[Musical hallucinations: perpetual music].

[Musical hallucinations: perpetual music].

Rev Neurol. 2014 Mar 1;58(5):207-12

Authors: Zabalza-Estevez RJ

INTRODUCTION. Musical hallucinations are a kind of auditory hallucination that are prevalent among the non-psychiatric population, but which have rarely been reported in the neurological literature. They occur most frequently in the elderly, in females and when there is a loss of hearing, but their pathophysiology has still to be unravelled. CASE REPORTS. We report here six cases (five females and one male) of musical hallucinations diagnosed in a general neurology clinic over a time-span of five years. In five cases there was also concurrent hypoacusis, to a greater or lesser extent, and one had been triggered by pentoxifylline. In most instances, the musical content of the hallucinations had its origins in music experienced in childhood and early youth. In the cases submitted to pharmacological treatment, the response was poor. Yet, after explaining to the patients that the condition was benign and had no connection with a psychotic pathology, the degree of acceptance of the symptoms was good. CONCLUSIONS. Musical hallucinations are a little-known pathology lying on the borderline between neurology, otorhinolaryngology and psychiatry which are often wrongly linked to mental disease. It is essential to explain to patients and relatives that these symptoms are not necessarily of a psychiatric nature, and to be aware of the potential capacity of some commonly used drugs to generate them.

24570359
Read More

Active music therapy improves cognition and behaviour in chronic vascular encephalopathy: A case report.

Active music therapy improves cognition and behaviour in chronic vascular encephalopathy: A case report.

Complement Ther Med. 2014 Feb;22(1):57-62

Authors: Giovagnoli AR, Oliveri S, Schifano L, Raglio A

OBJECTIVES: This study describes the effects of active music therapy (AMT) on cognition and behaviour in chronic vascular encephalopathy.
DESIGN: A single case study investigated different cognitive and psycho-behavioural changes after AMT.
SETTING: An adult patient with memory, attention, and verbal fluency deficits associated with Vascular Cognitive Impairment-No Dementia (VCI-ND) was treated.
INTERVENTION: A four-months AMT course was based on creative and interactive music playing. Sixteen sessions were conducted simultaneously to the pharmacological therapy.
MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Cognitive performances, mood, interpersonal interactions, and perceived abilities were assessed using standardized neuropsychological and psycho-behavioural measurements.
RESULTS: At baseline, the patient reported a tendency to feel tense, nervous, and angry and difficulties in memory and visuospatial performances, frequently accompanied by attention drops. The social network was a habitual component of the patient's life, but not a source of sharing of personal experiences, safety or comfort. Neuropsychological tests showed deficits in object and figure naming, verbal fluency, short and long-term verbal memory, short-term spatial memory, selective attention, and visuomotor coordination. After AMT, the cognitive profile significantly improved in attention, visuomotor coordination, and verbal and spatial memory. Such positive changes were confirmed at the three-months follow-up. An increase of the interpersonal interactions and consistent reduction of anxiety were also observed.
CONCLUSIONS: In selected patients with VCI-ND, a well-structured AMT intervention added to standard therapy may contribute in determining a stable improvement of cognitive and psycho-behavioural aspects. Controlled studies are needed to confirm these promising results.

24559817
Read More

Selective preservation of the beat in apperceptive music agnosia: A case study.

Selective preservation of the beat in apperceptive music agnosia: A case study.

Cortex. 2014 Jan 22;53C:27-33

Authors: Baird AD, Walker DG, Biggs V, Robinson GA

INTRODUCTION: Music perception involves processing of melodic, temporal and emotional dimensions that have been found to dissociate in healthy individuals and after brain injury. Two components of the temporal dimension have been distinguished, namely rhythm and metre. We describe an 18 year old male musician 'JM' who showed apperceptive music agnosia with selectively preserved metre perception, and impaired recognition of sad and peaceful music relative to age and music experience matched controls after resection of a right temporoparietal tumour.
METHOD: Two months post-surgery JM underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation including assessment of his music perception abilities using the Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA, Peretz, Champod, & Hyde, 2003). He also completed several experimental tasks to explore his ability to recognise famous songs and melodies, emotions portrayed by music and a broader range of environmental sounds. Five age-, gender-, education- and musical experienced-matched controls were administered the same experimental tasks.
RESULTS: JM showed selective preservation of metre perception, with impaired performances compared to controls and scoring below the 5% cut-off on all MBEA subtests, except for the metric condition. He could identify his favourite songs and environmental sounds. He showed impaired recognition of sad and peaceful emotions portrayed in music relative to controls but intact ability to identify happy and scary music.
CONCLUSION: This case study contributes to the scarce literature documenting a dissociation between rhythmic and metric processing, and the rare observation of selectively preserved metric interpretation in the context of apperceptive music agnosia. It supports the notion that the anterior portion of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) plays a role in metric processing and provides the novel observation that selectively preserved metre is sufficient to identify happy and scary, but not sad or peaceful emotions portrayed in music.

24561388
Read More

Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions.

Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions.

Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014 Feb 20;15(3):170-180

Authors: Koelsch S

Music is a universal feature of human societies, partly owing to its power to evoke strong emotions and influence moods. During the past decade, the investigation of the neural correlates of music-evoked emotions has been invaluable for the understanding of human emotion. Functional neuroimaging studies on music and emotion show that music can modulate activity in brain structures that are known to be crucially involved in emotion, such as the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, hypothalamus, hippocampus, insula, cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex. The potential of music to modulate activity in these structures has important implications for the use of music in the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders.

24552785
Read More

Fifteen-minute music intervention reduces pre-radiotherapy anxiety in oncology patients.

Fifteen-minute music intervention reduces pre-radiotherapy anxiety in oncology patients.

Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2013 Aug;17(4):436-41

Authors: Chen LC, Wang TF, Shih YN, Wu LJ

PURPOSE: Oncology patients may respond to radiation treatment with anxiety expressed as stress, fear, depression, and frustration. This study aimed to investigate effects of music intervention on reducing pre-radiotherapy anxiety in oncology patients.
METHODS: Quasi-experimental study with purposeful sampling was conducted in the Department of Radiation Oncology, at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Subjects were assigned into a music group (n = 100) receiving 15 min of music therapy prior to radiation and a control group (n = 100) receiving 15 min rest prior to radiation. Both groups were evaluated for pre- and post-test anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Physiological indicators of anxiety were measured pre- and post-test.
RESULTS: Baseline State/Trait scores and vital signs were comparable between groups (P > 0.05). Mean change in pre- and post-test State/Trait scores showed significant decreases from baseline to post-test in both groups (all P < 0.05). A statistically significant difference was observed between music therapy and control groups in mean change of State anxiety scores (mean decreases 7.19 and 1.04, respectively; P < 0.001) and Trait anxiety scores (mean decreases 2.77 and 1.13, respectively; P = 0.036). In vital signs, both groups had significant decreases in pre- and post-test heart rate and respiration rate (P < 0.05). A statistically significant difference in mean change of systolic pressure was found between music and control groups (-5.69 ± 0.41 mmHg vs. -0.67 ± 1.29 mmHg, respectively; P = 0.009).
CONCLUSIONS: Music therapy decreased State anxiety levels, Trait anxiety levels and systolic blood pressure in oncology patients who received the intervention prior to radiotherapy.

23218591
Read More

Music Reduces Panic: an Initial Study of Listening to Preferred Music Improve Male Patient Discomfort and Anxiety during Flexible Cystoscopy.

Music Reduces Panic: an Initial Study of Listening to Preferred Music Improve Male Patient Discomfort and Anxiety during Flexible Cystoscopy.

