Music Therapy PDF

Music Therapy Today
a quarterly journal of studies in music and

music therapy from the Chair of Qualitative
Research in Medicine
Volume VII, Issue 1 (March 2006)
David Aldridge & Jrg Fachner (eds.)

Chair of Qualitative Research in Medicine
Published by MusicTherapyWorld.net
UniversityWitten/Herdecke
Witten, Germany
ISSN 1610-191X
Editor in Chief/Publisher
Prof. Dr. phil. David Aldridge
Managing Editor
Dr. Jrg Fachner, joergf@uni-wh.de
Translation and editorial assistance

Christina Wagner, cwagner@uni-wh.de
Book review editor and dissertations archive

Annemiek Vink, a.c.vink@capitolonline.nl
Odds and Ends, Themes and Trends

Tom Doch, t.doch@t-online.de
International contacts
Dr. Petra Kern, PETRAKERN@prodigy.net
Scientific Advisory Board

Prof. Dr. Jaakko Erkkil, University of Jyvskyl, Finland
Dr. Hanne Mette Ridder, University of Aalborg, Denmark
Dr. Gudrun Aldridge, University Witten/Herdecke, Germany
Marcos Vidret, University of Buenos Aires, Argentinia
Dr. Cochavit Elefant, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Prof. Dr. Cheryl Dileo. Temple University in Philadelphia, USA
Prof. Dr. Marlene Dobkin de Rios, University of California, Irvine,
USA
Dr. Alenka Barber-Kersovan University of Hamburg, Germany
Prof. Dr. Tia DeNora, University of Exeter, UK
Dr. Patricia L. Sabbatella, University of Cadiz, Spain
ii
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Table of contents
Music Therapy Today i
Table of contents vii
Editorial 1
Aldridge, D. & Fachner, J. 1
Effects of music therapy and counselling: A case of state anxiety of

a Ca Hypo Pharynx patient 8
Sundar, Sumathy 8
Ethics in music therapy: the role of the patient 30

Padula, Alessandra 30
The revival of Traditional Oriental Music Therapy discussed by

cross cultural reflections and a pilot scheme of a quantitative EEG-
analysis for patients in Minimally Responsive State. 39
Gerhard K. Tucek, Monika Murg2, Ann Mary Auer-Pekarsky', Wal-
ter Oder1 Robert Stepansky, 39
Performative Health a commentary on Traditional Oriental Music

Therapy 65
David Aldridge 65
Music, perception and altered states of consciousness 70

Aldridge, D., Fachner, J. and Schmid, W. 70
Maintaining dialogue - active music therapy for people living with

Multiple Sclerosis 77
Schmid, Wolfgang 77
Connecting and learning through music: music therapy for young

children with visual impairments and their families/ 99
vii
Kern, Petra 99
Therapeutical usefulness of music 106

Sundar, S. 106
Sumathy Sundar 106
T V Sairam 114
Ryo Takahashi 119
Book review: Silke Jochims (Ed.): Musiktherapie in der Neuroreha-

bilitation (music therapy in neurological rehabilitation) 153
Schmid, W. 153
Odds and ends - themes and trends 157

Tom Doch 157
viii
Music Therapy Today
Vol. VII (1) (March) 2006
Editorial
Aldridge, D. & Fachner, J.
Welcome to the new issue of Music Therapy Today, Vol. VII, Issue 1
(March)!
Some comments on the magazine

Some music therapists publish their research in medical peer-reviewed
journals. This has been an important and necessary step for music ther-
apy to become an established or potential treatment intervention in the
medical field. It also means that music therapy research has had to align
with, and to fit into, the paradigms of the medical journals. Music thera-
pists have to fit their research practice into the orthodoxy of medical
thinking and the medical discourse, as represented by the journals, is not
always coherent with that of music therapy. Indeed, within music therapy
we have no single homogenous perspective but a lively pluralistic mix of
understandings
Peer review is an important issue because it helps music therapy to be

better established by creating and reflecting our own guidelines of good
music therapy research and practice. To this end, we are peer-reviewing
some of the articles for this magazine. However, the peer-review process,
1
Aldridge, D. & Fachner, J. (2006) Editorial. Music Therapy Today (Online) Vol.VII (1), (March), 1-7. available at http://
musictherapyworld.net
Some comments on the magazine
even in medical journals, is not without its critics. Peer reviewers can be
biased too. My original intention with Music Therapy Today was, and
still is, to provide a lively forum for people writing about music, music
therapy and the creative arts. One of the problems that we have is that
there are a lot of practitioners who are not writing up their work. Some-
times they submit material but it is not accepted by established journals.
This is not a critic of the journals, they have to maintain high writing
standards and only have a limited number of pages. In a magazine jour-
nal like Music Therapy Today people have a chance to write and be
published, even when English may not be their first language, and we can
also include a range of speculative material rather like thinking aloud.
While I am commenting on the journal, I would like to remind readers

that the journal is intended as one part of a broader concept. The project
comprises the design and extension of an online portal for music therapy
research and our objectives are to collect, provide, develop, evaluate and
implement systematically information and communication opportunities
for arts therapy research, teaching and practice. A long-term objective for
musictherapworld.net has been to create a global network of activities
taking place in the world of music therapy and also to provide a free
information platform with database, research archive and online maga-
zine.
A central feature of our strategy is to present material in a way compati-

ble to the medium Internet. We know that teachers and students use our
database as a learning resource. What we are concentrating on over the
coming months is the use of audio and video based resources that bring
text, images, sound and film together (see also http://web.mac.com/
davidaldridge1).
Editorial 2
Journal articles
If readers have recordings of lectures that are they regard as important to

share then let us know and we can include them in our magazine. You
will see below how Petra Kern has sent us an interview for publication.
Lutz Neugebauer and David Aldridge have started a new practice and
research centre in Witten and readers can see from our homepage how
these ideas concerning the use of websites and information can be
reflected in practice http://web.mac.com/nordoff_robbins.
Journal articles
Our first article in this issue is a peer-reviewed article on Effects of
music therapy and counselling: A case of state anxiety of a Ca Hypo
Pharynx patient from Sumathy Sundar from India. This paper is a case
study about receptive music therapy combined with comprehensive
counselling and providing health information as a cognitive behavioural
intervention to address psychological distress and situational anxiety.
Anxiety and distress are common problems with cancer patients in a hos-
pital environment. For a controlled study of music therapy as an interven-
tion in mood disturbance then we would refer readers to Cassileth, B. R.,
Vickers, A. J., & Magill, L. A. (2003). Music therapy for mood distur-
bance during hospitalization for autologous stem cell transplantation: a
randomized controlled trial. Cancer, 98(12), 2723-29.
Alessandra Padula is an Italian musician and music therapist. She has

sent us her article on Ethics in music therapy: the role of the patient.
This paper reflects her thoughts based on ideas from Erich Fromm, Carl
Gustav Jung. She discusses the process of adaptation made by patient and
therapist during the course of music therapy.
Editorial 3
Journal articles
Another study based on clinic work comes from Gerhard K. Tucek, Mon-
ika Murg, Ann Mary Auer-Pekarsky, Walter Oder and Robert Stepansky.
This paper is based on a presentation back in 2002 held at Istanbul Uni-
versity. The revival of Traditional Oriental Music Therapy discussed by
cross cultural reflections and a pilot scheme of a quantitative EEG-analy-
sis for patients in Minimally Responsive State. Gerhard Tucek, who is
the Head of the Traditional Oriental Music Therapy (TOMT) course in
Rosenau, Austria, discusses the problems of transforming an old music
therapy approach, which has been forgotten since about 150 years on
the background of a changing paradigm of medical aetiology. In the early
years of the 19th century the scientific view of the medical science
(Humoral pathology) has changed to a more mechanistic approach and as
a result of the medical paradigm shift this foremost medical music ther-
apy approach became outdated. In contrast the religious and musical tra-
ditions where TOMT has been derived from did not change that much up
to now. The question is how to transform and respect medical, religious
and artistic traditions?
The problems, that might arise, when respecting only the religious and
musical tradition without adapting the daily practice of the therapeutic
approach into the modern medical settings are discussed by David Ald-
ridge in Performative Health a commentary to Traditional Oriental
Music Therapy. There is a tendency to talk of Sufi Music as if such an
entity existed. While this may be so in commercial terms, the reality is
that there is music that Sufis use according to the people, the place and
the time. That is, music, when used in a ritual sense, as a means of chang-
ing consciousness, or as a tool in the process of healing is context depen-
dent, as is the concept of health and illness. The music and dances used
by the Sufi Rumi was developed for his students at a particular time and
Editorial 4
A seminar series
place and purpose. As music therapists know, we all need a particular

healing repertoire but that must be related to the cultural context of the
people taking part and the culture in which it is embedded. Indeed, the
participants are composing the culture.
A seminar series
In the article Music, perception and altered states of consciousness
David Aldridge, Jrg Fachner and Wolfgang Schmid present some
thoughts that are guiding a lecture series at the Chair of Qualitative
Research in Medicine and the Institute of Music Therapy of University
Witten/Herdecke. This seminar series will illustrate through a number of
varying presentations how music researchers and therapists are working
in varying settings where consciousness is changed. Our academic stud-
ies have relevance in daily practice, as they also arise from that daily
practice, thus completing the circle of the reflective practitioner in the
community of inquiry.
Maintaining dialogue - active music therapy for people living with Mul-
tiple Sclerosis from Wolfgang Schmid has been published in the EMTC
conference proceedings before. In this publication we are providing the
primary data of analysis the audio and video examples he used for his
presentation in Finland 2004. The research method he uses is Therapeutic
Narrative Analysis that can be found in Vol. III, Issue 5 (November 2002)
of this journal and in Aldridge, D. (2005). Case study designs in music
therapy. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. As we have read earlier,
we are using multi-media integrating audio and video into a research
paper. This is an advantage of an online journal for music therapy. We are
able to contextualise the primary data into a written and readable text.
Editorial 5
Conference proceedings and compilations
Petra Kern demonstrates this possibility further by sending us another

audio interview. As podcasting has become a new platform of scientific
presentation we are happy to give you the opportunity to listen to Con-
necting and learning through music: music therapy for young children
with visual impairments and their families / An Interview with Prof. Dr.
Peggy Codding, Berklee College of Music. We invite colleagues to sub-
mit recorded material, as well as written texts as these all provide a pri-
mary resource of material for research and teaching.
Conference proceedings and compilations

For all those that are interested in holistic traditions of healing India has
been some kind of major source for referral. But as we live and suffer
with diseases in the 21-century the discussion about useful traditions of
healing, of cultural heritage and religious medical practice in hospital set-
tings has to be continued. We are proud to present the Conference pro-
ceedings of the 1st International Conference, 15. January 2006, Nada
Centre for Music Therapy, Chennai, India. The main theme of the confer-
ence was Therapeutical usefulness of music. Sumathy Sundar has
edited the proceedings for Music Therapy Today.
In the previous issue, we presented the conference proceedings of the

EMTC conference in Finland. Now we have collected the complete
Music Therapy Today Volume VI of 2005. About 1900 pages of mate-
rial relevant to music therapy! You can download it here (PDF 10 MB)
Editorial 6
Book Review and Odds and Ends
Book Review and Odds and Ends

Wolfgang Schmid has written a book review: on Silke Jochims book
(Ed.): Musiktherapie in der Neurorehabilitation (music therapy in neuro-
logical rehabilitation)
Tom Doch takes you on his journey into odds and ends, themes and
trends in Neuromusic research, funny experiments and recent findings in
the world of science.
Until we read again
David Aldridge and Joerg Fachner
Editorial 7
Music Therapy Today
Vol. VII, (1) March 2006
Effects of music therapy

and counselling: A case of
state anxiety of a Ca
Hypo Pharynx patient
Sundar, Sumathy
Abstract:
This paper is about a single case study of a Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Hypopharynx patient, to find out if receptive music therapy could be combined
with comprehensive counseling and providing health information as a cognitive
behavioral intervention to address psychological distress and situational anxi-
ety, which are common problems with cancer patients in a hospital environ-
ment. Baseline data was collected from the patient using Spielbergers State-
Trait Anxiety Inventory. Assessments were done for situational anxiety before,
during and after the music and counseling interventions. Pre- and Post-test com-
posite anxiety scores were compared, which indicated the efficacy of the treat-
ment. Though the primary endpoint of the study was state anxiety, the unique
experiences of listening to music, which could be explained only by the patient
listening to music and the self report made by the patient when analysed
reflected the spiritual dimensions of the music therapy sessions
8
Sundar, S. (2006) Effects of music therapy and counselling: a case of state anxiety of a ca hypo pharynx patient. Music
Therapy Today (online) Vol. VII (1) 8-29. available at http://www.MusicTherapyWorld.net
Keywords: Head & Neck Cancer, Carcinoma Hypopharynx, music

therapy, educative and informative counseling, health information on
cancer, state anxiety, cognitive behavioral intervention
Background:
THE CULTURAL AND Music Therapy is just an emerging discipline in India that warrants more
TRADITIONAL CONTEXT
FOR MUSIC THERAPY IN research in this area to make it evidence based. The existence of Music
INDIA
Therapy as a belief system and the integrated approach in treatment of
diseases advocated by medical professionals in the clinical arena has
made them turn favourably towards Music as a promising therapy. The
potentials of the ancient healing roots of Indian Music like Nada Yoga,
Vedic chanting and Ragachikitcha have been recognized by various med-
ical professionals, psychologists and musicologists and music therapists,
making them engage in more and more of experimental studies which
might strengthen and vouch for the efficacy of Indian music and to make
music therapy an evidence based practice (Sumathy & Sairam, 2005).
Indian music is predominantly melodic in nature and the unique Raga

system, born of the various combinations and permutations of notes with
the existence of microtones and different embellishments, produces
sweet and soft impressions in the minds of listeners. They gratify the soul
of the listeners and not just the senses. The Ragas create a consoling and
transcending attitude of the mind, elevate the listener to an ethereal plane
and purify the knots of the mind.
Since the ancient times, Indian music had a very clear differentiation in
the different forms of music in use and had recognized the different
aspects of music and the ways of expressing with the specific tone and
rhythm to bring the desired equilibrium or desired emotions. The music
Background: 9
of the peasants was different from that of the intellectuals. The music of
the stage was different from that of the temple and the music for enter-
tainment was different. This suits the therapeutic application of different
kinds of music to cater to the preferences of the clients in the clinical set-
tings (Sumathy & Sairam 2005).
Devotional music or Bhakti music is a vast repertoire in India which

serves to convey traditional values and it pervades every part of the soci-
ety, spreading devotion to God. It is an integral part of Hindu religion,
culture and life. Traditionally, devotional music in South India has
emerged out of religion, centered in and around the temple and with wor-
ship. Although social strata, in general are maintained within the society,
listening to and singing devotional music and congregational worship is
one area where persons from diverse social groups join together (Simon,
R Leopold. 1984).
CONTEXT FOR MUSIC Cancer patients experience a wide range of stressors during the stages
THERAPY IN ONCOLOGY
SETTINGS from diagnosis to treatment. Cancer not only presents physical chal-
lenges but also number of emotional and social needs during the illness,
which necessitates integrated care addressing the psychological distress
that the patients experience. With special reference to Head & Neck Can-
cer (HNC) patients, the disfigurement and dysfunction aspects account
for the psychosocial consequences to this group. The treatments offered
to HNC patients such as surgical resection, local radiotherapy or the pres-
ence of a specific device could also contribute to disturbances in the
physical, social and psychological domains. Psychological problems as a
consequence of the time taken for diagnosis and treatment due to
involvement of various diagnostic procedures is common in HNC (Amir,
Z. et al. 1999). Anxiety is a common symptom experienced by cancer
patients which is mainly situational, in relation to stressful painful surgi-
Background: 10
cal procedures and treatments such as radio or chemo therapy

(Chaturvedi, K Santosh & Chandra S. Prabha 1998).
In this context, there is a growing body of literature regarding music ther-

apy experiments that have been researched and documented in oncology
settings in the West. A psycho immunology study identified significant
changes in salivary immunoglobulin A for oncology patients as a func-
tion of music therapy (Lane 1991). Music therapy is used to promote
relaxation, to reduce anxiety, to supplement other pain control methods
and to enhance communication between patient and family (Bailey 1983;
Bailey 1984). Bailey also discovered a significant improvement in mood
when playing live music to cancer patients as opposed to playing taped
music, which she attributes to the human element being involved. In
addition to reducing pain, music as relaxation and distraction has been
tried during chemotherapy to bring overall relief (Kerkvliet 1990) and
listening to preferred music during a single chemotherapy treatment
reduced nausea and vomiting (Frank 1985). Focus of attention to music
can forestall or blunt the perception of pain (Standley 1986). From the
initial diagnosis throughout the course of the disease, treatment and reha-
bilitation to the cure or end of life, music therapy is a service that
addresses both the medical and psychosocial needs of the patient; It
meets common psychological objectives in oncology like fear, anxiety,
stress or grief and music therapists facilitate health objectives by reduc-
ing intensity or duration of pain, alleviating anxiety and decreasing the
amount of analgesic medication needed (Standley & Hanser 1995). Pain
and anxiety provoked by noxious medical procedures experienced fre-
quently by cancer patients may be controlled by cognitive behavioral
interventions such as music or distraction (Kwekkeboom 2003).
MUSIC THERAPY AND Also there are studies which have been documented that counseling tech-
COUNSELING
niques are often paired with music to achieve emotional objectives such
Background: 11
as expression, adjustment, stability or locus of control; that music and

assessment abilities could be combined with counseling, therapeutic and
teaching skills to facilitate specific health or rehabilitative objectives
(Standley & Hanser 1995). Use of music activities and counseling for 8
weeks reduced anxiety in adult and terminally ill patients (Gross &
Schwartz 1992) Music therapy combined with social work techniques
maximized counseling benefits with pediatric patients (Slivka & Magill
1986), psycho-behavioral interventions have shown to benefit meta static
breast cancer patients and use of music therapy, a cognitive behavioral
intervention using music strategies to cope with cancer related stressors
basing on a transactional stress coping frame work with meta static breast
cancer patients produced immediate benefits of enhanced relaxation and
comfort (Hanser 2005) Music Therapy could be combined with psycho-
logical counseling to achieve desired therapeutic goals in clinical settings
(Sairam & Sumathy, 2005).
Together, these studies demonstrate the authors initial understanding of

the positive outcomes of combining music therapy and counseling tech-
niques in a mixed group of patients with varying diagnoses, treatment
regimens, and stages of disease. All provided some evidence to support
that music therapy and counseling maximized benefits.
In this background, the author found out in her working experience in an

oncology setting that almost all the patients who were not formally edu-
cated and who had a lower socio economic background, diagnosed with
cancer did not have the knowledge about the complexities of the disease
and its treatment. When suddenly exposed to the illness, they had great
difficulty in coping with the stressful situation. The patient centered
music therapy sessions encompassing trusting and caring relationship
with the music therapist necessitated the author to clear all the apprehen-
sions regarding the treatment side effects besides giving health informa-
Background: 12
tion and comprehensive counseling regarding the disease, the procedures,

the side effects, to cope with the side effects and also on the adherence to
the treatment regimen. When the patients were adequately informed
about the disease, their coping became easier and they were more recep-
tive to music therapy sessions and the situational anxiety that was com-
monly expected with the patients was immediately alleviated. Also, the
role of psychological counseling (educative and informative counseling)
the patients became of paramount importance to the author to avoid mis-
conceptions and irrational fear about the disease and providing emotional
support to address the psychological needs, in addition to the music ther-
apy techniques.
The author, in order to formalize these clinical stories, undertook to

experimenting on this in a more objective manner by systematically doc-
umenting the findings and resorted to a case study design, which is a
common feature of staying close to the practice of the clinician (Ald-
ridge, 2002) to involve the patient in the process to make her also reflect
what is going on (Aldridge, 2003).
The Case study
PATIENT DATA The patient from the Cancer Institute in Chennai, India is a female, 36
years old, married, had studied up to Vth Division and was not employed,
had a lower socio economic status and a rural background. In clinical
examination, a squamous cell carcinoma (Hypo Pharynx), was diagnosed
and was found in post Cricoids region (Grade I-II; NG Intermediate)
and the tumor measured 4 x 2.5cm x 2.5cm. The goiter was involving
both lobes. The following investigations (check the glossary below) were
done when she entered the music therapy treatment: Hematology &
Urine, Radiology Chest (PA) View, ECG, OGD Biopsy, Brushings from
The Case study 13

Cricopharynx, FNAC (L) Lobe of Thyroid, DLDP Esophagospy, Barium

Swallow, CT Scan Neck, Rigidoscopy Biopsy, PFT.
Her former treatments included a jejunostomy, which is a surgery in

which the jejunum is brought outside of the abdominal wall by creation
of an opening between the jejunum and the anterior abdominal wall
which will allow artificial feeding. She also received a laryngo pharyngo
esophagectomy with gastric pull up along with post radiation treatment.
Physical symptoms were reported as difficulty in swallowing, progres-

sive dysphagia, she had an edema in the neck, weight loss was reported,
as well as choking sensation on taking food, severe pain on swallowing
and pain radiating to the ear. Behavioral symptoms included crying
spells, poor sleep patterns, a craving for normal oral feed and restless-
ness. Affective symptoms were reported as excessive fear, the client
reported feelings of anxiousness, isolation, worthlessness and described
herself as being hopeless. She had worrying thoughts about dying,
reported difficulty when trying to concentrate, had intrusive thoughts and
was catastrophising about her state of illness. In her interpersonal rela-
tions she felt totally withdrawn from others and felt socially inferior.
AIMS Aims and objectives of our music therapy treatment therefore was focus-
ing on the following aspects:
To bring down the level of state anxiety of the client by eliciting relax-
ation responses by music sessions as a behavioral intervention
To help the client to have a better personal control of the disease and
its treatment by counseling
To educate the client on the disease and the treatment she had to
undergo by giving health information.
To give emotional support to the patient
The Case study 14

TREATMENT SCHEDULE, The author recorded the patient variables including age, gender, ethnic
PSYCHOMETRIC
MEASURES AND heritage, education, income, type of cancer, the symptoms, and the proce-
THERAPEUTIC
INTERVENTIONS dures to be performed and previous procedures. A listening pattern
schedule developed by the author consisted of instructions and 20 ques-
tions on the following factors: musical training, musical preferences,
duration of listening to music, time of listening to music, pattern of lis-
tening, preferred mood to music and general responses to preferred
music. The musical selections made for use in the intervention were
based on the patients musical preferences, treatment goals and approach
(Sumathy, 2006).
SPIELBERGER STATE Anxiety was assessed at the base line with the STAI (Spielberger, 1999).
TRAIT ANXIETY
INVENTORY (STAI) The STAI was completed immediately after the diagnosis, during surgi-
cal procedures, before surgery, after surgery, before radiation treatment,
during radiation treatment and after the radiation treatment. The STAI
state portion measures feelings of apprehension, tension, nervousness
and worry. Scores increase in response to physical danger and psycholog-
ical stress. The scale consists of 20 statements that evaluate how the
patients feel right now with scores ranging from 20 to 80 rated on a 1
(not at all to) 4 (very much). The scale has been documented to be reli-
able and valid and has been extensively used with cancer patients and
music therapy studies. Self-Report by the patient was also recorded every
day of how the patient felt after the music therapy and counseling ses-
sions.
The Case study 15

The Tamil language version of the listening pattern schedule and the
STAI were read out loud to the patient and the responses recorded by the
author.
TABLE 1. Timeline of Interventions
Schedule of music listening and counselling sessions (on the

Different stages of Intervention same visit)
After the diagnosis 1st visit (on the day of the diagnosis)
During surgical procedures 2nd visit (when the surgical procedures were going on)
Before the surgery 3rd visit (2 days before the surgery
After surgery 4th visit (one week after the surgery)
5th visit (one week before the commencement of the radiation

Before radiation treatment treatment)
During radiation treatment 6th visit (7th day of the radiation treatment
After the radiation treatment 7th visit (On the last day of the radiation treatment)
SELF-REPORTS AND The patients husband wrote the daily self-report by the patient and kept a
DIARY
diary. The assessments were made during each stage before the music
therapy and counseling sessions so as to know the effects of the previous
sessions to rule out the possibility of temporary positive outcome imme-
diately due to music and counseling sessions.
COUNSELING SESSIONS The entire history of the patient from the case record - the diagnosis, the
stage of the disease, the treatment planning of the doctors, the nature of
the treatment that had been planned, the surgical procedures that she had
to undergo before the surgery were comprehensively collected. The
patient was very quick in developing a working relationship with the
author and she was encouraged Catharsis for emotional ventilation at the
outset.
The Case study 16

The subsequent session was to know the cognitive structure of the client,
gathering information about her fears, the social support she has, her
family background, the reason for her excessive fear and anxiety by
informal interview.
The musicality and listening pattern of the patient to choose the right type
of music for daily sessions to elicit relaxation responses were assessed.
During treatment planning, the author realized the need to provide infor-
mation support about the disease, the diagnosis, the symptoms relating to
her disease, about the further investigations that she had to undergo
before the treatment, the time taken for the extensive investigations she
had to undergo and the need for such investigations before the surgery
etc. We discussed her faulty assumptions and negative thoughts about the
disease, the treatment and the music and counseling intervention was to
focus on changing the cognition to produce desired change in the behav-
ior and cognition. The sessions were also designed to make her under-
stand and accept reality about her losing her voice, significance of the
surgery and to help her to cope with the treatment and to provide emo-
tional support.
The counseling sessions also targeted to alleviate anxiety level, to change

the cognitive map of the patient before and after treatment, to help the
client understand the reality of the situation and to help the client to gain
confidence to face the future after the surgery Laryngo Pharyngo esoph-
agectomy by counseling.
RECEPTIVE MUSIC The subsequent sessions targeted to give music listening sessions, the
THERAPY
INTERVENTION songs chosen by the author. It was light devotional music of half hour
duration, for five days a week during the entire period of her stay (about
2 months) in the hospital. The patient was administered with light devo-
The Case study 17

tional music recordings of the author through CD Walkman. The songs

chosen were simple south Indian devotional songs of the modern times
with easy-to-understand lyric and religious theme, devoid of any techni-
cal virtuosity, in medium tempo, having both melodic and literary beauty.
Here is one example:
The song is in Raga Dwijavanthi, a hexatonic raga with frequent usage of

special oscillations (Mudrita, Ullasita, Kampita).
Kampita is a type of oscillation or a shake. The manipulation of the

note is such that there is not even the remotest suggestion of the adja-
cent notes (Sambamurthy, P 1998).
Ullasita is a kind of a glide of notes, which is of two kinds. Upward
glide and downward glide. This oscillation is obtained by starting on a
note and reaching a higher or lower note as the case may be, by glid-
ing over the intermediate notes without at the same time giving the
impression of the individuality of these intermediate notes (Sambam-
urthy, P 1998).
Mudrita is a kind of oscillation produced by closing the mouth and
singing (Sambamurthy, P 1998).
The ascending notes in the raga are: s r m g m p d s
The descending notes are sndpmgrgrs
The MP3 excerpt in Dwijavanthi is a popular melody, a simple light

devotional song in medium tempo with meaningful lyrics in Tamil lan-
guage administered to the patient frequently on her request.
---Download an MP3 excerpt Dwijavanthi.mp3 (2,9 MB) ---
TRANSLATION OF THE One cannot get peace of mind

SONG (BY THE
AUTHOR): Even by doing penance.
But being in your sanctum sanctorum
Brings comfort and tranquility.
The Case study 18

The light of the month karthigai

And the beauty of the cymbals
In your sanctum sanctorum
Where, the primordial sound OM resonates
all bring solace and peace of mind.
Your cymbals, the dancing peacock

And the flag of the cock at the sanctum sanctorum, where all
Your devotees visit everyday to pray to you
Bring comfort and peace of mind
Results and discussion

The primary goal of the treatment was to bring down the state anxiety of
the patient by music sessions and counseling.
STATE AND TRAIT For analysis, the composite score in the STAI was taken to compare the
ANXIETY INVENTORY
(STAI) levels of anxiety during different stages of assessments. During base line
assessment, the patients level of trait anxiety was low (30), but her level
of state anxiety was the highest (65) immediately after the diagnosis. At
this stage, the cause of anxiety in the patient was multidimensional -
Diagnosis of cancer in Hypo Pharynx, the treatment by way of surgery by
which she would lose her voice, the fear of the major surgery, the fact
that she could not eat normally, various minor procedures she had to
undertake before the surgery - etc.
After the music therapy and counseling sessions, the findings show that
the anxiety level of the client had come down considerably (34) during
the pre surgical procedural stage (see figure 1).
Results and discussion 19

FIGURE 1. STAI levels of anxiety in different stages
Levels of anxiety in different stages
70
60
50
40
ety scores
30
Scores obtained
20
10
0
After During Before After surgery Before During After
diagnosis surgical surgery Radiation radiation radiation
procedures treatment treatment treatment
Different stages of assessment
The time line of the interventions as tabled below show that the actual
positive effect of music and counseling happened after surgery, which is
reflected by the recording of the anxiety level. The anxiety level is
reduced to a great extent in a stable manner, after the surgery, prior, dur-
ing and after the radiation treatment sessions.
TABLE 2. STAI levels of anxiety in different stages of intervention
STAI Anxiety
Different stages of Intervention Times of Intervention scores
3rd visit (2 days before the surgery 65
Before the surgery
4th visit (one week after the surgery) 63
After surgery
5th visit (one week before the commencement 34
Before Radiation treatment of the radiation treatment)

TABLE 2. STAI levels of anxiety in different stages of intervention

6th visit (7th day of the radiation treatment 36
During radiation treatment
7th visit (On the last day of the radiation treat- 30
After the radiation treatment ment)
The patient was informed on the causes of the long time taken between
the diagnosis and the treatment, combination of treatments like surgery
and radiation, the ignorance and faulty beliefs about the disease allevi-
ated anxiety. The scores just before the surgery was high (65), as she
would lose her voice after the surgery and the anxiety levels arose in spite
of the earlier music therapy and counseling sessions. Immediately after
the surgery, the pain and the fact that she had lost her voice made her feel
anxious to face the future.
The music sessions were welcoming relaxing sessions and the counseling
sessions provided the patient with information and emotional support,
trained for relaxation, brought about cognitive restructure by changing
faulty beliefs and the irrational fear by educating the client with relevant
information about the disease, the investigation procedures, the treatment
modalities and the side effects of the treatment etc. Emotional crying
spells and expressions of fear of death were absolutely controlled (see
figure 2).

FIGURE 2. Levels of emotional outbursts and fear of death
Levels of emotional outbursts and fear of death
30
Number of crying spells and expression of fear of death
25
20
15 Reihe1
10
0
1st week 2nd week 3rd week 4th week 5th week 6th week 7th week 8th week
Weekly Assessments
SELF-REPORT The self-report of the patient recorded by the author after the music ther-
apy sessions revealed that the spiritual undercurrent of the songs gave
strength and morale boost to her sore heart when her inner strength was
failing. The songs elevated her spirits and brought solace and peace of
mind after a prayer to God in the form of listening to the songs and that
she believed that God would do good things to her. She would continue
to listen to these songs every day.
FIGURE 3. Self report after the music sessions as recorded by the

author and translated.
I look forward to the music sessions

By listening to these songs, I can feel a compassion for the sore heart
and succour when inner strength is failing.
The spiritual undercurrent is a strength and a morale boost
I strongly feel that God will resolve my issues.
It elevates my spirits to face my challenges everyday.
The lyric of the song gives a great solace to me.
The beat of the music lifts the heart
The songs bring solace and peace of mind in a distressing mood
It is like a prayer to me
My mood is improved
I am able to forget my worries.
I will sleep well today
I feel good and relaxed. My mind is clear
I dont feel the pain
I am happy to be away from the ward for these sessions and listen to
soothing music, as the moaning sounds of the other patients disturb
me.
I want to listen to these songs regularly to elevate my spirits whenever
I am low.
The end of the intervention report given by the patient translated.
Listening to music was a great solace and comfort to me when I

