Living Well 60+ September – October 2015 | Page 15

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

Music Can Be Good Medicine for Everyone
There’s a clear connection to physical and mental health
by Dr. Tom Miller,
Staff Writer

How tuned in are
you to the realization that music adds
an important quality to lifelong
learning and to both physical and
mental health?
Recent research backs these
findings (Moore, 2013). Music
may well improve well-being and
everyday life and benefit those who
experience some form of emotional
or mental illness.
Vijay Gupta, first violinist with
the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, is a mental health advocate.
He has served as the violin teacher
of Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a
homeless person and Juilliardtrained musician with schizophrenia who was the subject of the
movie “The Soloist.” After working
with Ayers, Gupta was inspired to
found Street Symphony, a nonprofit organization that performs
classical music for the homeless,
incarcerated and other underserved
populations. 
The incredible effects of music

on the brain are specifically seen
with neurodegenerative diseases
such as Parkinson’s disease and
Alzheimer’s disease. You may be
familiar with stories of Alzheimer’s
patients who can no longer remember the names of their family members or friends but can still pick out
a song or melody they learned as
children. 
Music engages the entire brain.
It’s fascinating to look at music as
a neuropsychiatric modality and
use music to treat brain-related
abnormalities. Neuroscientist Gottfried Schlaug worked with stroke
victims. He found these patients
couldn’t complete a sentence, but
they could sing and enunciate
words when they sang. After giving
them 70 or 80 hours of singing lessons, Schlaug found through MRI
scans that the music had literally
rewired their brains.
There is a clear connection
between music and mental health.
We are learning more and more
that music has a role in regulating neurotransmitters, and it can
change the levels of neurotransmitters (Moore, 2013). Thus we see

a connection between music and
dopamine. This is probably why
Parkinson’s patients who listen to
music find their gait and tremors
steadying. The movie “Awakenings” illustrated this point when it
showed catatonic patients responding to music with improved affect.
It could be dopamine plays a role in
that kind of environment. If neurotransmission is triggered by music,
it could be used as an adjunct treatment for some disorders, including schizophrenia, which is also
well-known as a condition caused
by dopamine imbalance.
Several research studies such as
Moore’s in 2013 and Särkämö and
Soto’s in 2012 have summarized
clinical and scientific support that
concludes music not only helps us
cope with cognitive deficits, stroke,
neurodegenerative disease, pain,
concentration, attending and focus
and can benefit our physical and
mental health in numerous ways
(Harmat, Takács, Bódizs 2008).
Listening to music may help people
run faster, boost their workout motivation and enhance their endurance. Listening to workout tracks

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can boost physical performance
and increase endurance during a
tough exercise session. Listening to
classical music has been shown to
effectively treat insomnia in college
students, making it a safe, cheap
alternative to sleep-inducing meds.
Research has found listening to
music can relieve stress by triggering biochemical stress reducers.
Music can help induce a meditative
state. Listening to slow musical
beats can alter brainwave speed,
creating brain activity similar to
when a person is meditating or in a
hypnotic state. Some research suggests using rhythmic stimuli such
as music to induce these states can
have a favorable therapeutic effect,
alleviating symptoms of migraines
and easing cognitive and behavioral
issues.
Regardless of one’s taste in music,
it’s clear there are definite benefits
to having music in one’s life.
References

Harmat, L., Takács, J. and Bódizs,
R. (2008). Music improves sleep
quality in students. Journal of
Advanced Nursing; 62(3):32735. doi: 10.1111/j.13652648.2008.04602.x.
Moore, K.S. (2013). A systematic review on the neural effects
of music on emotion regulation:
implications for music therapy
practice. Journal of Music Therapy,
2013; 50(3):198-242.
Särkämö, T., and Soto, D. (2012).
Music listening after stroke:
beneficial effects and potential
neural mechanisms. Annals of the
New York Academy of Sciences;
1252:266-8. doi: 10.1111/j.17496632.2011.06405.x.
Schlaug, G. (2013). Effects of
voice on emotional arousal. Frontiers in Psychology 23-4, 102-06;
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00675.

About the Author

Thomas W. Miller, Ph.D., ABPP,
is Professor Emeritus, Senior
Research Scientist, Master Teacher
and University Teaching Fellow at
the University of Kentucky, retired
Career Service Chief, Department
of Veterans Affairs and Professor
Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky.