Music Changes The Brain (image from meditate on it)

Neuroscience reports successful outcomes with specially engineered music therapy programs. Reports of music making a difference abound in science and classical literature. In Bible days musicians were sent ahead of Warriors to maintain morale and to set the climate of victory for battle. Recently there has been much emphasis given to the Mozart effect. In some studies music has been emphasized as being able to even enhance mathematical ability.

There is little doubt that music plays an important role in clinical recovery for many clients. One program I have used personally and clinically with great success is The Listening Program. We find The Listening Program improves many clients’ abilities to hear in noisy environments. Additionally we see improvements in auditory processing speed and attention. 

The Listening Program has matched spectral bands with somato-sensory cortex patterns and taken out some of these frequency bands. Participants enjoy the music in a classical format. The brain then attempts to match the missing frequencies to strengthen synaptic connections in the new pattern. The program employs dichotic listening in order to restore the balance in the way sound is perceived by the ears and translated by the brain.

Impaired auditory processing skills can be seen with imaging techniques as an abnormally enlarged auditory cortex is with the neurons responding over a greater area producing increased sensitivity as a compensatory measure. Unfortunately this also produces a greater signal to noise ratio in the brain. This may translate to reduced auditory accuracy in noisy environments. The ability to filter extraneous interference and to accurately discriminate sound is compromised. This same process takes place in chronic pain patients who are slower to feel the initial sensation of pain but are found to have increased sensitivity to pain, less tolerance and this pain is spread over a wider area.

One logical way to solve this problem would be to help the brain create a new path, making it less reactive to all stimuli and more sensitive to discriminating important stimuli. The Listening Program is effective as a tool to train the brain in this way. The orderly cadence of classical music in its mathematical formation can act as a filing cabinet for the auditory cortex. The frequency filtering allows the brain to come out of an automatic mode and learn a new way of hearing. The stereophonic listening gives the brain an opportunity to generalize where and how it will process new sound.

Song is often used to awaken dormant skills in comatose or stroke patient’s, evoking auditory response and initiating corrective response. Individuals may be unable to say words but they can repeat them when they are sung to them by a participating therapist. After singing, they then say the same words that were impossible for them just moments before. It may be that when people cycle between speaking and singing the contour and spacing of musical sounds may be decoded by additional areas in the brain which can then act as a conduit to the language centres of the brain. This may be because language uses motor, auditory and visual skills.

Singing may engage other brain areas and then cue brain neurons to act as a construction crew to make a detour around the damaged area or to enlist nearby neurons to build a strong new path. Recently neuro imaging tools have advanced so that changes caused by this kind of learning can be demonstrated by an increase in white and gray matter cells in the brain. The Listening Program also serves as a relaxing way to restore cognitive reserve and reduce the fight or flight response created by learning anxiety.

Many brain therapy patients spend hours in occupational, speech pathology, and physical therapy every day. This concentration is required to build new paths in the brain, however in early stages of recovery the brain is vulnerable and becomes tired. The Listening Program can provide a restful interlude in the midst of these other therapies. Clients report that using The Listening Program between other therapies refreshes them and allows them to be more productive.

Dr and TBI

How you communicate with your doctor will often determine the quality of care you recieve and that your legal rights are protected. Here is a practical guide from Michael Kaplen a lawyer at BrainLaw. For other survival skills to help you through a doctor’s appointment this post is good reading

1. When you schedule your first appointment, tell your doctor that you will require extra time. Tell him that you need at least an additional 20 minutes (or more if you need it) for your appointment. The challenge here is to not feel rushed, as when you are stressed your cognition erodes.
2. If distractions bother you, arrange with the doctor’s office (when you make the appointment) for a quiet place to wait, such as a quiet exam room. If this is not possible, ask for somebody to come and get you in the foyer or your car.
3. Get to your appointment at least 15 minutes ahead of time, so you can collect your thoughts, become settled and unwind from the drive.
4. Write down everything you want to tell or ask your doctor. Cross each item off the list after you have covered it. Write down instructions that your doctor gives. Recap at the end of each issue, to make sure you understand.
5. Ask your doctor to write down your diagnosis. Ask for a written explanation in layman’s language. Ask for a written description of the preferred treatment and goals, with an estimate of the costs and the expected time frame.
6. Trust your instincts. If you don’t think that a diagnosis is valid, or if you think it minimizes your problems, remember this: YOU ARE PROBABLY RIGHT. Remember, you are the “expert” about you.
7. Always ask your doctor about the contraindications when he prescribes new medications. Additionally, have the doctor provide you with a written list. Take charge of knowing everything about the drugs you take.
8. Ask your doctor to make a notation in your file stating that you should receive a copy of all reports and tests as soon as they are received by the office.
9. Never sign a blank release form. Make sure all authorization forms are completely filled out. Read what you’re signing. Make sure the release has ONLY the names on it that YOU want. Get a copy of each and every release form/letter you sign.

TBI Math Help Online

By Amy Price PhD

If you are having a tough time with math after an injury or just never understood it. This is a great link. The material is free online and you can download explanations and practice questions. If you learn best by hearing and seeing there are I-Phone apps by Math tutor that you can down load.  There are also math  apps for othe 3g phones  although the I-Pod selection is better. Most people have trouble with math because it is sequential so if you missed steps or the brain injury knocked them out you need to relearn them. Simple things like what to do with brackets and in which order to do the equations help a lot. There is also a free class for basic math at open university and one on visualizing maths. This is an important step for really getting it as if when you can see it in your mind it is easier to work the equations. Remember if you are using a scientificor graphing  calculator the vendor will generally have tutorials on the web site.  Be patient with yourself and give it time. You can do this!

Science bears this out. According to integrative neuroscientist Evian Gordon (2001, 2008) minimizing danger and maximizing reward is a significant principle in how the brain organizes and in so doing impacts our lives. If a situation leads to a reward response such as positive emotions, words, or activities the brain engages and approaches or engages. When a situation brings up negative emotions or punishment the brain sends out an avoid response and detaches.

Can you see where this principle would lead in marriages, the work place or learning? In one research study participants completed a paper maze that featured a mouse in the middle trying to reach a picture on the outside. Half of the group saw a piece of the cheese as the picture to reach while others saw a predator.

The effect on learning the maze was astounding those that had the cheese picture solved more problems more creatively than those with the predator picture. (Friedman and Foster, 2001). Other studies relate how people who specifically visualize and mentally practice winning have significant advantages over people who did not practice and in fact what they ‘thought” gave them a similar advantage to actually practicing (Logie and Denis ,1991)

Transferring this concept to the real we can ask these questions. How likely is someone who senses their credibility is undermined to be able to produce answers to complex problems or initiate creative solutions?

Performance reviews, constructive criticism, even unasked for advice can threaten status and cloud thinking. You can even threaten your own status by seeing yourself as hanging by your fingernails over a cliff or rehearsing failure. There are a series of steps you can take to change your mind and get it working for you from the inside out.

As an employer, parent, friend or marriage partner are you unknowingly causing threats to an individual’s status or is someone threatening yours? Watch this space for ways of enhancing status and changing your place in the workspace!

For ways to put these principles in action see this article http://empower2go.wordpress.com/