was suffering. The informative and the educative sessions about
the disease, the treatment sessions and the after effects of the
treatment helped me to get rid of my fear and also gave me
strength to face the life bravely and to accept things as they come.
The songs lifted my heart and I believe that God will save me and
will take care of me. Good things will happen to me and I have
faith in him. He will never turn me down.
Conclusion
This single case study of combining music therapy and educative and
informative counseling techniques suggest maximum benefits in alleviat-
ing situational anxiety with cancer patients and would pave the way for
more and more work to be undertaken in oncology settings to strengthen
these formalized recordings. It is also an attempt to emphasize that the
Conclusion 23
caring and social dimensions warranted in the health care delivery system
could be met with and be reinforced by Music Therapists when they com-
bine counseling techniques in their therapeutic sessions. The more cul-
tural and traditional Eastern music has a spiritual influence, which
expresses ones devotional feelings and may bring comfort, hopes and
peace of mind to the listeners.
Glossary
MEDICAL TERMS USED Barium Swallow: It is an x-ray test to examine the upper digestive tract
IN THE PAPER.
(oesophagus, stomach and small intestine.
Carcinoma: Cancer of the epithelium, the tissue that lines the skin and
internal organs of the body.
Catharsis: Clients are encouraged to let their emotions out freely during
counseling process, so that their feelings are ventilated.
DLDP ESOPHAGOSPY: Examination of esophagus by a tube inserted

into the mouth
Dysphagia: A condition in which swallowing becomes difficult
Edema: Swelling
FNAC: Fine needle aspiration cytology in which a thin needle is used to

withdraw fluid or cells from the tissue and examined for the presence of
cysts or tumour
HNC: Head and neck cancer
Hypo Pharynx: Bottom portion of the throat
Glossary 24
Jejunum: Part of the small intestine between the duodenum and the ileum
Jejunostomy: A surgery in which the jejunum is brought outside of the

abdominal wall by creation of an opening between the jejunum and the
anterior abdominal wall which will allow artificial feeding
Larynx: Voice Box or the organ responsible for the production of vocal
sounds. It is also an air passage conveying air from the pharynx to the
lungs.
Laryngo Pharyngo Esophagestomy with gastric pull: Surgery done in the

treatment of extensive carcinoma of the hypo pharynx, larynx and cervi-
cal oesophagus.
Pulmonary function tests: Tests in assessing the functional status of the

lungs as a part of pre operative evaluation
OGD Biopsy: is a procedure that enables a gastro entrologist to visualize

the esophagus, stomach and duodenum using a thin flexible tube that can
be looked through or seen on a TV monitor and biopsy performed on the
tumour
Radiation treatment: This treatment uses large doses of high-energy

beams or particles to destroy cancer cells in a specifically targeted area.
(www.mdanderson.org)
Radiology: The branch of medicine concerned with the use of radiation

including X-rays
State anxiety: Transitory emotional state of a person characterized by

subjective consciously perceived feelings of tension and apprehension
and heightened autonomic nervous system.
Glossary 25
Trait anxiety: Denotes relatively stable individual differences in anxiety

proneness and refers to a general tendency to respond with anxiety to per-
ceived threats in the environment.
References
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Aldridge, David (ed.) Research in Complementary Therapies: Papers
revisited and continued. (pp. 93-101) E-Book on Aldridge, D. & Fachner,
J. (eds.) Music Therapy Info CD- Rom Vol. IV. Witten: University Wit-
ten/Herdecke.
Aldridge, D (2003) Staying close to practice: Which evidence, for whom,

by whom. Music Therapy Today (online) Vol. IV, Issue 5, available at
http://musictherapyworld.net
Amir, Z., Kwan, S. Y., Landes, D., Feber, T. & Williams, S. A. (1999)
Diagnostic delays in head and neck cancers. European Journal of Cancer
Care 8, 4, 198-203.
Bailey, L.M. (1983) The effects of live music versus tape-recorded music
on hospitalized cancer patients. Music Therapy 3, 1, 17-28.
Bailey, L.M. (1984) The use of songs with cancer patients and their fami-
lies. Music Therapy 4, 1, 5-17.
Chaturvedi, K Santosh & Chandra, S Prabha (1998) Psychopharmacol-

ogy in Oncology Practice. Psycho-oncology current issues. P 26. NIM-
HANS. Bangalore.
Frank, J. (1985) The effects of music therapy and guided visual imagery
on chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting. Oncology Nursing
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chronically ill patients. Music Therapy 2, 43-52.
Hanser, S. B. (2005) Effects of a Music Therapy Intervention for Women

with Metastatic Breast Cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum. Volume 32.
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Kerkvliet, G. J. (1990) Music Therapy may help control pain. Journal of

the National Cancer Institute 82, 5, 350-2.
Kwekkeboom, Kristine L. (2003) Music versus Distraction for Proce-

dural Pain and Anxiety in Patients with Cancer. Oncology Nursing
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Lane, Deforia (1993) Music Therapy: Gaining an Edge in Oncology

Management. The Journal of Oncology Management. January//February
Sambamurthy, P. (1998) South Indian Music - Vol. IV. (12th edn).

Madras: The Indian Music Publishing House.
Simon, R Leopold. (1984) Spiritual aspects of Indian Music. New Delhi:

Sundeep Prakashan.
Slivka H.H. & Magill L. (1986) The conjoint use of social work and
music therapy in working with children of cancer patients. Music Ther-
apy, 6, 30-40.
Spielberger, C. D. (1983) Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory

(STAI). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Standley J. M. (1986) Music research in medical/dental treatment: Meta-

analysis and clinical applications. Journal of Music Therapy 23, 56-122.
Standley J M. & Hanser S.B. (1995) Music Therapy Research and Appli-
cations in Pediatric Oncology Treatment. Journal of Pediatric Oncology
Nursing 12, 1 (January), 3-8.
Sumathy, Sundar (2004) Music Therapy: Gaining an edge in health care

system. Shanmukha 30, 4 (Oct.Dec.), 23-25.
Sumathy, Sundar & Sairam, T. V. (2005) Music Therapy Traditions in

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Author information
Sumathy Sundar
MA (Indian Music), MA (Applied Psychology), Dip. In Counselling Psy-

chology.
Ph.D. research scholar with University of Madras in Music Therapy.
President, Nada Centre for Music Therapy, Chennai, India
ADDRESS Nada Centre for Music Therapy,
Plot No.11/25 Jothi Ramalingam Street,
Madipakkam,
Author information 28
Chennai 600 091, India
http://www.nada.in
THIS ARTICLE CAN BE Sundar, S. (2006) Effects of music therapy and counselling: a case of
CITED AS: state anxiety of a ca hypo pharynx patient. Music Therapy Today
(online) Vol. VII (1) 8-29. available at http://www.MusicTherapy-
World.net
Peer reviewed article - Received 22. May 2005 ; accepted in revised

form 14. February 2006
Author information 29
Music Therapy Today
Ethics in music therapy:

the role of the patient
Padula, Alessandra
In order to outline the theme ethics in music therapy: the role of the
patient, we need first of all to define the main terms.
In this paper music therapy means therapeutic or rehabilitation-aimed

treatment which uses music and its components (melody, rhythm, vocal
and instrumental performance, and so on) to stimulate the patient to
heighten his perception, his ability to use speech/language, motorics,
socialization and, last but not least, to open up to his unconscious self, so
helping to resolve psychic conflicts through catharsis. 1
Thus using music therapy to cure psychic diseases can be considered a

particular form of psychotherapy
which makes use of music means and practice

to start an interaction between therapist and patient
as part of an individual or group therapy (Padula, 2005).
The term ethics means that part of philosophy that deals with human
behaviour, especially the criteria which people use to decide how they
1. Editors note: The WFMT definition can be found at http://www.musictherapyworld.net/mod-

ules/wfmt/w_definition.htm
30
Padula, A. (2006) Ethics in music therapy: the role of the patient. Music Therapy Today (Online) Vol.VII (1) 30-38.
available at http://musictherapyworld.net
react and what choices to make; the word ethics comes from the Greek
thos, which means either behaviour or customs. Thus, ethics describes
which behaviour is considered acceptable in certain societies; which val-
ues guide this behaviour, and which kind of social processes lead to the
establishment of these values as behaviour models.
Thus, ethics can also be considered a doctrine of social dialogue, within

which values and rules that individuals and groups have to respect in
their behaviour emerge and disappear.
As Aristotle says in his Nicomachean Ethics, we have some duties to our-

selves (e.g. self- preservation, deepening our cultural level, self-improve-
ment) and some duties to the others (contributing to social life through
our moral and economic actions).
When an individual, living in a society, chooses to comply with these

duties, he initiates two processes which are both positive: the individual
can enhance his own activity, and at the same time his social group can
rise toward higher human goals (Aristotle, 1999).
So, it would be interesting to reflect upon ethics in music therapy, but

focusing on the role and the work of the patient, rather than on the role
and the work of the therapist.
Some works of C.G. Jung on this subject are important despite their brev-
ity: Adaptation and Individuation and community (original titles: Anpas-
sung and Individuation und Kollektivitt, both dated October 1916),
address Aristotles thought from a new point of view.
Whereas Aristotle defines ethics as complying with our duties towards

both ourselves and society, Jung defines psychological adaptation as
being an adaptation to inner as well as to external conditions. The adapta-
31
tion to the inner world, called the individuation process, is achieved

when the individual is aware of his own singular personality; the adapta-
tion to the external world, called adaptation to the community process, is
considered as an atonement offered to the community by the individual
as expiation for expressing his own individuality vis--vis society (Jung,
1983).
Evidently, Jung (differently from Aristotle) considers the two processes

as divergent although part of a dialectic, ever changing balance.
Especially innovative is the third point in Jungs theory on adaptation,

called adaptation to analytical therapy: this is a twofold adaptation, to
the therapist and to the method which he uses: the patient has to trust in
the therapist and place his confidence in the effectiveness of his methods
and techniques (Jung, 1983).
As regards music therapy, the reaction to the therapy can be assessed by

the degree of confidence in this specific form of psychotherapy, and in
the therapist who uses it.
So, paraphrasing Jungs words, we can say that the therapy must be the
main thing: in order to have the best development, this adaptation must
take place in the beginning of the therapy so that the patient becomes
enthusiastic about it and places trust in the therapist (as Jung says) to
grasp the basic ideas of the method (Jung, 1983: VII, 310).
Musical expression through movements which make sounds (hand clap-

ping, feet stamping, finger snapping, and so on) and vocal and/or instru-
mental improvisations and performances correspond to the process of
individuation. The types of sounds (number, pitch, volume, timbre,
length, and so on) are very common, but each patient can combine and
change them all, so creating a musical sequence which is at the same time
32
self- expression and product, reflecting his condition at this stage of the
therapy.
In The relationships between the Ego and the unconscious (original title:
Die Beziehungen zwischen dem Ich und dem Unbewussten, 1928), Jung
says that the singularity of each individual comes from an unrepeatable
combination of functions and faculties which are in themselves univer-
sal (Jung, 1983: VII, 173).
Through his musical performance the patient can manifest his own indi-
viduality, i.e. his being different from other people.
Fromm too, in his The Sane Society emphasizes that mental health is
characterized by a sense of identity, based on the way in which the indi-
vidual experiences himself, as the subject but also the applier of his own
powers (Fromm, 1980: 72) . He specifies that mental health is marked
by the capability to grasp either our inner reality or the external one
(Fromm, 1980: 74). In fact a person whose only reality is his own mental
processes, sensations and needs is like a psychotic, unable to perceive the
objective reality of the external world (Fromm, 1980).
Thus, the process of adaptation needs to work in the opposite direction.

