Researchers to Study Why Music, Art Therapy Benefits Mental Health Patients

The National Endowment for the Arts is sponsoring an arts therapy initiative known as Creative Forces in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense. Art therapies are increasingly being used to treat various brain conditions, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, most of these therapies, ranging from poetry to music to visual arts, haven’t undergone exhaustive scientific testing.

Brain researchers and artists have started an initiative called the NeuroArts Blueprint to conduct research into this. The initiative is the result of collaboration between the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine and Society Program, and the Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab Center. Its leadership includes Friedman Brain Institute at Mt. Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine director Dr. Eric Nestler, playwright Anna Deavere Smith and soprano Renée Fleming.

One of the objectives of the initiative is to measure how arts therapy changes the brains of individuals with these issues. Rebecca Vaudreuil, a music therapist at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and Creative Forces, stated that the personal experiences for various individuals had begun receiving scientific confirmation. She explained that multiple parts of the brain were activated when an individual heard music, with research suggesting that this strengthened circuits in the brain, thereby helping to repair damage.

There are suggestions that the brain also changes in response to other art therapies, such as painting, poetry, leatherwork, dance and sculpture. However, not many studies have been done to back these claims.

Nestler stated that the group’s goal was to offer strong empirical data that demonstrated the effectiveness of art therapies. He added that advances in brain-imaging technology made it possible to measure the changes in the brain produced by these therapies.

There exist anecdotal reports of patients with Alzheimer’s who can no longer speak but will become more interactive or start singing when they hear a familiar song. In addition to these changes in behavior, Nestler noted that a greater level of activity in brain circuits related to emotions and memory was also observed.

Fleming has also observed singing’s effect on her own brain. She explained that imagining singing had the biggest effect on her brain, suggesting that artists and neuroscientists needed to create a new field known as neuroarts. Nestler agrees with her but notes that art therapies may likely face hurdles before gaining widespread support and acceptance.

Many companies, including Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (NEO: MYCO) (OTC: MYCOF), are engaged in seeking new ways to manage different mental health disorders, and the quest to understand what role the arts can play in this fight is but one of the avenues being pursued.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (NEO: MYCO) (OTC: MYCOF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MYCOF

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