J Endourol. 2014 Feb 18;

Authors: Zhang Z, Wang X, Xu C, Zhang C, Cao Z, Xu W, Wei R, Sun Y

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of listening to preferred music on releasing male patients' pain and anxiety during flexible cystoscopy. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 124 male patients were admitted to our hospital for flexile cystoscopy by a single urologist between Jan 2013 and Sep 2013 and randomized to 2 equal groups. Group 2 included 62 patients who could select and listen to their preferred music during flexible cystoscopy. Group 1 included 62 patients who were unable to listen to the music. All patients were adminstrated the same amount of lidocaine(10mL) for 3 min for local anaesthesia before flexible cystoscopy. A VAS (visual analog pain scale) ranging from 0 to 10 was applicated to assess patients' pain feeling after the cystoscopy procedure. Anxiety levels were caculated according to the State Instrument of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory（STAI-S）, and the pulse rate were recorded five minutes before and immediately after the procedure. The duration of the procedure of each group were also analysed. RESULTS Statistically significant differences were detected between group1 and group2 in the mean pain score on VAS（2.53±1.34 VS 1.63±1.09, p= 0.002, Mann- Whitney U test），mean postprocedural State Anxiety Inventory pain score（39.4±6.5 VS 34.5±5.8）and postprocedural pulse rate（79.8±5.5 VS 76.0±7.3）(p < 0.001 for both, T test). Patients who listened to their preferred music experienced less discomfort and lower anxiety at cystoscopy. Patient age, duration of the procedure, preprocedural STAI-S and preprocedural pulse rate of each group were comparable. CONCLUSION Listening to preferred music during flexible cystoscopy is an easy way to improves male patients' comfort and reduce their anxiety. It could be recommended for male patients.

24548148
Read More

Music-assisted bathing: making shower time easier for people with dementia.

Music-assisted bathing: making shower time easier for people with dementia.

J Gerontol Nurs. 2014 Feb;40(2):9-13

Authors: Ray KD, Fitzsimmons S

It is estimated that 90% of nursing home residents need assistance with bathing. The purpose of this article is to describe a music-assisted care technique that can be used by caregivers when bathing nursing home residents with dementia. Research suggests that music has many therapeutic benefits for people with dementia. Using music to soothe anxiety can be an effective intervention to assist with lessening of agitation during activities of daily living, especially bathing. This article will provide nursing and direct care staff tools to successfully conduct the music-assisted bathing protocol. Consideration for choosing appropriate music for bathing, the creation of individualized personalized playlists, and acknowledgement of desired outcomes are presented. Incorporating music-assisted bathing may address neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia by lessening agitation and improving mood, which in turn can increase job satisfaction. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 40(2), 9-13.].

24550123
Read More

An investigation into the use of music as potential auditory enrichment for moloch gibbons (Hylobates moloch).

An investigation into the use of music as potential auditory enrichment for moloch gibbons (Hylobates moloch).

Zoo Biol. 2013 Jul-Aug;32(4):423-6

Authors: Wallace EK, Kingston-Jones M, Ford M, Semple S

The use of music as enrichment has rarely been explored in zoos, despite evidence that music has a positive effect on a range of laboratory housed animals. In this study of moloch gibbons, Hylobates moloch, at Howletts Wild Animal Park (Kent, England), instrumental classical music was played to eight individuals in two family groups. Music was played 7 hr a day during three of six study weeks for each group, alternating with control weeks in which no music was played. In focal watches, data were recorded on a measure of activity, brachiation, and on two rates of affiliative behavior, giving and receiving grooming. In addition, to assess potential impacts on emotional state, data were recorded on self-scratching and self-grooming, two widely used indices of anxiety or stress. Analyses were carried out for each individual separately, as previous studies of primates indicate animals may differ in their response to enrichment. Results revealed little evidence for effects of (intrumental classical) music on gibbons' behavior. During the music compared to control weeks, the adult male from one group showed higher rates of self-scratching and higher durations of both self-grooming and grooming others. The adult female from the same group was groomed more during the music weeks than control weeks. For the six other animals, no significant differences in behaviors were seen between music and control conditions. Our findings suggest music may not be an effective enrichment for captive gibbons, and further highlight the importance of considering individual differences when assessing the effects of potential enrichment.

23733310
Read More

A Pacifier-Activated Music Player With Mother's Voice Improves Oral Feeding in Preterm Infants.

A Pacifier-Activated Music Player With Mother's Voice Improves Oral Feeding in Preterm Infants.