This is called by Jung adaptation to the community.
This adaptation can be compared with musical communication, which

occurs when someone begins a sequence of instrumental, vocal or
sound-gestures which leads on to dialogue with two or more voices as
part of a music therapy.
Indeed, in an individual therapy there are two possible communication

partners, the therapist and the patient, whereas in a group therapy other
subjects can take part in the musical communication (other patients,
33
patients relatives and even strangers) so that the concept of community

becomes much more significant.
In his The structure of unconscious (original title: Die Struktur des Unbe-
wussten, 1916), Jung writes that the adaptation to the community is
achieved through imitation, a process that creates a dependence on the
environment and hinders the excesses of individualism.
In the musical dialogue the process of imitation is essential to build up a

common sense of purpose; someone who imitates a musical sequence
just performed by his communication partner, has evidently listened to it
with care and openness. He is no longer concentrating on himself, but is
waiting for his turn, striving to analyse the sequence, to learn it by heart
and to perform it in the best way.
However, mere repetition will not help the dialogue to develop its poten-
tial: uniform repetition will soon cause tiredness and boredom, and that
will lead the communication partners to break off the dialogue.
On the contrary, an appropriate musical response must be quite similar to

the original sequence, so that it can be identified as part of a shared con-
versation, and at the same time it must be made quite different by intro-
ducing variations.
Little changes may concern, for instance, timbre differences between two
voices, or between two instruments, changes of speed, changes in the use
of silences and so on; changes of greater importance may include the way
of organizing melody, rhythm, harmonization, and so on.
In music therapy the principle of imitation is practiced in this way, with

each partner becoming used to changing his internal feeling and respond-
ing to external conditions.
34
Fromm too reflects on this theme. He shows that it is a mistake to

become too conformist. This can turn individuals into time-servers, who
are so afraid of being individualistic, and paying the penalty of being in
the minority, that they voluntarily give up their freedom, originality and
autonomy, hoping to gain acceptance and approval by the community.
Fromm emphasizes resolutely the risks of practising both behaviours in

an absolute and thus excessive way: an excess of individualism leads to
psychosis, an excess of conformity leads to alienation.
Now, going back to the definition of ethics (ethics is a reflection on val-

ues that guide socially approved forms of conduct) we can see that Jung
and Fromm both deem that it is fundamental to take an active part in
ones own community, but without giving up ones individuality and self-
integrity.
Fromm particularly stresses the value of productivity, significantly

defined as an active and creative relationship of a human with himself
and with his fellows, which can be effectively realized in the arts
(Fromm, 1980: 39, 333 ff).
Art is a form of expression which is always active and creative, because

even those who merely enjoy a work of art, when they enter into a rela-
tion with this work, strive to comprehend it, re-creating in themselves a
series of thoughts and emotions, analogous to that experienced by the art-
ist.
The sharing of an artistic experience establishes a relationship among

those who enjoy the work of art, its creator, and all those who, in the
course of time, enter into a relationship with this work: in enjoying a
musical piece, for instance, the listener becomes part of Gadamers
hermeneutic circle (Gadamer, 1983: 312 ff, 340 ff) establishing rela-
35
tionships with the composer, the musicians who have performed the
piece, the music critics who have analysed it, and so on.
Therefore, the music therapy course consists of moments of listening,

expressing and communicating through sounds and silences, and the
patient who begins that course has the best chance to experience Jungs
processes of adaptation :
adaptation to the therapy, with the patient adapting himself to the basic
rules of music and striving to grasp the fundamental ideas of this ther-
apeutic method
adaptation to the therapist, having trust in the therapist and in the
methods and techniques he uses
adaptation to the inner state, seeking for correspondences between the
musical pieces the patient listens to and his own inner world, and
expressing the contents of that inner world through his own musical
performance
and adaptation to external conditions, seeking to enjoy musical pieces
as a shared experience and establishing musical communication with
other people.
References
Aristotle (1999), Etica nicomachea, Bari: Laterza.
Fromm, E. (1980), Psicanalisi della societ contemporanea (original

title: The Sane Society), Milano: Edizioni di Comunit.
Gadamer, H.G. (1983), Verit e metodo (original title: Wahrheit und

Methode). Milano: Fabbri, Bompiani, Sonzogno, Etas.
Jung, C.G. (1983), Adattamento (original title: Anpassung), in Jung, C.G.

(1983), Opere, Torino: Boringhieri, VIII, 309-312.
References 36
Jung, C.G. (1983), Individuazione e collettivit (original title: Individua-

tion und Kollektivitt), in Jung, C.G. (1983), Opere, Torino: Boringhieri,
VIII, 313-314.
Jung, C.G. (1983), Lio e linconscio (original title: Die Beziehungen

zwischen dem Ich und dem Unbewussten), in Jung, C.G. (1983), Opere,
Torino: Boringhieri, VIII, 21-236.
Jung, C.G. (1983), La struttura dellinconscio (original title: Die Struktur

des Unbewussten), in Jung, C.G. (1983), Opere, Torino: Boringhieri,
VIII, 263-305.
Padula, A. (2005), Comunicazione sonora e musicoterapia, 2nd editino,

Biella: Accademia Perosi.
Author Information
Author Information 37
Alessandra Padula is an Italian musician and music therapist. She holds

the MMs in both piano and harpsichord (Pescara Conservatory) and MA
in Linguistics (Chieti University).
Professor in piano at Pescara Conservatory, she has served as member of

several conservatory committees. Previously on the Education faculty of
LAquila University and Social Sciences faculty of Chieti University, she
came to the Medicine faculty of LAquila University in 2003, where she
teaches music therapy in psychiatric diseases.
She has received some awards for music performance, music teaching
and organizing of social projects.
THIS ARTICLE CAN BE Padula, A. (2006) Ethics in music therapy: the role of the patient. Music
CITED AS: Therapy Today (Online) Vol.VII (1) 30-38. available at http://musicther-
apyworld.net
Music Therapy Today
The revival of Traditional Oriental

Music Therapy discussed by cross
cultural reflections and a pilot scheme
of a quantitative EEG-analysis for
patients in Minimally Responsive State.
Gerhard K. Tucek1, Monika Murg2, Ann

Mary Auer-Pekarsky', Walter Oder1
Robert Stepansky2,
Introduction:
In this paper we will present a short report about the exciting trial to
revive Traditional Oriental Music Therapy (TOMT). Further we would
like to present preliminary data of an EEG study. It is a project of trans-
cultural relations as well as connecting history with the present time.
In the early 70ies of the last century Dr. R. Oruc Gvenc, who is teaching
now at Marmara University in Istanbul, started his research on some his-
torical documents of Turkish music therapy such as the "hasim bey mec-
1. Institute for Ethno-Music- Therapy, Niederneustift 66, A-3924 Schlo Rosenau (Head of the
Institute: Mag. Dr. Gerhard Tucek)
2. Rehabilitation Centre for Brain Injury Patients, Allgemeine Unfallversicherungsanstalt, Kun-
dratstrae 37, A- 1120 Vienna, (Medical Director: Prim. Univ. Prof. Dr. Walter Oder)
39
Tucek, G.; Murg, M.; Auer-Pekarsky, A.M..; Ode, W. & Stepansky, R. (2006) The revival of Traditional Oriental Music Therapy ...
Music Therapy Today (Online) Vol.VII (1), (March) 39.64. available at http://musictherapyworld.net
muasi" (picture 1), which was written approximately 150 years ago. I
have had the pleasure of taking part in this work since 1984.
FIGURE 1. "hasim bey mecmuasi"
Whereas Mr. Gvencs perspective is a more traditional and Turkish one,

my approach to this therapy is a more trans-cultural and clinical one.
From my professional background I am a cultural scientist as well as a

music therapist. As a clinical music therapist I work in the fields of neu-
rological and cardiologic rehabilitation, children-oncology, multiply
handicapped children and psychiatric rehabilitation. Today music therapy
Introduction: 40
in general has to be seen as a rational science as well as an art with irra-

tional aspects. We know that anthropological, cultural and personal dis-
positions play an important role in the reception of music.
From my perspective as a cultural scientist, TOMT has its value as a his-

torical expression of Turkish and Arabian cultural soul. From the per-
spective of a clinician this cannot be a sufficient argument for
establishing an Islamic method of music therapy in Europe. Very often I
have been asked the following question: Why should we use TOMT in
Europe? We had to find conclusive answers. (I will discuss this point a
little bit later). The revival of TOMT is a process on different levels and
made it necessary to establish:
Educational and training programmes

Clinical practice
Research on historical documents
Clinical research in different medical fields
Social research on the reception of TOMT by clinicians, patients and
colleagues
I will focus my paper on two aspects.
ASPECT ONE: As the head of an institute where students are trained in this method, I
have to take care that courses are not misunderstood as an esoteric fairy-
tale or religious educational programme.
As we know that this music therapy has one of its roots in Sufi-music
and in Islamic Sufi-philosophy it is very important to insist on teaching
just a therapeutic method and that it is not required to profess a special
religious belief or path.
Introduction: 41
FIGURE 2. Music therapy - scene in the hospital in Edirne
As our students have different backgrounds they also have very different
approaches to Turkish and Arabian culture. That's why we have to dis-
cern four different levels in the quality of this trans-cultural and -reli-
gious contact.
According to Wolfgang Mastnak, just knowing the name of Turkish or

Arabian culture lacks deeper experience or depends merely on unfounded
associations. The maximum this nominal level of cultural understanding
Introduction: 42
is able to achieve is similar to the correct solution of a crossword puzzle

