Today I will be talking about the research that got me interested in learning about the vast powers of music: music as biology.
I took Duke University’s online course, “Music as Biology '' (hosted through Coursera), and it really opened my brain to the widespread powers of music. I learned about what makes music appealing to people, and how the medical field can use those arrangements of sound waves to work along with sensory stimuli to battle serious health issues such as cardiac conditions, depression, autism, and Alzheimer's disease in the form of music therapy. This course taught me that the music I have been learning about all my life can affect people's lives in ways I had never thought possible.
Music is received by the brain in three different areas, the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and the cerebellum. Sound is simply a series of vibrations that echoes through our ears and goes to the brain in the form of sound waves. The difference between sound and sounds that are considered music is more mathematical; the tempo, pitch, volume, and rhythm differentiate sound from music. Music memory is held by the auditory complex. So next time you have a song stuck in your head for days, you know the tune is held by the auditory complex!
The effect of music on the human body starts way earlier than imagined. In the book The Power of Music by Elena Mannes, the author talks about how music affects the earliest stage of human life: the fetus inside the womb. A study conducted in the early 1990’s showed that music penetrates the womb, and the fetus can actually hear the music played around them if it is in higher frequencies. The fetus develops an auditory system between seventeen and nineteen weeks, so it is surrounded by sound before any other sense. The study also showed that music with a rapid tempo increased the fetus’s heart rate, and music with a slower tempo reduced the fetus’s heart rate. Mannes also says that the early cries of babies were found to contain some basic intervals common to western music!
Music is used in many memory care facilities because of the brain's ability to retain music for long periods of time. For Alzheimer's patients, music is used to facilitate memory or reminiscence to stimulate experiences from earlier stages of life. I am lucky enough to have experienced this first hand when I was volunteering at Encore Old Age home. I distinctly remember talking to one of the residents who couldn’t even remember her kids’ names, but as soon as we started listening to “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” by Bing Crosby, she was telling me about how her and her siblings would sing and dance to the song all the time during her youth.
Another healing power of music can be seen used with stroke patients. Melodic intonation therapy uses music to soothe parts of the brain into taking over the parts that are damaged. In the cases of strokes, this form of therapy can help patients regain their ability to speak.
Music is also widely used to reduce stress and anxiety. Listening to music reduces stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, calming the nervous system. Listening to music also releases endorphins which increases overall mental health.
Overall, music affects us way more than we can imagine. You know what they say, a song a day keeps the doctor away! Keep listening and keep smiling! See you next time!
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