Music is Medicine - Ask the Experts: Recent Episodes
Music Mends Minds
Every 3 seconds someone develops dementia. One in three seniors die with Alzheimer's or dementia. Ten million people worldwide have Parkinson's Disease. In our episodes, we chat with experts and professionals in the field of music and the brain. We discuss the exciting new research shedding light on how music affects brain chemistry, bringing joy to seniors! If you know someone with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Dementia, or any mental disease, this show is for you!
Visit our website: https://www.musicmendsminds.org/
Dr. Bruce Victor discusses his career as a musician, physician, and professor. His academic focus has been on psychopharmacology, holistic healing, and community engagement through music, both in the United States and Ireland. Music Mends Minds encourages you to read more about him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-s-victor-m-d-d-l-f-a-p-a-50496a3/
Dr. Mukund Acharya discusses his career as a social entrepreneur and healthy aging advocate. He has founded/co-founded several non-profits including Sandhya's Touch, focused on improving quality of life for patients and families dealing with serious or chronic illness, and Sukham, which promotes healthy aging and preparation for life transitions in the healthcare arena. Music Mends Minds encourages you to read more about him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mukund-acharya-7345521a
- “Healthy aging is about creating the environments and opportunities that enable people to be and do what they value through their lives“ (21:01)
- “Healthy aging is about much more than staying physically healthy. It’s about staying emotionally healthy and maintaining a sense of purpose and zest for life.“ (22:31)
- “All these age related changes that are inexorable, that are bound to occur as we grow old chronologically, those changes are inevitable. But they can be mitigated by good habits. Primarily, research has shown, that sleep, exercise, nutrition, and stress reduction are 4 of the main things that help us maintain a younger ‘biological’ age than what our chronological age is.” (24:36)
- “If we can prevent seniors from feeling lonely, and loneliness is a feeling- its a state of mind, we can do a lot to help them stay healthy.“ (32:47)
- “Music transports you to the past. That’s just the force of music. It connects us with nature.” (34:17)
- “Music brings people together. Group singing helps people of all ages. Seniors in particular congregate and feel connected when there’s music.” (37:09)
Dr. Rudolph Tanzi discusses groundbreaking progress in the fight to cure Alzheimer's and the ways music can help alleviate symptoms and promote brain connectivity. Music Mends Minds encourages you to read more about him at https://brain.harvard.edu/?people=rudolph-e-tanzi
- “That early stage of Alzheimer’s is a very frustrating time. It’s actually when music therapy can be very useful because it can calm a person down after they hear the music that they love.” (7m 42s)
- “I like to think about music as the back door to the parts of the brain that are affected in Alzheimer’s disease. These parts of the brain that are involved with short term memory are intimately linked to the parts of the brain where you have music memory.” (9m 36s)
- “These nerve cells in the parts of the brain where there is music memory, somehow these nerve cells are not vulnerable to the amyloid plaque. […] It seems like the neurons, the nerve cells in the music memory parts of the brain, when they encounter amyloid, if they even do, they don’t make tangles, they don’t undergo this cell death.” (12m 57s)
- “When you are learning music you’re also learning how to learn. You’re improving your speed of processing. You’re improving your memory […] So what we are seeing in those people who are learning music was improved processing speed and memory just after 3 months of weekly lessons.” (18m 21s)
- “It’s a magical thing. Music at that point becomes like a bridge where these parts of the brain start getting all activated and people are having interactive experiences, social experiences, rather than being and feeling isolated. All that despair, the disconnection, goes away while they are listening to that waltz. We need more of that. And the more we start doing that and the more doctors start hearing about it, the more they will start using it in rehabilitation centers and suggesting that nursing homes do this.” (23m 04s)
- “There are many interested parties who want to help out and do this. And it’s a movement. That’s why what you’re doing there with Music Mends Minds, that’s the center of the revolution.” (23m 57s)
Dr. Mary Mittelman discusses her research surrounding music's effects on the wellbeing of both patients and their caregivers. Music Mends Minds encourages you to read more about her at https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/mary-s-mittelman
- [Re: The Unforgettables] “Some of the scientists at NYU said […] ‘They’ll never learn new songs, they have dementia.’ Well they learned 18 new songs for every concert.” (9m 39s)
- “Sometimes the people get up and dance spontaneously. And people with behavioral problems don’t ever seem to have them when they’re rehearsing or singing in the concerts. And the people perform at a level of functioning that is sometimes much higher in the rehearsals than they can be any other time.” (12m 0s)