[in 33].
Following nothing else but the exotic fascination of a foreign culture one
risks replacing appropriate cultural understanding by the bare projection
of ones own desires. Intercultural encounter on this projective level
would rather mean misuse in order to supply some very personal want
than the true trans - cultural touch. The illusion of a fairy - tale - like
experience of culture seems to charm more than tough but appropriate
ethnological approach.
There is a huge gap to bridge between the projective level of imagination

on the one hand and the competent level of cultural consciousness on the
other. Making an effort to comprehend culture as it is, and to become
aware of the anthropological difference between two different cultures
characterize a competent approach to an unknown living space. As this is
the way ethnology goes, the quality of results depends on the crucial
interplay between scientific research and the scientist's ability to acquire
competence similar to primary acculturation.
The authentic level of cultural comprehension, however, results from

being educated both within the territory referred to and by parents
belonging to the culture concerned. Probably biological factors play a
considerable role as well. This level need not necessarily include high
theoretical knowledge nor does it assure appropriate reflection on cul-
tural problems. Thus ethnological findings might seem to be superior to
native cultural know how. Nevertheless an indubitable truth inheres
authenticity which belongs to those who form a culture's vivid substance.
Natives may be considered to dispose of the might to modify their culture
beyond dilution or destruction.
Introduction: 43
In other words this authentic level cannot be achieved by European stu-

dents. It has turned out that it is not always easy to come to an agreement
on what we have to focus on:
a revival of a historical Turkish/Arabian tradition of the 8th-18th cen-

tury
or
the adaptation of this method to the needs of students and patients in

Europe of the 21st century.
Let me give a little example:
According to the historical concept of ritual pureness during the treat-

ment of patients, we have to face the facts that students can neither be
obliged to learn Islamic purification nor to practise the Islamic ritual
prayer, because both belong to an inner attitude and not to a therapeutic
method.
In the lessons on the historical backgrounds of TOMT we reflect with our

students upon the idea of "purification" (in Islam aspired by abtest) as
well as the ideal of returning to ones deepest inner source through medi-
tation (in Islam aspired for instance by "namaz" or special sufi medita-
tion techniques)
Such a non-rational aspect as the inner attitude of a therapist is not neces-

sarily fixed to any specific religious belief. Everybody is asked to find
his/her own approach to these topics.
I have already discussed problems of "TOMT in the Diaspora" in previ-

ous publications [11-13].
Introduction: 44
ASPECT TWO: Before coming back to the question I have mentioned above: "Why
should we use TOMT in Europe?" let me give some information on the
historical background of TOMT.
TOMT has its roots in the healing ceremonies of central Asian shamans
as well as in the wisdom of Islamic scholars (like for instance Al Kindi,
Al Farabi, Avicenna, Rhases etc.) who developed a system of tonalities
(Makam) which was influenced by the medical and musical systems of
the Greek (Galen, Aristotle, Plato). TOMT was integrated into Islamic
medicine.
FIGURE 3. Edirne 1
Introduction: 45
FIGURE 4. Edirne 2
FIGURE 5. Edirne 3
The effects of the Makams have been documented for about one nine
hundred years. Music became a connecting link between the physical and
psychic process.
Introduction: 46
Translations of historical documents about TOMT were published by

Kmmel [30], Shiloah [27], Farmer [32], Neubauer [29], Brgel [31] and
others. Also Nil Sari [28] worked on this topic.
Today we use these documents as an inspiration for our clinical work.

According to historical literature, (in the beginning of our clinical work
about 10 years ago) TOMT followed the idea of direct influences on
physical organs and emotions. Its effects were described as follows:
Activation and strengthening of the immune system

Balancing physiological stress (reduction of the side effects of medi-
cal drugs e.g. cytostatic drugs)
Ease from acute and chronic pain
Evoking a general disposition of cheerfulness and joy (helping to
overcome anxiety and depression; balancing pathological emotions
etc.)
Integration of various dimensions of personality through acceptance
and transformation. (physical, emotional, cognitive, social, mental/
spiritual)
We have to understand that in todays German-speaking countries there

live almost four million Turks as well as many more people from Islamic
countries. Very often medical treatment fails with these people because
we cannot offer appropriate methods according to their cultural back-
ground. By the way, to me this seems to be an important aspect for the
Turkish medical system too. I have the impression that the modern Turk-
ish medical system is grounded just on biological treatment. Psychologi-
cal aspects seem to be more or less ignored. TOMT might be an
appropriate offer to Muslims who live in Europe.
Concerning the question of how to use TOMT for European patients I am

going to show you two short sequences of our practical therapeutic work.
Introduction: 47
FIGURE 6.
Download video
Quicktime mp4 (2,3 M B) / Realplayer .rm (5,8 MB)
FIGURE 7. 4 months later
Download video
The patient you will see is already in an advanced state of rehabilitation.

Because of ethical reasons I do not show any patient in the full state of
Introduction: 48
the apallic syndrome. The patients wife permitted me to show these two
video sequences.
Today we use historical documents as an inspiration for our clinical

work. We focus on the patients abilities (and not his pathology), the spe-
cial character of Turkish music and a joy- and meaningful interaction
between patient and therapist. That means the necessity of transferring
emotional aspects through music in our cultural understanding. In other
words, the music is understood as a container for new emotional
aspects. This aesthetically new aspect should not be too far away from
the world of cultural experience of the patient.
EEG Study
According to our findings in the EEG-research it seems, that oriental
Makam music and pentatonic scales can be easily processed by patients
in a minimal responsive state of an Apallic Syndrome. But also in that
case, the music has to be understood as meaningful interaction and per-
formance between patient and therapist.There does not seem to be any
more devastating neurological condition than the minimal responsive
state following extremely severe brain injury [8, 21].
BACKGROUND Due to improvements in modern medicine many more patients survive

extremely severe traumatic brain injury who would have died some
years ago. Up to one third of them only obtain arousal with no sign of
awareness. This neurological condition has been termed Apallic Syn-
drome [1, 2].
Vegetative functions persist in these patients, but there seems to be no

evidence of voluntary responses to various exogenous stimuli, of lan-
guage expression or comprehension. Functional neuro-imaging studies
EEG Study 49
with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) have demonstrated that asso-

ciation cortices are functionally disconnected [3, 4]. Misdiagnosis is not
uncommon, prognosis of the likelihood of recovery is regarded as
extremely difficult. Initially, recovery may not be an all- or- none phe-
nomenon but is often characterised by subtle and inconsistent reactions to
stimuli dependent on the patients actual clinical condition and also
heavily on the environment [5-7]. The term minimally responsive state
has recently been used to characterise this neurological state [9, 10].
Rehabilitation efforts focus on:
prophylaxis and treatment of complications

and on inducing early recovery by means of various stimulating pro-
cedures
In this context TOMT may be seen as a special kind of stimulant tech-

nique.
The bio-physiological effects of music. Musical stimuli like tones or

melodies are known to be processed in the secondary auditory cortex in
the right superior temporal gyrus. An auditory working memory system
has been found in the right hemisphere with extensive connections to the
frontal lobe. The left hemisphere is also involved in listening to more
complex musical stimuli. Areas in the visual cortex area are also acti-
vated while listening to music, possibly a correlate of provoked visual
imagery [16-19].
AIMS We use the Makams Rast and Segah which effect the functional sys-
tems of the brain and eyes as well as the Makam Nihavent which is
related to muscle relaxation. The structure of these makams are not too
far away from the aesthetic experience of European listeners.
EEG Study 50
The main aim of TOMT in the rehabilitation of patients in a minimally

responsive state is to induce communication and to increase awareness.
We were using the EEG to correllate TOMT induced changes of vigi-

lance, consciousness states and awarenes.
PATIENTS AND METHOD Over the past nine years we have treated about 200 patients with TOMT.
TOMT tries to communicate with patients in a minimally responsive
state on two different levels:
1. primarily, in a non-verbal way by means of the Makam music as

well as pentatonic scales
2. secondary, by means of establishing a therapeutic relation between
patient and therapist referring to Bubers philosophical concept of
"Me - You / Me - It - relation"[14, 15].
In five male patients in a minimally responsive state (age: 39,6 range 32-
47) and two female controls (23 + 28y)
serial EEG-recordings (5 recordings each, all together 35 recordings)

were performed prior to, during and after TOMT played live, 15 min-
utes each, using digital quantitative EEG recordings (Oxford Medelec
10/20 System, Fast Fourier Transformation, Multimedia Medelec)
Serial neurological scoring by means of the Coma Remission Scale
(KRS) according to Schnle [26] was done.
EEG Study 51
RESULTS FIGURE 8. Results coma remission scale before and after TOMT
(N=5)
Legend: Arousal/Attention (0-5); Motorical startle (0-6); Speech motoricity (0-3);

Auditory reaction (0-3); Visual reaction (0-4); Tactile reaction (0-3)
EEG Study 52
FIGURE 9. Results CRS; SSEP and EEG for 5 patients (only in

German)
FIGURE 10. EEG -alpha and theta increases seem to be more

marked over central regions in controls (Kontrollpersonen)
EEG Study 53
during TOMT and over temporal regions (see figure 11) in

patients (Patienten) after the music.
FIGURE 11. (Patient Data) Temporal Theta and Alpha changes

left (li) and right (re): before (vor), during (whrend) and after
(nach) TOMT.
EEG Study 54
FIGURE 12. Patients show an increase of alpha- and theta power

over both occipital regions which reflects an improvement either
of vigilance and relaxation but also partially preserved auditory
processing.
FIGURE 13. Healthy control subjects (Kontrollpersonen) show

an increase of alpha and theta power over the left occipital region
EEG Study 55
which reflects auditory processing more in the left hemisphere

than in the right
DISCUSSION The increase of alpha power reflects relaxation and was observed in all
patients and in the control subjects in at least two brain regions during
therapy. The increase of theta and alpha power could be interpreted as a
neurophysiological correlate of a possible positive effect of TOMT, since
the patients also showed an improvement in KRS-score after therapy
(Figure 8 on page 52 and Figure 9 on page 53), and control persons
reported a trance-like condition during TOMT.
The clinical observations of these patients during the weeks of rehabilita-

tion documented some signs of overall recovery in these patients. Of
course, the patients in the minimally responsive state were not able to
give us a verbal feedback concerning the therapy, but the improvement in
the KRS-score seems to be one hint, and the EEG-findings another one.
At any rate, it seems remarkable that TOMT can induce changes in con-
sciousness with corresponding bioelectrical alterations demonstrated by
EEG Study 56
means of quantitative EEG recordings at least in some of the minimally

responsive patients.
Analogous findings in healthy persons during trance and hypnosis are

consistent with the results of the present study: An increase of theta
waves seems to be the bioelectrical equivalent of these altered states of
consciousness [22-24]. In this context, the study of Ramos und Corsi-
Cabrera [20] seems to be interesting, pleasant music is associated with an
increase of theta power.
Many methodological difficulties have to be considered in the present

study:
Data registration turned out to be rather troublesome in the extremely

severely impaired patients because of movement artefacts. In other
words: every time when the patient shows a concrete reaction we see
EEG artefacts. EEG measuring may show a general activation or
relaxation through the effect of music, but not the aspect of interaction
between patient and therapist.
Interpretation of the quantitative EEG-examinations is difficult in the
group of patients since all had survived extremely severe brain injury
in demonstrating marked abnormal standard EEG examinations indi-
cating focal or generalized lesions.
CONCLUSION Therefore, the interpretation of our first results has to be interpreted very
cautiously. Regional changes in electrical brain activity cannot be
detected in this small sample group. Generalized EEG-changes reflecting
changes in the consciousness level may be induced by music, but there
might be confounding variables like tiredness, uncomfortable recording
procedures, pain etc.
In the rehabilitation of patients in the apallic syndrome comfortable posi-

tioning and pleasant surroundings are extremely important. In further
studies we will have to ensure for optimal testing conditions for all sub-
jects. In further studies it seems useful to evaluate the subjective feelings
EEG Study 57
and impressions of the healthy controls by means of a standardized ques-

tionnaire in order to test the hypothesis that a trance-like condition is
associated with an increase of theta and alpha power.
Further studies dealing with a more representative sample group of

patients are necessary to evaluate the effects and the possible benefits of
TOMT in extremely severely impaired neurological patients.
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Author Information
FIGURE 14. Gerhard Tucek
Music therapist, specific interests: neurological and cardiological reha-

bilitation, pediatric oncology, work with handicapped persons; clinical
therapy research; practice research. University education: studies of
applied cultural sciences (Mag.phil.) and ethnology (Dr.phil.); university
training course in practice research; studies of traditional oriental music

therapy with Dr. Oruc Gvenc
1989 2000 establishing the School for traditional oriental music ther-
apy in cooperation with Dr. Oruc Gvenc. Since 1997 Director of the
course in traditional oriental music therapy. Since 2004 Lecturer at the
University for Music and Performing Art, Vienna, since 2005 at the Insti-
tute for Culture & Social Anthropology of Vienna University. Since
2002: Director of the seminar and lecture series Mensch Kunst
Medizin (in cooperation with GAMED and Karajan Centrum Vienna).
2004: Founding member and Director of IMARAA (international music
and art research association austria)
ADDRESS: Institute for Ethno-Music-Therapy, Niederneustift 66, A-3924 Schloss

