Archive for the 'music research' Category

ISQRMM Music and Medicine Conference Presentation

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I just received confirmation that the Interdisciplinary Society for Quantitative Research in Music and Medicine (ISQRMM) has accepted our abstract entitled “Cross-Cultural Sound and Music: A Novel Rhythmic Approach for Improving Brain Function” to be presented as a workshop session during the 2013 conference to be held on July 26-27, 2013, at the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music in Athens, Georgia!  I’ll be presenting along with my colleagues, occupational therapist Sheila Allen, and master ethnic percussionist and composer Nacho Arimany.

If you follow or are involved with our work at Advanced Brain Technologies you really won’t want to miss this conference. In addition to our presentation (see abstract below) more than 20 music effects researchers will be presenting from around the world.

Cross- Cultural Music and Sound: A Novel Rhythmic Approach for Improving Brain Function 

The integration of acoustic elements: frequency, amplitude, time and spatiality, form the basis for how sound affects us.  Since ancient times, sound has been used with great purpose to affect man.  More recently, in the last seventy years, ongoing technological and scientific advances have enabled the development of sound-based programs for applications ranging from brain injury rehabilitation to wellness, and peak mental performance.

Beginning with its release of The Listening Program® in 1999, Advanced Brain Technologies, a leader in applied psychoacoustics and music cognition, has been combining artistry, musicianship, research, and interdisciplinary collaboration with technological innovations to record and produce music-based methods specifically created to improve and support brain function in children and adults.

The next generation of sound/music for brain fitness begins at the 2013 ISQRMM Conference. This presentation will unveil the newest development in The Listening Program, comprised entirely of original music which highlights and connects acoustic elements through a distinctive integration of rhythmic cross-cultural sounds.

This dynamic session will include the worldwide debut of this originally composed music through live and recorded performance, and audience participation. The history, rationale, and applications of this ground-breaking program will be presented by its creators.

Join us! Athens is a great college town, registration is only $75, and the conference hotel rates are very reasonable. Online registration is now open and may be accessed at http://www.isqrmm.org.

Also, be sure to stay on for The Listening Program® provider training course hosted at the University the day after the conference on Sunday the 29th. Registration information is available here.

 

 

 

 

Music, medicine for a new age?

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Music is an ancient healing modality, with rhythm and melody often being where we instinctively turn to relieve our pain and suffering. In my twenty years in the field of applied music effects research there has been a groundswell of interest on the impact of music as a method to improve our health and well being. I have written extensively about this in Healing at the Speed of Sound®.

Mona Lisa Chanda and Daniel Levitin of McGill University just published an article (pdf) in Trends in Neuroscience exploring the neurochemistry of music. I’ve just started to read their review so can’t comment on their conclusions at this point. But, I thought I’d share the article with you so you too have the opportunity to explore their findings.  You might also enjoy an article from io9   summarizing their research; including the four areas they identified where music can help, as well as the four primary neuro-chemical systems involved with music. Can Music Be More Effective Than Drugs?

As a producer of therapeutic music programs, I’m an advocate for the power of the right music to facilitate immense life change. It can function as a “wonder drug” affecting mechanisms involved with cognition, emotion, stress and sleep regulation, learning, auditory perception, and on.

What do you think— is music medicine for a new age?

The Power of Music

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We have all experienced the healing power of music. Each of us instinctively select music we like to change our mental, physical, and emotional health.  Music effects research is helping us get a better grasp on what happens in the brain and body when we play and listen to music. As this understanding deepens, it improves our ability to select music which is good for us, and for companies like Advanced Brain Technologies to create evidence based music to give people healthy alternatives for improving their lives.

One of the leading neuroscientist’s helping us to understand what happens to the brain on music is Dr. Daniel Levitin of McGill University. He was interviewed by CBS News this past Saturday about the power of music. You can watch the video here

Chronobiology and Music

Chronobiology is a fascinating field of scientific study that examines biological rhythms. Arguably it can be said that life itself is all about rhythm and timing. After all, don’t we all march to the beat of a different drummer? OK… obvious pun, but my point is we are each living organisms driven by a circadian clock.  Some of us are owls, nocturnal beings that thrive in darkness; and others larks, who function best in the light of day.

Each of us is influenced by the neural mechanisms of our internal clock. Chronobiological music treatments tap into this biological mechanism as an effective means to manage some psychosomatic disorders including insomnia and depression. Next week on September 5th, I’ll be exploring the emerging research in this area with Austrian based music and media effect researcher Vera Brandes, Director of the Research Program Music-Medicine at Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg.

Please join us September 5th, 8pm eastern for Chronobiology and Music: The Salzburg Experience,  a free teleseminar in my monthly Sound Brain Fitness series. Register Online.

Why Being a Musician Rocks

If you play an instrument, this should be music to your ears: According to a new study in Psychology and Aging, lifelong musicians experience fewer age-related hearing problems than non-musicians.

Read more of my interview with Madeline Haller in Men’s Health.

A Week of Sound, Music and the Brain

Several months back a good friend Vera Brandes who is the head of music medicine research at Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg sent me a link to an event happening at the university in our home town of Ogden, Utah. The event- The Interdisciplinary Society for Quantitative Research in Music and Medicine Inaugural Music  & Medicine Symposium.  I had heard nothing of the young organization or the event about to take place in my own backyard. I was embarrassed a friend in Austria had to bring it to my attention. It was hard to believe such an important event was being held in our field of music effects research, in Ogden, and we knew nothing of it!  

