Balance and memory disorders, motor impairment, visual and sensory disturbances … sequelae due to cerebrovascular accident (stroke) are frequent. Among them, there is also aphasia, a language disorder that requires long and tedious rehabilitation and whose results vary. But according to a new study from the University of Helsinki (Finland), listening to vocal music on a daily basis helps patients recover language faster.
“Post-stroke language deficits have a devastating effect on patients and their families. Current treatments give widely varying results. Listening to vocal music can be seen as a complementary measure that boosts conventional forms of post-stroke rehabilitation. stroke. It could be safely implemented in the early stages of stroke rehabilitation and appears to specifically target language symptoms“explains Aleksi Sihvonen, main author of this study published on the site of the Society for neuroscience.
Vocal music stimulates certain areas of the brain
For this study, the researchers compared the effects of listening to vocal music, with the effects of instrumental music and that of reading audiobooks, on patients with acute stroke. They verified these effects more specifically on language recovery after a three-month follow-up period. “For the first time, we have been able to demonstrate that the positive effects of vocal music are linked to the structural and functional plasticity of the language network. This broadens our understanding of the mechanisms of action of music-based neurological rehabilitation methods, ”the researchers add.
“Much of the time spent in the hospital after a stroke is unfortunately not stimulating. At such times, listening to music could be a useful and additional rehabilitation measure with a positive effect on recovery” suggests. they.
Music also helps to recover memories
Already in 2019, researchers from four British universities had also published a study showing that after a stroke music-loving patients more easily recover their cognitive capacities and their memories. Immediately after discharge from the hospital and during their recovery, some patients had listened to “meditative” music for one hour each day for 8 weeks. Finally, beyond the pleasant side that this mindful music gave them, the patients who declared that it increased their level of activity, and that it stimulated their memories of the past.
“Many people with stroke suffer from depression and anxiety, which can negatively impact their recovery and level of engagement in daily activities, ‘lead study author Satu Bayla of the study said. University of Glasgow Institute for Health and Welfare. We believe that the intentional focus of mindfulness while listening, which encourages people to place themselves in the present moment, could help those affected by stroke improve their concentration, reduce their negative thoughts and feelings, and also improve their ability to remember information. “
Sources:
- Vocal Music Listening Enhances Poststroke Language Network Reorganization, eNeuro, June 2021
- Measuring the effects of listening for leisure on outcome after stroke (MELLO): A pilot randomized controlled trial of mindful music listening, International journal of stroke, April 2019
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