Rosenau (Head of the Institute: Mag. Dr. Gerhard Tucek)
THIS ARTICLE CAN BE Tucek, G.; Murg, M.; Auer-Pekarsky, A.M..; Ode, W. & Stepansky, R.
CITED AS: (2006) The revival of Traditional Oriental Music Therapy discussed by
cross cultural reflections and a pilot scheme of a quantitative EEG-analy-
sis for patients in Minimally Responsive State. Music Therapy Today
(Online) Vol.VII (1), (March) 39-64. available at http://musictherapy-
world.net
Music Therapy Today
Performative Health a
commentary on Traditional
Oriental Music Therapy
David Aldridge
We see that human activity is a performance. Consciousness, or knowing

with, is a dialogical activity. We can speak of the ecology of communica-
tion as a mutual dynamic performance. The same can be said of cogni-
tion. It is a dynamic state that we achieve with others. Rhythm is a
substrate of this ecology; not fixed but dynamic and flowing.
The performative metaphor was developed because I wanted to get away

from the mechanical concept of chronological time and a body that could
be repaired like a mechanism. We are more like works of art, and com-
posed improvised pieces of work that at. Indeed, by extending the meta-
phor we can regard ourselves as works in progress, if not working in
progress. This has implications for the performance of our development.
Development is not simply a process that takes place in babies and small
children. We develop throughout our lives.
When we think about development, we often consider this in linear

progress like climbing a ladder upwards for the most of our lives with a
65
Aldridge, D. (2006) Performative Health a commentary on Traditional Oriental Music Therapy. Music Therapy Today
(Online) Vol.VII (1) 65-69. available at http://musictherapyworld.net
rapid decline at the end. However, maybe our lives are not so simply per-
formed. Sometimes we regress, to make leaps forward. If we release our-
selves from the idea of a developmental ladder of progress, then we can
open ourselves to a constellation of stages through which we move dur-
ing our life course. And, stages are those places where performances can
take place.
Such participative performances were traditionally the basis for healing

rituals that included music. One of the difficulties about writing about
traditional approaches is that they are located in a past, that has its own
validity, but how can they be transposed in time to the present and to
other cultures. Comparison between classical Sufi descriptions of a mys-
tical states and mystical stations demand considerable reinterpretation
even if we want to integrate them with modern and post-modern concerns
about the mysticism of everyday life. The Sufi path is marked by a num-
ber of different stages or stations (maqam/maqamat) which the Sufi trav-
eler passes through as he advances on the path. On his way the Sufi also
experiences various psychological and emotional states. States differ
from the stations through which the Sufi passes in that the states are tran-
sitory experiences granted to him by God and over which he has no con-
trol, whereas the stations are permanent stages on the path which he has
achieved through his own individual effort.
One of the difficulties in studying Sufi writings is that authors will differ
in their categorization of states and stations. One reason being that the
knowledge of such states is gained through interior experiences rather
than on knowledge gained through the external senses. A second, but
related reason, is that each teacher will pass on that experience according
to the time, place and students that he is teaching. We can see the same
things for the teaching that Gerhard Tucek writes about. These teachings
were specific for a particular time, place and persons, like all schools of
66
therapy. Transferring them directly to a modern day context is rather like

trying to turn us into 14 century musicians or 11th century patients in a
particular location in Turkey. Traditions have to live anew and that is
through the direct understanding of making music today.
In trying to understand healing musics then we must locate these within

cultures that are relevant to their performance. We not only have per-
formers but listeners. When we consider musics that heal, then we also
have rituals that are located within particular communities with clearly
defined roles and expectations. In some countries, musicians playing this
music were from a particular caste and had a specific hierarchical rela-
tionship with the Sufi teacher and with their patrons. The principal func-
tion of the music was not in terms of healing but religious, in terms of
spiritual attainment, although some musical modes were considered to be
healing. The reasons why some of these musics are no longer applicable
to health care delivery is that either they have been superceded by prac-
tices that are more effective, the natures of illness has changed relevant to
time and culture, and our expectations of the process of sickness and
recovery is different.
The use of the term may be at first confusing. Maqam is literally a station
in terms of a spiritual station or developmental level, as distinct from a
state of consciousness. It is also a "scale" or "mode" in Arabic, Indic and
Near-Eastern music. The maqam (plural maqamat) is a musical theme or
style that defines the pitches, patterns, and development of a piece of
music. If we wish to translate this into a Western term, the terms that
comes closest to describing the maqam is the mode. A mode, in music, is
an ordered series of musical intervals, which along with the key, or tonic,
define the pitches. In the world of Arab musics, the word maqam refers to
specific tone scales, of which there is an enormous variety, and these
include a vast range of `microtones'. The Arabic scales, from which
67
maqamat are built, are not even-tempered, unlike the chromatic scale
used in Western classical music. Instead, 5th notes are tuned based on the
3rd harmonic. The tuning of the remaining notes entirely depends on the
maqam. The reasons for this tuning are probably historically based on
string instruments like the oud. A side effect of not having even-tempered
tuning is that the same note (by name) may have a slightly different pitch
depending on which maqam it is played in.
Many maqamat include notes that can be approximated with quarter

tones, although they rarely are precise quarters falling exactly halfway
between two semitones and depend upon microtonal subtleties. Each
maqam must be learned by ear. This aural tradition is taught by a teacher
and protected by that teacher. We also see this in terms of Sufi teachings
that are passed on from teacher to seeker, where the teacher encourages
the seeker to have experiences that lead to knowledge. Hence, each
teacher will emphasizes that it is his way that must be followed, and his
way alone. This causes particular problem in modern systems of learning
where students are encouraged to learn in modern settings but with a tra-
ditional, and sometimes fossilized, attitude.
Music as healing agent, music in healing rituals and music therapy in cul-
tures of care are all vibrant activities that we can be involved in. We have
resources of knowledge that can be shared and pooled. There is no one
singular way of understanding this multiplicity of knowledge. Fortu-
nately we are developing research cultures of tolerance that see human
knowledge as being many-sided. Together we can orchestrate our know-
ings into a symphony of wisdom. In this sense health is a performance
that can be achieved. Health is not simply a singular performance; it is
performed with others. A woman that Wolfgang Schmid worked with
said she was no longer a patient but a musician. Here lies an element of
healing, the change in self-awareness from a stigmatized person with a
68
degenerating future to the emergence of a proud creative artist. To

achieve this performance she needed the mutuality of the relationship in a
context that we dened as healing.
THIS ARTICLE CAN BE Aldridge, D. (2006) Performative Health a commentary on Traditional

CITED AS: Oriental Music Therapy. Music Therapy Today (Online) Vol.VII (1) 65-
69. available at http://musictherapyworld.net
69
Music Therapy Today
Music, perception and

altered states of
consciousness
Aldridge, D., Fachner, J. and Schmid, W.
A lecture series at the Chair of

Qualitative Research in Medicine
and the Institute of Music Therapy
Thursdays 5.30 7.00 p.m.,

University Witten/Herdecke, Room
2.316
Our normal waking consciousness, rational consciousness as

we call it, is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all
about it, parted from the filmiest of screens, there lies potential
forms of consciousness entirely different (James, 1902, p.228)
70
Aldridge, D., Fachner, J., and Schmid, W. (2006) Music, perception and altered states of consciousness. Music Therapy
Today (Online) Vol.VII (1) 70-76. available at http://musictherapyworld.net
The subject of this lecture series is the therapeutic, ritual, hedonistic and
spiritual use of music, and related aspects of alterations in perception and
consciousness. How does music effect patients in persistent vegetative
state, or persons whose self-perception is impaired by pathological pro-
cesses? How can a song from an early period in life trigger spiritual ques-
tions in a person at the end of his or her life, and give consolation and
hope? How does music perception change, at a rave party for example,
under the influence of psychoactive drugs? What is the role of music
itself, and what is the role of the context where music is heard or pro-
duced?
Sensual perception
Altered states of consciousness appear attractive when we feel burdened
down by all the routines, the haggling and tedious details of everyday
life. We want to Get away from it all, lie on a beach, let the sun warm
us after a swim. The music drifting over from the beach bar sounds alive
and real. Maybe a few drinks help and companions too can be a distrac-
tion. What changes then my normal state of consciousness? The music,
the drinks, the company or the sunshine?
In 1966, in the Archives of General Psychiatry, Ludwig described

altered states of consciousness as changes in thinking, time perception,
loss of control, changes in emotionality, body scheme, perception, expe-
rience of meaning; a feeling of the unexpressable, of renewal and rebirth
and hyper-suggestibility. Music and intoxication appear to have the same
forms of emotional processing, at least with regard to the processing in
the limbic system. Everybody has musical preferences, and there are
those very special pieces of music that make us shiver. Based on such
musical favorites, Blood and Zatorre demonstrated that musical informa-
Sensual perception 71
tion reaches brain structures that are involved in conveying emotions.