- “The part of the brain that is less quickly affected by dementia of almost any kind is the part that can perform, that can enjoy music, that can make art.” (15m 59s)
- “The Research that we conducted, which was published in International Psychogeriatrics in 2020, showed that both the people with dementia and their caregivers experienced significant improvements over the 13 weeks of rehearsal. In their mood, in their self esteem, in their quality of life.” (20m 6s)
- “I think we have a huge job ahead of us still, to get both the people who are being prescribed the medicine and the people prescribing it to understand the value of the arts as much as the value of a drug- or maybe more.” (26m 35s)
- “ Anything we can do to bring joy to people that doesn’t cause harm should be included in their lives.” (30m 9s)
Dr. Theresa Allison discusses her background in ethnomusicology and how she came to study music's potential to improve quality of life in dementia caregiver relationships. Music Mends Minds encourages you to read more about her at https://geriatrics.ucsf.edu/people/theresa-allison
Dr. Julene Johnson talks about her career studying music, health and aging, and the importance of community interventions. She also discusses the initiatives and research process within the Sound Health Network. Music Mends Minds encourages you to read more about her at https://profiles.ucsf.edu/julene.johnson
Dr. Assal Habibi talks about her early career in music and medicine research both independently and in connection with the Sound Health Network. Music Mends Minds encourages you to read more about her at https://dornsife.usc.edu/profile/assal-habibi/
Dr. Helen Lavretsky talks about her work in clinical aging studies and integrative interventions, including music therapy. Music Mends Minds encourages you to read more about her at https://www.uclahealth.org/providers/helen-lavretsky.
Dr. Susan Rogers talks about her early career as a music producer and subsequent doctoral studies on music perception. Music Mends Minds encourages you to read more about her at https://college.berklee.edu/people/susan-rogers.
Dr. Concetta Tomaino talks about her work as an early pioneer for clinical applications of music in neurological rehabilitation. Music Mends Minds encourages you to read more about her and the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function at https://www.imnf.org/meet-our-staff.
Dr. Howland shares her research on the clinical applications of music to enhance speech, language, cognition and movement in habilitation and rehabilitation settings. Music Mends Minds encourages you to visit her website at https://www.kathleenhowland.com for more information.
Dr. Thaut shares her research on the benefits of Neurologic Music Therapy and Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation. Music Mends Minds encourages you to visit her page at https://mahrc.music.utoronto.ca/people/curriculum-vitae-corene-thaut-phd/ to see her credentials and publications.
The Founder of Music Mends Minds, Carol Rosenstein talks with the Founder of ARTSpeaks, Chip Staley about how music making transforms the lives of elders living with cognitive decline.
Dr. Kraus shares her research on the effects of sound, music, and hearing on the brain's cognitive, sensory, motor, and reward networks. Music Mends Minds encourages you to visit her website at https://brainvolts.northwestern.edu/ and to read her book, "Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World".
In this Ask the Expert episode, Dr. Thaut highlights his research findings on rhythm's significant, therapeutic effects on Parkinson's patients! Renowned in the world of neurodegenerative research, Dr. Thaut shares his most recent significant findings with us!
A longer episode, jampacked to the brim, on Professor Dean's experiences as a highly acclaimed performer and Professor at the UCLA Herb Albert School of Music of 17 years. He shares with us advice, stories, and tips on how music is healing for all- young and old, talented or not.
In this episode, we touch on a different realm of science: psychology. We interview Dr. Joyce Shaffer and she explains to us the benefits of positive psychology, the relation between neuroplasticity and psychology, and how healthy habits can actually keep your brain fit!
Disclaimer: "Nothing said or written is intended to be medical advice. By using these words you confirm agreement with this policy. I wish for you the very best of health and Brain Power AT ANY AGE™ .“
In this episode, we interview Dr. Mark Tramo. We discuss neurology myths, the medical benefits of music, and advice for aspiring neurology researchers!
Dr. Tramo is a Professor in the Departments of Integrative Biology & Physiology, Neurology, and Musicology at the UCLA Schools of Letters & Science, Medicine, and Music.
Dr. Tramo is a 2015 recipient of the UC President's Research Catalyst Award and has been awarded grants from the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, McDonnell-Pew Program in Cognitive Neuroscience, National Organization for Hearing Research, Grammy Foundation, and other foundations to conduct original research on the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of music perception and cognition for over 25 years.