So…Once I got the news I contacted the organizer Dr. David Akombo, co-founder of the organization and Assistant Professor of Music at Weber State University. We arranged a meeting, and quickly found many synergies. In short order ABT became the main sponsor and David and I went to work to expand the one day symposium to a full week of events with a partnership between Advanced Brain Technologies, Weber State University and The Interdisciplinary Society for Quantitative Research in Music and Medicine.

A Week of Sound, Music and the Brain is Five Powerful Events in ONE!

June 2-6, 2011 some of the world leaders in music medicine research will gather in Ogden, Utah along with students, musicians, educators, healthcare providers, and others interested in music and the brain.

Event highlights:

June 2- Healing at the Speed of Sound™ Workshop. A Day with Don Campbell and myself, ABT Provider Forum, and ABT Open House.

June 3- ISQRMM Inaugural Music & Medicine Symposium. Keynote address by Mark Jude Tramo of  The Institute for Music & Brain Science, research papers presented by investigators from across the world, live music performances, and a workshop I will lead on music listening therapy.

June 4-6- TLP Provider Certification Course for healthcare, education and music professionals to certify to offer The Listening Program® and other ABT solutions to their clients and students.

This is going to be a life changing week for those who attend.

I hope you will join us and help spread the word! Please visit the event website to register online and learn more.

Sneak Peek!

Sneak Peek!

I now have a Facebook fan page in preparation for the release of my new book Healing at the Speed of Sound. It would be an honor if your would Like and Share this page. Visit this blog and Facebook page for announcements!

Brain Notes News

We have created a new monthly newsletter at Advanced Brain Technologies. Brain Notes News    will bring you the latest company information as well as up to date news from the fields of  neuroscience and music effects research.

Subscriptions are free. To sign up visit the Advanced Brain Technologies homepage.

Results of Pilot Study Published in Journal Music and Medicine Reveal The Listening Program Helps Children With Down Syndrome Improve Speech Skills

Advanced Brain Technologies today announced results demonstrating that a modified music program followed for ten weeks, improved speech skills in children with Down syndrome. The results of the study, conducted in Nottingham, United Kingdom, were published Monday, in an early online before print version of the article scheduled to appear in the journal Music and Medicine(i).

It is well documented that children with Down syndrome have difficulty with hearing, auditory processing and language development. This pilot study was undertaken to trial tests and questionnaires for suitability for use with the children, to determine if any benefit could be established from the use of The Listening Program® as a prelude to a more formal study. The Listening Program was developed by Advanced Brain Technologies (ABT) as a modified music method to improve auditory processing, self regulation and brain performance.

Nine children between the ages of 5 and 12 years took part, acting as their own controls. They used The Listening Program over a 10-week period. Each child listened to acoustically modified music, through headphones, for two 15-minute sessions, 5 days a week, for 10 weeks. A battery of tests recommended by specialists in speech and language and human communication, were performed before and after intervention. In addition, questionnaires were completed at the end by parents and teachers involved.

Although the children only completed half the recommended twenty week protocol due to time constraints, all experienced positive changes in speech and listening. Some made improvements in a number of additional areas. These positive findings are consistent with previous research studies using The Listening Program with children with learning difficulties, auditory processing disorder, and autism; among other issues.  

“There is a great need to have a cost-effective, non-invasive approach to improving speech and language skills in people with Down syndrome,” said Alex Doman, founder and CEO of Advanced Brain Technologies.  ”While further study into the impact of The Listening Program is required for this purpose, the pilot study demonstrated this approach could be a very useful tool in improving communication in children with Down syndrome”.

Down syndrome is a genetic condition that causes delays in physical and intellectual development. It is the most frequently occurring chromosomal disorder, present in one of every 800 live births.  

(i)  Jeyes, G., Newton,C. Evaluation of The Listening Program in Assessing Auditory Processing and Speech Skills in Children with Down Syndrome. Music and Medicine August 2, 2010 doi: 10.1177/ 1943862110371809

Did Liberace Have Great Working Memory?

I have vivid memories watching Liberace masterfully and playfully tickling the ivory on his ornate pianos as a child of the 70′s. I was always amazed by the ease in which he played. Was he born with this gift? He obviously practiced thousands of hours. But was there something else, another piece to the puzzle of his musical genius? Perhaps, he had great working memory.

A recent study looked at piano player’s ability to sight read a new piece of music. It was published in journal Psychological Science and demonstrated that while practice, practice, practice, leads to great musical performance, that working memory capacity, plays an important role in the level of performance that can ultimately be achieved.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Outliers he shares the body of research that shows regardless of the skill or activity,  that over 10,000 hours of consistent practice is required to achieve an expert level of proficiency. Incidentally, Mozart is one of the musical geniuses highlighted in this fascinating discussion. While practice makes perfect, cognitive function must be at a sufficient level to engage and excel at the task, as in the example of the pianist.  With that said, cognitive function, working memory in this case is not something which is fixed. What your capacity is today, can be increased, dramatically, to help you excel in all areas of life, including musical performance.

Working memory is of great interest to me, largely because it is becoming increasingly recognized as one of the fundamental cognitive abilities that is key to unlocking our full potential. This is not new information. This is a discovery my father made some 35 years ago, and has fervently pursued since, developing methods to expand working memory and sequential processing ability. Work that I have continued at Advanced Brain Technologies through our BrainBuilder® neurosoftware program which assesses and trains these abilities.

I am pleased to see the research community taking such interest in working memory and look forward to seeing more studies linking cognitive function to musical ability in the future. For you musicians perhaps you may consider some targeted working memory training to accompany your practice and advance your performance to an entirely new level!

Read more about the research linking working memory to musical performance.



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