Music Therapy Month Series: Music Therapy and Rehabilitation

Music Therapy and Rehabilitation: Speech and Language

Music therapy can be a very effective tool when addressing the rehabilitative needs of individuals. It relies on the principle of neuroplasticity, or the capability of the brain to form new neuronal connections after damage has occurred. The brain is able to adapt and change to find new ways to re-establish functioning, both in small ways (as in learning), or in large ways (as in changes in functioning areas). For example, if an individual suffers a stroke and damage occurs in the language center of the brain, with the appropriate stimuli, the brain can find and create alternate pathways through other areas of the brain to regain lost functioning.

The “map” of the brain

Picture the brain as a map of Cleveland. Downtown is the frontal lobe where learning, judgment, calculations, and higher processing occurs; think of the many offices, the courthouse, and Cleveland State. Playhouse Square is the right hemisphere, the cultural center of the brain and home to creativity, the theatrical, and music. Ohio City is the left hemisphere, responsible for language production and comprehension; think of having conversation over dinner in one of the many restaurants in that area. The cerebellum is the steel mill in the Flats, responsible for muscle movement, coordination, and the labors the body must perform each day. To the south, the occipital lobe where vision is processed, or the 490 bridge which offers the best view of the city.

If Cleveland were a brain . . .

How can music help?

Music is a multi-sensory experience, and is processed in the brain in many areas simultaneously. Music conveys information through areas such as speech and language, emotion, motor functioning, memory, and tactile interpretation. When looking at a PET scan of a person exposed to music, language, and music and language, one notices that the most activity occurs when the brain is exposed to music and language.

Observe that language is processed mostly in the left hemisphere (Ohio City) and music is processed mostly in the right hemisphere (Playhouse Square). When both language and music are presented, processing occurs in both areas simultaneously. In addition, processing is occurring in the frontal lobes (Downtown Cleveland) responsible for higher processing and also in the cerebellum (The Flats) responsible for muscle coordination and balance.

Why is this important?

When the brain processes information in a variety of ways simultaneously over numerous times, the brain forms a connection between these areas. In the example of the individual who had a stroke which damaged the language center in the left hemisphere, exposure to music and language will either repair damaged connections or form new connections and re-establish functioning in an undamaged but related area of the brain. The brain has actually changed its functioning map. In the analogy of the map of Cleveland, this would be like fire damaged restaurants in Ohio City relocating to Playhouse Square.

What do music therapists do?

A music therapist will develop and implement interventions to help the brain form these new connections. One technique that music therapists use is called Melodic Intonation Therapy, or MIT. When using MIT, a music therapist will create a melody based on the natural way a common phrase is said. Through practice, an individual will first master singing this phrase, then gradually phase out the melody to allow for functional speech. Over time, an individual will regain more and more speech with the ultimate goal being language functionality and fluency.