Tag Archives: Elderly

Music, Research , , , Leave a comment

Say what?

by

Not specifically related to Parkinson’s, this study looked into whether providing musical training to older non-musicians would have an effect on the experimental task.

Experienced musicians outperform non-musicians in understanding speech-in-noise (SPIN). The benefits of lifelong musicianship endure into older age, where musicians experience smaller declines in their ability to understand speech in noisy environments…  results suggest that short-term musical training in older adults may enhance neural encoding of speech, with the potential to reduce age-related decline in speech perception. [emphasis added]

The effects of short-term musical training on the neural processing of speech-in-noise in older adults

… these findings suggest that music training enhances neural responses to speech in speech-motor and control regions.The absence of training-related interactions with noise level suggests that the benefit of music training is related to processing speech in general, and not separating it from background noise;

– BUT analysis of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging showed electrical activities in a couple of areas of the brain related to speech perception for those who were in the musical training group.

Obviously, “further research is needed,” as the saying goes, and perhaps for longer periods of time.

Whatever type of musical training one chooses, singing, keyboard, string, or wind instruments, there’s another saying that applies to that as well: “It may not help, but it can’t hurt.”

###

 

 

Music, Parkinson's, Research , , , , , Leave a comment

Music on the brain

by

 

Why do we like some kinds of music but not others?

Back in college, Jerry Coker (who taught jazz improvisation, said that we tended to like music that was not entirely predictable, but that a certain level of surprise increased our enjoyment of jazz. Music that was too unpredictable led to diminished enjoyment. Now, a study has been done that mathematically analyzed people’s enjoyment of musical snippets, and basically confirmed what Jerry taught us. Surprise us every now and then, but don’t make us feel like we’re stupid and can’t guess the next note that’s coming along.

Here’s the article with a reference and link to the original research (if you can afford it): The brain’s favorite type of music

Dopamine’s role in music enjoyment.

In this study, researchers looked at people’s responses to music under three separate conditions. One group received levodopa, another received risperidone, a dopamine antagonist, and a third group received a placebo. Folks in the levodopa group reported and were recorded as having higher levels of enjoyment, and those taking the antagonist, lower levels of enjoyment. Each group[ went through all the conditions, separated by a week in between sessions. The results clearly indicate that dopamine is the brain is related to musical pleasure. Now, if  playing and singing music promote an increase of dopamine in the brain, we have a prescription for Parkinson’s Disease (and depression) that can’t be beat (although it can be counted off).

Dopamine role in musical pleasure    

the actual research article which appears to be available in its entirety online: Dopamine modulates the reward experiences elicited by music

 

 

 

Dance, Research , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Art, Dance, Medicine, Parkinson’s, Genetics, Oh My!

by

Arts and Medicine research – my only wish is that they would look into the possibility of physical changes in the brains of people involved, and not just on co-creating knowledge:

Co-creating knowledge…

Next:

Dance therapy demonstrates a highly appropriate choice of intervention to stimulate plasticity processes, improve age-related deterioration, and thus contribute to successful aging. Health care professionals involved in the care of elderly individuals should whenever possible consider the feasibility of associating dance therapy as a stimulating and therapeutic activity.

Dance therapy in aging: A systematic review

“There were 2,334 studies, out of which 6 were chosen.” This review limited itself to dance as therapy for healthy aging adults, and excluded those studies that looked at Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s people. Again, I would hope that future studies look at changes in brain activity and structure, as well as observable differences in movement, etc.

Next, an open access article reviewing genetic risks involving Parkinson’s: “This study provides evidence that alleles associated with Parkinson disease risk, in particular GBA variants, also contribute to the heterogeneity of multiple motor and nonmotor aspects. Accounting for genetic variability will be a useful factor in understanding disease course and in minimizing heterogeneity in clinical trials.”

Genetic risk of Parkinson disease and progression: An analysis of 13 longitudinal cohorts

(Will have to read it in order to see what it says,  and compare it with my genome files to see what it means for me).

Dance, Exercise, Research , , , , , Leave a comment

Progressively difficult or complex dance training is superior to repetitive physical exercise

by

Yep, you read that correctly. This research was done using neuro-imaging and revealed that brain plasticity ( how experiences reorganize neural pathways in the brain) is increased by a program of increasingly difficult dance training. (The title of this entry was edited 04/28/2021 to make it more clear that the variable was increasing the difficulty, and not simply dance vs. exercise. ALL exercise is good, as long as not overdone, but to incorporate research findings into the program (like Power for Parkinson’s or Lew-Ortiz Pabon’s Apollo Rhythm Club do), takes some extra effort).

Dance training is superior to repetitive physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity in the elderly.

… Both interventions increased physical fitness to the same extent. Pronounced differences were seen in the effects on brain volumes: Dancing compared to conventional fitness activity led to larger volume increases in more brain areas, including the cingulate cortex, insula, corpus callosum and sensorimotor cortex. Only dancing was associated with an increase in plasma BDNF levels. Regarding cognition, both groups improved in attention and spatial memory, but no significant group differences emerged. The latter finding may indicate that cognitive benefits may develop later and after structural brain changes have taken place. The present results recommend our challenging dance program as an effective measure to counteract detrimental effects of aging on the brain.

On a personal note, I noticed during a year long period of reduced mobility that my Parkinson’s symptoms had progressed (or regressed, depending on how you look at it). Slurred speech was perhaps one of the more obvious or noticeable symptoms. That has now disappeared, though one has to be mindful to speak clearly and loudly in order to be understood.

Physical exercise of any kind is good, it seems. Weight resistance and other exercises can benefit from the high intensity interval approach. But move to the music, and join a dance class that increasingly challenges the brain (especially if you are classified among the elderly, even if you are Young At Heart).