased circulation, deeper breathing and other benefits offer incredible support. Although I haven’t had quality massage since the surgery, I will find a quality provider. In the meantime, I’ve been giving myself light touch with some massage.

This only includes some of what I’ll use in my integrative cancer care plan post-surgery with self-care strategies and treatments. Wherever I travel in my journey forward, I know that cancer care must address the whole person.

Jeannine Walston is co-founder and Executive Director of EmbodiWorks, a non-profit organization providing integrative cancer care resources about body, mind and spirit, including social and environmental health. She has extensive experience in cancer education and advocacy, health care policy, and both conventional and integrative cancer.

For more by Jeannine Walston, click here.

For more on cancer, click here.

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What are Therapeutic Characteristics of Music?

January 6th, 2012 · Music and the Mind-Body, Music Healing, Music in the Hospital, Music Medicine, Music Research

We all know that music makes us feel better!  It has therapeutic characteristics that affect our body-mind-spirit in a way that nothing else can do!  You actually don’t even have to hear the music around you; you can hear it in your head and have the same effect!!  You can whistle it or hum it and have that wonderful serotonin flood your brain.  It cheers us up, it calms us down, it brings back wonderful memories of love, childhood, holidays, vacations, and our whole lives.  The field of music therapy has provided lots of wonderful information on this and so much more.

The following list is from www.preludemusictherapy.com.  I highly recommend this site to you and encourage you to check out all of the resources it provides!

 

  • Music captivates and maintains attention — it stimulates & utilizes many parts of the brain.
  • Music is easily adapted to, and can be reflective of, a person’s abilities.
  • Music structures time in a way that we can understand (“that’s the last verse – my exercise session is almost over!”).
  • Music provides a meaningful, enjoyable context for repetition.
  • Music provides a social context — it sets up a safe, structured setting for verbal and nonverbal communication.
  • Music is an effective memory aid.
  • Music supports and encourages movement.
  • Music taps into memories and emotions.
  • Music — and the silences within it — provide nonverbal, immediate feedback.
  • Music is success-oriented — people of all ability levels can participate.

If you still have doubts about the power of music in the health and healing world, I urge you to start at the beginning of this blog and read all the way through.  Music is powerful medicine!

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