February 26, 2010
Singing 'Rewires' Brains of Stroke Victims
New connections in the "singing centers" of brains can compensate for
damage in the "speaking centers."
Singing 'Rewires' Brains of Stroke Victims
New connections in the "singing centers" of brains can compensate for
damage in the "speaking centers."
SUMMARY: Stroke patients can recover their speech when they are taught to
sing, scientists say. Patients use a different area of the brain when they sing.
So, if their "speech center" is damaged by a stroke, they can learn to use their
"singing center" instead.
It's all a matter of "rewiring" the brain to make new connections. The left side
of the brain is used more in speech because of more connections located
there. But as patients learn to attach their words to simple melodies, the
crucial connections form on the right side of their brains. Brain imaging was
used to help show what actually is happening in the brain. And it has been
previously demonstrated that the "singing centers" in the brains of
professional singers are overdeveloped.
Gottfried Schlaug, a neurology professor from Boston, who has led a clinical
trial that has shown the benefits of this "melodic intonation therapy," said
even a single training season can help a stroke patient sing a few words. The
patients are also taught to tap out each syllable with their hands, a technique
that seemed to act as an "internal pace-maker" that made the therapy more
effective.
Other scientists have made additional discoveries about the brain and
music--music engages a huge portion of the brain; music produces electrical
activity in brain cells that scientists can "play back" through speakers; and
music seems to enhance the ability to perform other tasks, such as reading.
Nina Kraus, a neuroscientists from Northwestern U. said the new insights
offered evidence for the importance of musical training in a child's education.
To read the entire article, click on this link to BBC NEWS.
COMMENT: The Great Reformer, Martin Luther, considered music as a gift
of God that was overshadowed only by the Word of God. Many of the most
revered songs throughout history have been the result of connecting these
two great gifts.
We already knew how music can affect a person's emotions--pep bands
exciting spectators at a ball game; soft classical music calming a person's
nerves; solemn Lenten hymns helping put worshippers in the right frame of
mind at Lenten services. However, bad music can also have a negative effect,
such as obscene rock music and other popular music that suggests indecent
behavior or ridicules godly behavior.
But music isn't the only thing that can rewire a brain. Education, even the
wrong kind, can have the same effect. Our February 23, 2009 post covered a
story that suggested children are born to believe and must reprogram their
brains as they get older in order to become atheists.
The human brain is, of course, another of God's great gifts. In the brain "there
is probably more wiring, more electrical circuitry, than in all the computer
systems of the world put together." When something goes wrong in the brain
such as in a stroke or in Alzheimer's disease, it is not a design flaw but is the
result of sin entering the world.
Pray that more and more people would be led to understand that they are
sinners, repent of their sins, and find salvation in the person of Jesus Christ,
who came down to earth to die for us. In heaven, we will have perfect brains,
and the music there may just be far superior to anything we have yet heard.
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QUESTION OF THE DAY
What is the leading cause of oral cancer?
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sing, scientists say. Patients use a different area of the brain when they sing.
So, if their "speech center" is damaged by a stroke, they can learn to use their
"singing center" instead.
It's all a matter of "rewiring" the brain to make new connections. The left side
of the brain is used more in speech because of more connections located
there. But as patients learn to attach their words to simple melodies, the
crucial connections form on the right side of their brains. Brain imaging was
used to help show what actually is happening in the brain. And it has been
previously demonstrated that the "singing centers" in the brains of
professional singers are overdeveloped.
Gottfried Schlaug, a neurology professor from Boston, who has led a clinical
trial that has shown the benefits of this "melodic intonation therapy," said
even a single training season can help a stroke patient sing a few words. The
patients are also taught to tap out each syllable with their hands, a technique
that seemed to act as an "internal pace-maker" that made the therapy more
effective.
Other scientists have made additional discoveries about the brain and
music--music engages a huge portion of the brain; music produces electrical
activity in brain cells that scientists can "play back" through speakers; and
music seems to enhance the ability to perform other tasks, such as reading.
Nina Kraus, a neuroscientists from Northwestern U. said the new insights
offered evidence for the importance of musical training in a child's education.
To read the entire article, click on this link to BBC NEWS.
COMMENT: The Great Reformer, Martin Luther, considered music as a gift
of God that was overshadowed only by the Word of God. Many of the most
revered songs throughout history have been the result of connecting these
two great gifts.
We already knew how music can affect a person's emotions--pep bands
exciting spectators at a ball game; soft classical music calming a person's
nerves; solemn Lenten hymns helping put worshippers in the right frame of
mind at Lenten services. However, bad music can also have a negative effect,
such as obscene rock music and other popular music that suggests indecent
behavior or ridicules godly behavior.
But music isn't the only thing that can rewire a brain. Education, even the
wrong kind, can have the same effect. Our February 23, 2009 post covered a
story that suggested children are born to believe and must reprogram their
brains as they get older in order to become atheists.
The human brain is, of course, another of God's great gifts. In the brain "there
is probably more wiring, more electrical circuitry, than in all the computer
systems of the world put together." When something goes wrong in the brain
such as in a stroke or in Alzheimer's disease, it is not a design flaw but is the
result of sin entering the world.
Pray that more and more people would be led to understand that they are
sinners, repent of their sins, and find salvation in the person of Jesus Christ,
who came down to earth to die for us. In heaven, we will have perfect brains,
and the music there may just be far superior to anything we have yet heard.
****************************************************************************************************
Want to be automatically notified each time there is a new post? Just e-mail
your request to [admin@lutheranscience.org].
****************************************************************************************************
QUESTION OF THE DAY
What is the leading cause of oral cancer?
****************************************************************************************************
0 Comments
| LSI stands for the Lutheran Science Institute, an organization of WELS and ELS Lutherans interested in science and health issues with a special emphasis on the creation and evolution controversy. This blog's purpose is to search the Internet to find articles of interest to Christians. Views expressed are those of the author (Warren Krug) and are not necessarily those of the Lutheran Science Institute, Inc. |
Regular users of tobacco products--all kinds--make
up 75% of all people who develop cancer in the
mouth. Heavy alcohol use is another risk factor.
Dentists will sometimes check for signs of oral
cancer.
Source: BottomLine Personal (January 15, 2010)
up 75% of all people who develop cancer in the
mouth. Heavy alcohol use is another risk factor.
Dentists will sometimes check for signs of oral
cancer.
Source: BottomLine Personal (January 15, 2010)
