Moreover, singing engages an auditory-motor feedback loop in the brain more intensely than other music making activities such as instrumental playing (e.g., Bangert et al., 2006 Kleber et al., 2009). Singing in particular can serve as a valuable therapeutic tool because it is a universal form of musical expression that is as natural as speaking. This patient has no left AF due to his left hemispheric stroke.
#CHAN CHAN SONG MEANING PROFESSIONAL#
The arcuate fasciculus (AF) fiber bundles of: a healthy nonmusician (a) a healthy professional singer (b) a patient with Broca's aphasia before (c) and after (d) intensive melodic intonation therapy. Music making activities may also facilitate the establishment of alternative pathways, which could have the ability to circumvent dysfunctional brain regions caused by focal lesions and neurodevelopmental/neurodegenerative disorders. Figure 1, an example of such an adaptation, shows a pronounced structural difference in the size of a right-hemispheric fiber tract that connects auditory with motor regions (the arcuate fasciculus) in a professional singer ( Figure 1b) compared to a healthy control participant who may only occasionally sing ( Figure 1a). Indeed, it is known that long-term music making (practicing an instrument or singing) can induce plastic changes in the brain (e.g., Gaser & Schlaug, 2003 Kleber, Veit, Birbaumer, Gruzelier, & Lotze, 2009 Schlaug, 2001). Deficits in the execution of motor and articulatory actions are symptoms of many neurological disorders. This integrative fronto-temporoparietal network overlaps with components of the putative mirror neuron system, which is important in the perception and execution of actions. Unlike music listening, active music making places additional demands on the nervous system, leading to a strong coupling of perception and action processes that are mediated by sensory, motor, and multimodal integrative regions distributed throughout the brain. Many studies have shown that music listening can enhance the emotional and cognitive functioning of patients affected by various neurological conditions (e.g., Chan, Chan, Mok, Kwan, & Tse, 2009 Forsblom, Laitinen, Sarkamo, & Tervaniemi, 2009). Over the past few decades, there has been growing evidence supporting the potential utility of music in medicine. This may ultimately lead to the development of specialized or “gold-standard” treatments for these disorders, and to an improvement in the quality of life for patients. By reviewing the status quo, it is hoped that future research can help to disentangle the relative contribution of factors to why singing works. This paper reviews recent evidence on the therapeutic effects of singing, and how it can potentially ameliorate some of the speech deficits associated with conditions such as stuttering, Parkinson's disease, acquired brain lesions, and autism. Given the behavioral similarities between singing and speaking, as well as the shared and distinct neural correlates of both, researchers have begun to examine whether singing can be used to treat some of the speech-motor abnormalities associated with various neurological conditions. The ability to sing in humans is evident from infancy, and does not depend on formal vocal training but can be enhanced by training. Music making (playing an instrument or singing) is a multimodal activity that involves the integration of auditory and sensorimotor processes.