Pediatrics. 2014 Feb 17;

Authors: Chorna OD, Slaughter JC, Wang L, Stark AR, Maitre NL

OBJECTIVES: We conducted a randomized trial to test the hypothesis that mother's voice played through a pacifier-activated music player (PAM) during nonnutritive sucking would improve the development of sucking ability and promote more effective oral feeding in preterm infants.
METHODS: Preterm infants between 34 0/7 and 35 6/7 weeks' postmenstrual age, including those with brain injury, who were taking at least half their feedings enterally and less than half orally, were randomly assigned to receive 5 daily 15-minute sessions of either PAM with mother's recorded voice or no PAM, along with routine nonnutritive sucking and maternal care in both groups. Assignment was masked to the clinical team.
RESULTS: Ninety-four infants (46 and 48 in the PAM intervention and control groups, respectively) completed the study. The intervention group had significantly increased oral feeding rate (2.0 vs 0.9 mL/min, P < .001), oral volume intake (91.1 vs 48.1 mL/kg/d, P = .001), oral feeds/day (6.5 vs 4.0, P < .001), and faster time-to-full oral feedings (31 vs 38 d, P = .04) compared with controls. Weight gain and cortisol levels during the 5-day protocol were not different between groups. Average hospital stays were 20% shorter in the PAM group, but the difference was not significant (P = .07).
CONCLUSIONS: A PAM using mother's voice improves oral feeding skills in preterm infants without adverse effects on hormonal stress or growth.

24534413
Read More

Background music genre can modulate flavor pleasantness and overall impression of food stimuli.

Background music genre can modulate flavor pleasantness and overall impression of food stimuli.

Appetite. 2014 Feb 11;

Authors: Fiegel A, Meullenet JF, Harrington RJ, Humble R, Seo HS

This study aimed to determine whether background music genre can alter food perception and acceptance, but also to determine how the effect of background music can vary as a function of type of food (emotional versus non-emotional foods) and source of music performer (single versus multiple performers). The music piece was edited into four genres: classical, jazz, hip-hop, and rock, by either a single or multiple performers. Following consumption of emotional (milk chocolate) or non-emotional food (bell peppers) with the four musical stimuli, participants were asked to rate sensory perception and impression of food stimuli. Participants liked food stimuli significantly more while listening to the jazz stimulus than the hip-hop stimulus. Further, the influence of background music on overall impression was present in the emotional food, but not in the non-emotional food. In addition, flavor pleasantness and overall impression of food stimuli differed between music genres arranged by a single performer, but not between those by multiple performers. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that music genre can alter flavor pleasantness and overall impression of food stimuli. Furthermore, the influence of music genre on food acceptance varies as a function of the type of served food and the source of music performer.

24530691
Read More

Data-driven analysis of functional brain interactions during free listening to music and speech.

Data-driven analysis of functional brain interactions during free listening to music and speech.

Brain Imaging Behav. 2014 Feb 14;

Authors: Fang J, Hu X, Han J, Jiang X, Zhu D, Guo L, Liu T

Natural stimulus functional magnetic resonance imaging (N-fMRI) such as fMRI acquired when participants were watching video streams or listening to audio streams has been increasingly used to investigate functional mechanisms of the human brain in recent years. One of the fundamental challenges in functional brain mapping based on N-fMRI is to model the brain's functional responses to continuous, naturalistic and dynamic natural stimuli. To address this challenge, in this paper we present a data-driven approach to exploring functional interactions in the human brain during free listening to music and speech streams. Specifically, we model the brain responses using N-fMRI by measuring the functional interactions on large-scale brain networks with intrinsically established structural correspondence, and perform music and speech classification tasks to guide the systematic identification of consistent and discriminative functional interactions when multiple subjects were listening music and speech in multiple categories. The underlying premise is that the functional interactions derived from N-fMRI data of multiple subjects should exhibit both consistency and discriminability. Our experimental results show that a variety of brain systems including attention, memory, auditory/language, emotion, and action networks are among the most relevant brain systems involved in classic music, pop music and speech differentiation. Our study provides an alternative approach to investigating the human brain's mechanism in comprehension of complex natural music and speech.

