Music Used to Rehabilitate Stroke Victims?
A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function(s) due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain and according to the CDC is currently the third leading cause of death in the United States. Doctors are currently exhausting their resources in order to generate a method in which they could stimulate and control the blood flow in a stroke patient’s body in order to prevent further damage. According to a study by Italian researchers published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association researchers found blood flow and respiratory rates can sync with music, indicating that music could one day be a therapeutic tool for blood supply control and rehabilitation.
The foundation for the current study was based upon a study conducted in 2006 in which Italian researchers found that music with faster tempos resulted in increased breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. When the music was paused, breathing, heart rate and blood pressure decreased, sometimes below the beginning rate. Slower music caused declines in heart rates.
This current study is an extension of those findings in which researchers discovered swelling crescendos appear to induce moderate arousal while decrescendos induce relaxation. In music, a crescendo is a gradual volume increase, and a decrescendo is a gradual volume decrease. The study consisted of 24 healthy Caucasians matched for age and sex — 24 to 26 years old with 12 experienced singers (nine women) and 12 participants (seven women) who had no previous musical training. Study participants were fitted with headphones and were attached to electrocardiogram (ECG) and monitors to measure blood pressure, cerebral artery flow, respiration and narrowing of blood vessels on the skin.
Five random tracks of classical music were played — including selections from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony; an aria from Puccini’s Turandot; a Bach cantata (BMW 169); Va Pensiero from Nabucco; Libiam Nei Lieti Calici from La Traviata — as well as two minutes of silence.
Researchers found:
- Every crescendo led to increased narrowing of blood vessels under the skin, increased blood pressure and heart rate and increased respiration amplitude. In each music track the extent of the effect was proportional to the change in music profile.
- During the silent pause, changes decreased, with blood vessels under the skin dilating and marked reductions in heart rate and blood pressure. Unlike with music, silence reduced heart rate and other variables, indicating relaxation.
- Music phrases around 10 seconds long, like those used in “Va Pensiero” and “Libiam Nei Lieti Calici,” synchronized inherent cardiovascular rhythm, thus modulating cardiovascular control.
These new findings provide great potential for the way stroke victims can be treated. To learn more about treatment options and recent treatment discoveries for stroke patients visit NorthShore University HealthSystem’s neuroscience department.
