Latest news and publications

It takes massed practice to make the best possible recovery of arm and hand, and actively playing instruments does the job perfectly: We have been using Garageband (see video clip on this website) for about 10-years now to help brain injury survivors with upper limb hemiparesis recover and use their arm and hand more. There is plenty of research reporting robust evidence from brain imaging and standardised outcome measures that music-based interventions are an effective tool, also improving areas of cognition including verbal memory, as well as mood and reducing fatigue.

We are working to make these exercises for upper limb rehabilitation more accessible to brain injury survivors, their spouse or caregiver and the clinicians working in hospitals, rehab centres and the community.

Equipment and user guides and under development, and in a few years we hope to have a bespoke app with touchscreen instruments that can be downloaded that will enable more recovery and useful feedback on progress. 

In our current study, we have found that those scoring higher at baseline in their arm assessment have shown the most improvement, increasing scores by clinically important amounts of 5.7 or more points. Those with lower baseline scores have reported using their affected arm and hand more in daily life during the intervention period. Full analysis is yet to be completed and we are seeking tweo further participats for this EEG neural mechanisms study, which will be completed by summer 2025.

Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening and Other Mood Song' by Joseph Lanza, published by quartet books

Today's developments, where music streaming services have various 'mood' functions, and companies are developing machine learning algorithms to match music to biophysiological data in order to maintain or adjust mood and arousal, are certainly more bespoke to individual needs. 

Each chapter in the book covers various periods of discovery and development that resulted in new music and ways in which it was used - 'Violins from Space' describes 'synthesized brainscapes' and 'Space Music' that could realign the spine, strengthen the immune system and teach Ukrainian students to speak and read English. The beginning goes back to Greek mythology - the singing sirens and Aeolian harp, leading to the term 'Aeolian Mood.' George Philipp Telemann's challenge to sacred and secular barriers with 'Musique de Table' is mentioned, with the use of simpler melodic lines designed as light, background music. Mozart was commissioned to compose music that would not disturb conversations or digestion. Johann Sebastian Bach  was called upon by Count Kaiserling in Dresden to teach his apprentice some clavier pieces that might help with his insomnia. The name of this person was Goldberg - hence, The Goldberg Variations. Personally, I have used both Music for Airports and The Goldberg Variations to help me sleep from time to time over the years.  

According to current academic publications and developments within the music industry and health and wellbeing, there is quite a scramble to launch new devices that will deliver the right music for the job at the times when needed. Artificial intelligence is everywhere and, I have observed, various music organisations, including orchestras, are embarking on projects in the community and hospitals to improve mood, wellbeing, etc, to just about every patient population there is. It's not Muzak - or is it? What has changed since all that Joseph Lanza draws our attention to? As my sitar teacher at City once quoted: "In order for things to change, things must stay the same." 

Three participants have completed our single case design study: 'The neural mechanisms of a music intervention for chronic arm hemiparesis following stroke: A single case series EEG study.' They received 15 X home-based upper limb training exercises in 3-weeks using specially configured Garageband touchscreen instrument exercises. They underwent pre-/post-EEG in our lab and standard outcome measures in their homes.

This is the first ever case of this intensity of music intervention being delivered in the home anywhere in the world (unless somebody has information I am unaware of).

We published results from the first biomedical music therapy feasibility study in the UK in 2017

Home-based neurologic music therapy for arm hemiparesis following stroke: results from a pilot, feasibility randomized controlled trial

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269215517717060

Protocol details are here:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26441586/

CONFERENCES

At The Neurosciences and Music | VIII13-16 JUNE 2024, Helsinki, Finland & Online we discussed the role of machine learning to aid in delivery of music-based interventions in the community for arm rehabilitation post-stroke. This would be to address the challenges of intervention delivery - insufficient clinicians and time in community rehab - so that larger, multi-site trials can be facilitated, working towards development and implementation of app-based exercises.

The literature from previous research suggests that a reduction from fatigue might result from 1-hour listening to preferred music daily for 6-8-weeks, and that the autonomic nervous system responds to musical emotional arousal, i.e. the right music (tempo, arrangement, etc) can relax, enliven, and everything inbetween.

Discussions with leading figures in neurorehab on the active ingredients of interventions, including music-based ones, at The Sociey for Research in Rehabilitation took place on 29 April 2024

PUBLICATIONS AND BROADCASTS

August 2024: Preferred music listening for people living with dementia: Two home-based case studies discussing compilation process, autobiographical and biophysical responses. In the journal 'Geriatric Nursing.'

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2024.07.022

BBC World Service: People Fixing the World featuring two participants & Dr Alex Street from the RadioMe for dementia study:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0hm9q83 (listen from about 8-minutes)

The Art and Craft of Music Therapy for Stroke Rehabilitation in a Remote North Indian Community: A Case Study

https://voices.no/index.php/voices/article/view/3724

What might an interactive music therapy service bring to the adult intensive care unit? A suggested service based on data from a scoping review

https://doi.org/10.1177/13594575241235126