24526569
Read More

COMMENT: it appears that music has wide reaching effects throughout the brain. 

Music therapy for patients who have undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Music therapy for patients who have undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014;2014:742941

Authors: Ratcliff CG, Prinsloo S, Richardson M, Baynham-Fletcher L, Lee R, Chaoul A, Cohen MZ, de Lima M, Cohen L

Objectives. This study examines the short- and long-term QOL benefits of a music therapy intervention for patients recovering from hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Methods. Ninety allogeneic HSCT patients, after transplant, were randomized to receive ISO-principle (i.e., mood matching) based music therapy (MT; n = 29), unstructured music (UM; n = 30), or usual care (UC; n = 31) for four weeks. The ISO principle posits that patients may shift their mood from one state to another by listening to music that is "equal to" the individual's initial mood state and subsequently listening to music selections that gradually shift in tempo and mood to match the patient's desired disposition. Participants in MT and UM groups developed two audio CDs to help them feel more relaxed and energized and were instructed to use the CDs to improve their mood as needed. Short-term effects on mood and long-term effects on QOL were examined. Results. MT and UM participants reported improved mood immediately after listening to CDs; the within-group effect was greater for UM participants compared to MT participants. Participant group was not associated with long-term QOL outcomes. Conclusions. Music listening improves mood acutely but was not associated with long-term benefits in this study.

24527052 [PubMed]

Read More

Prenatal music stimulation facilitates the postnatal functional development of the auditory as well as visual system in chicks (Gallus domesticus).

Prenatal music stimulation facilitates the postnatal functional development of the auditory as well as visual system in chicks (Gallus domesticus).

J Biosci. 2014 Mar;39(1):107-17

Authors: Roy S, Nag TC, Upadhyay AD, Mathur R, Jain S

Rhythmic sound or music is known to improve cognition in animals and humans. We wanted to evaluate the effects of prenatal repetitive music stimulation on the remodelling of the auditory cortex and visual Wulst in chicks. Fertilized eggs (0 day) of white leghorn chicken (Gallus domesticus) during incubation were exposed either to music or no sound from embryonic day 10 until hatching. Auditory and visual perceptual learning and synaptic plasticity, as evident by synaptophysin and PSD-95 expression, were done at posthatch days (PH) 1, 2 and 3. The number of responders was significantly higher in the music stimulated group as compared to controls at PH1 in both auditory and visual preference tests. The stimulated chicks took significantly lesser time to enter and spent more time in the maternal area in both preference tests. A significantly higher expression of synaptophysin and PSD-95 was observed in the stimulated group in comparison to control at PH1-3 both in the auditory cortex and visual Wulst. A significant inter-hemispheric and gender-based difference in expression was also found in all groups. These results suggest facilitation of postnatal perceptual behaviour and synaptic plasticity in both auditory and visual systems following prenatal stimulation with complex rhythmic music.

24499795

Read More

Listening to music primes space: pianists, but not novices, simulate heard actions.

Listening to music primes space: pianists, but not novices, simulate heard actions.

Psychol Res. 2014 Feb 8;

Authors: Taylor JE, Witt JK

Musicians sometimes report twitching in their fingers or hands while listening to music. This anecdote could be indicative of a tendency for auditory-motor co-representation in musicians. Here, we describe two studies showing that pianists (Experiment 1), but not novices (Experiment 2) automatically generate spatial representations that correspond to learned musical actions while listening to music. Participants made one-handed movements to the left or right from a central location in response to visual stimuli while listening to task-irrelevant auditory stimuli, which were scales played on a piano. These task-irrelevant scales were either ascending (compatible with rightward movements) or descending (compatible with leftward movements). Pianists were faster to respond when the scale direction was compatible with the direction of response movement, whereas novices' movements were unaffected by the scale. These results are in agreement with existing research on action-effect coupling in musicians, which draw heavily on common coding theory. In addition, these results show how intricate auditory stimuli (ascending or descending scales) evoke coarse, domain-general spatial representations.

24510162

Read More