Art and music therapy seem to help with brain disorders. Scientists want to know why

Art and music therapy seem to help with brain disorders². Scientists want to know why

Transcript³

When Michael Schneider's anxiety and PTSD flare⁴ up, he reaches for the ukulele he keeps next to his computer.

"I can't actually play a song," says Schneider, who suffered two serious brain injuries during nearly 22 years in the Marines. "But I can play chords to take my stress level down."

It's a technique Schneider learned through Creative Forces, an arts therapy initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership⁶ with the departments of Defense⁷ and Veterans Affairs.

It's also an example of how arts therapies are increasingly being used to treat brain conditions including PTSD, depression, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

But most of these treatments, ranging from music to poetry to visual arts, still have not undergone rigorous scientific testing. So artists and brain scientists have launched an initiative called the NeuroArts Blueprint⁹ to change that.

The initiative is the result of a partnership between the Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied¹⁰ Neuroaesthetics and the Aspen Institute's Health, Medicine and Society Program. Its leadership includes soprano Renée Fleming, actress and playwright¹¹ Anna Deavere Smith, and Dr. Eric Nestler, who directs the Friedman Brain Institute at Mt. Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine.

One goal of the NeuroArts initiative is to measure how arts therapies change the brains of people like Schneider.

"I had a traumatic brain injury when I was involved in a helicopter incident on board a U.S. Naval¹² vessel," he explains. That was in 2005.

Later that same year, he experienced sudden decompression – the aviator's version of the bends — while training for high-altitude flights. The result was like a stroke.

"On my right side of my body I lost all feeling," he says.

Schneider recovered from both incidents. But they took a toll¹³ on his brain. And in 2014, he began having serious problems.

"I had this progression of really bad seizures¹⁴," he says. "At one point I was having 20 to 40 seizures a day."

He also developed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder¹, known as PTSD, and depression. Schneider went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda for treatment. But he wasn't getting better.

"I'd lost hope," he says. "I didn't really believe that I was going to make it through the next couple of years. My brain was just shutting down."

That's when military doctors referred Schneider to Rebecca Vaudreuil, a music therapist at Creative Forces and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. Early on, Vaudreuil learned something intriguing¹⁵ about the big Marine⁵ from Marquette, Michigan.

"He had a history in doing theater arts," she says. "And so I could tell, you know, there was some priming there."

Vaudreuil had Schneider play a few notes on a piano.

"I started to hum the notes and she's like, 'You can sing,'" he recalls.

So they sang Andrea Bocelli's operatic hit Con⁸ Te Partirò.

That led to a lot of musical exploration, including the ukulele. It also helped Schneider start talking about his struggles and gave him a way to reduce his seizures and relieve some of his anxiety and PTSD.

"Relearning music took away that fight-or-flight, that ingrained piece of how I trained," he says. "It was able to open up all these new pathways through my brain."

Personal experiences like Schneider's are beginning to get some scientific confirmation¹⁶, Vaudreuil says.

"We know that when we receive music, even when we hear music, we're activating¹⁷ multiple parts of the brain," she says. And studies suggest that this strengthens brain circuits that help repair damage.

There are also hints that the brain changes in response to other art therapies, like dance, poetry, painting, sculpture, even leatherwork. But so far, there hasn't been much scientific study to back that up.

"We're going to need to provide the robust¹⁸, empirical data demonstrating that there is efficacy," says Nestler, a co-chair of the NeuroArts initiative advisory¹⁹ board.

"It's harder in some ways to do that with music or art than with a new medication," he says. "On the other hand, I think it's very doable."

Nestler says advances in brain imaging technology are making it possible to objectively measure brain changes produced by arts therapies.

For example, there are lots of anecdotal reports of Alzheimer's patients who can no longer speak, but will begin singing and become more interactive²⁰ when they hear a familiar song.

"Now, in addition to reporting the behavioral changes, one could identify a greater level of activity in circuits in the brain related to memory and emotions," Nestler says.

Fleming, another co-chair of the advisory board, has actually seen the effect of singing on her own brain.

During a visit to the National Institutes of Health in 2017, she agreed to perform while inside an MRI scanner.

"They had me singing, imagining singing and speaking," she says. "They would probably have guessed that singing would have the largest effect on my brain, but it didn't. It was imagining singing."

For Fleming, the existence of something like the NeuroArts Blueprint represents a big and important shift in thinking since the early days of her career.

"I had terrible stage fright. I had somatic pain from performance pressure," she says. But at the time, doctors tended to dismiss symptoms involving the link between mind and body.

So now Fleming makes a point of using her performance trips to meet with brain scientists and arts therapists.

"I saw a music therapist working with a gentleman who'd had a stroke and couldn't speak," she says. "And within one session of singing he could communicate."

In order to understand why that happened, she says, neuroscientists and artists need to create a new field of expertise²¹: neuroarts.

Nestler, the neuroscientist, agrees.

"We've realized how our two worlds can merge²² in this really interesting way," he says.

But Nestler says even with good scientific evidence, arts therapies are likely to face obstacles to gaining widespread acceptance and support.

"No one asks a question about paying $100,000 or more for spinal²³ surgery," he says. But coverage²⁴ of music therapy for a brain condition, he says, "that is going to be a major struggle."

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

9 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

11 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

12 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

13 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

14 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

15 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

17 activating   

活动的，活性的

参考例句：

• "I didn't say we'd got to stop activating the masses! “我并没说就此不发动！ 来自子夜部分
• Presumably both the very small size and activating influence of fluorine atoms contribute to this exception. 这大概是由于氟原子半径小和活性高这两个原因的影响，氟原子对这种例外做出了贡献。

18 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

19 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

20 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

21 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

22 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

23 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

24 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。