Test persons listening to favorite music revealed changes not only in the
activity of the autonomous nerve system, as demonstrated by changes in
cardiac beat, muscletone, skin resistance and depth of breath, but also in
blood flow in brain structures that are involved in processing emotional
stimuli according to latest research. The activation pattern (blood flow)
of regions in the brain closely resembles activation patterns induced by
drugs that have a primarily euphorising effect, like cocaine for example.
This indicates that the perception of favorite music directly interacts with
structures associated with emotions (Blood & Zatorre, 2001).
Music and consciousness as performance

Music and consciousness are things we do, as David Aldridge writes
in his book on which this lecture series is based (Aldridge & Fachner,
2006). What we do, we do in a context that is experienced in time and
space, where our attention is directed selectively to those matters which
we can perceive and which are significant in specific situations. On a day
at the seaside, the beautiful beach and the deep-blue sea are not simply an
aesthetic background to perception but are essential dynamic elements of
that consciousness.
Deliberate processual changes in the perception of one's own person,

own self and body through music, meditation, hypnosis and psychoactive
substances etc. have been used for therapeutic purposes in many ways.
For a long time therapists have attempted to change the (usual) focus of
perception. William James experimented already with nitrous oxide or
laughing gas when he explored the limits of our sensory perception and
the selective processes of a deliberately perceived world marked by
socialization and enculturation.
Music and consciousness as performance 72

When music is used in medical settings of neurological rehabilitation, as

we will see in some lectures during this series, we are concerned with
returning people to those performances of their bodies within which they
can dwell and recognise ourselves. People are encouraged to fit into an
ecological niche that is performed. Rehabilitation is a process refitting us
to a set of habits that make living sense. Sense in a neurological way of
feeling and sense as understanding. Fitting into an ecology is a continu-
ing performance that we have with others; it is dynamic not fixed - like
making music, like achieving consciousness, like performing health
(Aldridge 2005b). The weak, the sick and the needy - the people we will
hear about in some parts of this seminar series - also are part of that per-
formance we have as a communal life. Not only are we challenged to
help them fit into living life to the full, they challenge us to perform com-
passion.
Borderline experience
Art, as therapy, seeks to transcend the limitations of illness by dynami-
cally altering the aesthetics of perception. Guided Imagery in Music',
was a product of psychedelic therapy in the early sixties, where psycho-
active substances were used under the supervision of psychotherapists.
The therapeutic purpose was to weaken psychological defenses and pro-
duce, combined with a programmatic use of classical and modern music,
an unhampered flow of associations for psychotherapy (Bonny & Savary,
1973). After the wave of drug prohibition, only music was left for thera-
peutic journeys of imagination. Psychedelic therapy research in this area
was restricted. Currently we see a renaissance of research with psyche-
delics, and some of the research protocolls discussed by health authori-
ties even mention the application of music (Horgan, 2005).
Borderline experience 73
Studies addressing state-specific memories in the sense of psychiatric

'model psychosis' promise interesting results for an understanding and
explanation of music therapy processes in Alzheimer and dementia
patients (Thaut & de l'Etoile, 1993). State-specific processes may be trig-
gered by the singing of songs and help to create a present time structured
by music through intensive memories of the past, of youth and health. In
contrast, music therapy appears to remind drug addicts of drug-induced
states (Horesh, 2003).
Ethnic healing rituals frequently use monochromic sounds and pulsation

instruments. Many instruments used for such purposes, drums, wind or
stringed instruments, have their specific function within the ritual, stem-
ming from tradition, myths, cosmologies and corresponding musical
practice. There is an on-going argument between researchers and clini-
cians which aspects are really significant: the sound characteristics of
instruments, their symbolism, the context and procedures, or the mental
intention between the activities. We shall critically review studies from
anthroplogy and ethnomusic science that provide details on healing ritu-
als and describe the use of music therein.
But we do not have to go far; in our local hospitals and therapeutic living
communities we find approaches to change consciousness and perception
with therapeutic interventions. We know that coma patients are well able
to hear something; but what their brain makes of this is not necessarily
what we construct in the so-called 'normal state'. In music therapy inter-
action, we learn of other states of consciousness. Every person has the
potential to make his or her state of consciousness audible, no matter the
source of their disability. The immediacy of music helps open the doors
of perception.
Borderline experience 74
This seminar series will illustrate through a number of varying presenta-

tions how music researchers and therapists are working in varying set-
tings where consciousness is changed. We will see how the University
meets the community. Many of the presenters have completed their doc-
toral studies through the Chair of Qualitative Research in Medicine. Our
academic studies have relevance in daily practice, as they also arise from
that daily practice, thus completing the circle of the reflective practitioner
in the community of inquiry (Aldridge 2005a,b). The majority of present-
ers in this series are trained musicians as well as having recognised qual-
ifications as scientists. Therefore, the music and music therapy
perspectives become truly inter-disciplinary.
References
Aldridge, D. (2005a). Case study designs in music therapy. London: Jes-

sica Kingsley Publishers.
Aldridge, D. (2005b). Music therapy and neurological rehabilitation:

Performing health. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Aldridge, D. & Fachner, J. (Eds.). (2006). Music and altered states

Consciousness, transcendence, therapy and addictions. London: Jessica
Kingsley.
Blood, A.J., & Zatorre, R.J. (2001). Intensely pleasurable responses to

music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and
emotion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 98(20), 11818-11823.
Bonny, H.L., & Savary, L.M. (1973). Music and your mind. Listening
with a new consciousness. New York: Harper & Row.
References 75
Horesh, T. (2006). Dangerous music working with the destructive and

healing powers of popular music in the treatment of substance users. In
Aldridge, D. & Fachner, J. (eds.) Music and altered states Conscious-
ness, transcendence, therapy and addictions. (pp.125-139). London: Jes-
sica Kingsley.
Horgan, J. (2005, 26. February). Psychedelic medicine: Mind bending,

health giving. New Scientist, 36ff. (http://www.newscientist.com/article/
mg18524881.400.html)
James, W. (1902). The variety of religious experience. New York: Mod-

ern Library.
Ludwig, A. M. (1966). Altered states of consciousness. Arch Gen Psychi-

atry, 15(3), 225 -234.
Thaut, M.H., & de lEtoile, S.K. (1993) The effects of music on mood
state-dependent recall. J Music Ther, 30(2), 70-80.
THIS ARTICLE CAN BE Aldridge, D., Fachner, J., and Schmid, W. (2006) Music, perception and
CITED AS: altered states of consciousness. Music Therapy Today (Online) Vol.VII
(1) 70-76. available at http://musictherapyworld.net
References 76
MUSIC THERAPY TODAY
VOL. VII (1) (MARCH)
Maintaining dialogue -
active music therapy for
people living with Multiple
Sclerosis
Schmid, Wolfgang
Introduction
In this paper I will present you some of my practical work from the con-
trolled study Active Music Therapy for people living with Multiple
Sclerosis, which I in a team consisting of a doctor, a nurse, a statistician
and under supervision of David Aldridge.
VIDEO EPISODE 1 I start with a video-episode out of this project. It shows the therapeutic
situation as it is representative for my work with patient and therapist
improvising music.
In this episode we both play on congas. The patient knows the instrument
and he plays it in a characteristic way, without pauses and with many
changes in his rhythmic ideas. He seems to be very concentrated on his
own playing and the coordination of his hands. In fact he has a medium
ataxia in his arms with problems to coordinate them.
77
Schmid, W. (2006) Maintaining dialogue - active music therapy for people living with Multiple Sclerosis. Music Therapy
Today (Online) Vol.VII (1) 77.98. available at http://musictherapyworld.net
I accompany him in different modes: first I try to follow him, then I start
to use pauses and play more impulsive rolls on my drum. This attracts his
attention to me as a fellow musician and his playing changes.
FIGURE 1. Episode becoming playful
Download video 1
Quicktime mp4; 1,3 MB / Realplayer rm; 2,1 MB
As you could hear and see, there were different levels of contact and
interaction in this episode.
In my qualitative analysis of all music therapy sessions I identified the

individual interaction and contact between patient and therapist as the
core-construct for the therapy-course and most important for the changes
in therapy. I will come back later to this idea, and continue with some
informations about MS, as well as the needs of the patients for comple-
mentary and alternative therapies. Then I will present you the findings of
my study, showing some quantitative results and the results of my quali-
tative evaluation, illustrating them with some video-episodes out of the
project.
Introduction 78
Background
Multiple Sclerosis is the most frequent inflammatory disease of the cen-
tral nervous system among young adults. There is an estimated number
of 2,5 million people with MS worldwide. A major fact, patients and
therapists are confronted with is, that MS is a degenerative disease and
there is no cure. MS causes a variety of symptoms and complex constel-
lations of symptoms, which can affect each area of human life. Main
symptoms are fatigue (a special kind of tiredness), sensory, motor and
speech problems. The origins of the disease have been intensively
researched in the last decade and it became possible to influence the
progress of the disease with medication to some degree.
While medical approaches undoubetly focus on a functional strategy for

treatment, we cannot ignore that diseases like MS have also implications
for the performance and appearance of a person in everyday life. As there
are no curative treatments, we are reliant on medical as well as on pallia-
tive interventions and rehabilitation. The frequently life-long process of
coping, that begins with the diagnosis of MS, requires continous efforts
to adapt to changing situations and obviously demands a range of thera-
pies which must also consider and encourage a patients creative abili-
ties.
According to recent publications, MS-patients are expressing increasing

interest in alternative and complementary therapies. One reason for this
is that the patients want to play a more active role in coping with the dis-
ease. Another reason is the demand for a wider range of therapies to meet
social and emotional needs and for mental health in general.
In my research for literature I found five studies about music therapy

with MS-patients (Alcock, 2001; Magee, 2002; Rothwell, 1997; Schmidt,
1998; Springer, 2001; Wiens, 1999).
Background 79
Four with qualitative, one with a quantitative design. They all have clini-
cal, but different backgrounds and show the benefits of music therapy in
giving patients a chance to become active, to become creative, and sup-
porting them in their coping process by singing and composing songs.
Only the quantitatve study from Wiens et al. (1999) has a controlled
design, showing that a special programme with singing and breathing
improves the respiratory muscle strenght in patients with advanced multi-
ple sclerosis.
THE STUDY In my controlled study twenty patients (14 female, 6 male) with MS were
involved. Their ages ranged from 29 to 47 years, and with an average dis-
ease duration of 11 years. Ten participants formed the therapy group and
ten the control group. The groups included patients with minimal disabil-
ity signs as well as patients with disability impairing full daily activi-
ties.The therapy group got three blocks of 8-10 individual sessions of
active music therapy (Nordoff/Robbins approach)over the course of one
year. Exclusion criteria were pregnancy and mental disorders requiring
medication. The protection of data privacy and the ethical aspects were
examined and approved by the Ethic Committee of the University of Wit-
ten/Herdecke.
Aims
The main questions for the study were:
What kind of specific support MS-patients can gain from Active

Music Therapy?
Which changes can be discovered in standardised interviews?
Aims 80
Method
FIGURE 2. Flexible design
Therefore we implemented a flexible design for the study, collecting

qualitative and quantitative data. This data consisted of video episodes
from the music therapy sessions. And a music therapy interview, asking
participants about their experiences with music therapy.
Both groups were interviewed with a neuropsychological test battery and

psychological interviews before therapy began and at three months inter-
vals.
Method 81
Results
FIGURE 3.
STANDARDISED At the start of the study and at the final assessment stage one year later
INTERVIEWS AND
TESTS: there were no significant differences between the music therapy group
and the control group. But improvements were found for the therapy
group over time in the scale values of self-acceptance, depression and
anxiety. This improvements can be compared as effect sizes (shown here:
dark blue: therapy-group; light blue: control-group). Here we see a con-
siderable effect between the beginning and the end of the therapy on
improving self-esteem and relieving depression and anxiety for the peo-
ple of the music therapy group. Only minimal improvements were found
in the subscale communication of the quality of life scale.In both
groups there were no recognizable changes in motor and functional abili-
ties.
So we could say, that the form of Creative music therapy used here is
valuable for promoting a positive self identity and relieving the emo-
Results 82
tional burden on a patient. Other music therapy approaches may focus

different subjects.
FIGURE 4. Self - acceptance (SESA)
The scale of self-acceptance shows a significant effect for the therapy

group in self-acceptance, which is comparable to the normal population
(the control group is shown in blue, music therapy group is shown in
orange).
Results 83
FIGURE 5. Subscale anxiety (HADS-A)
Significant differences were found for the therapy group and for the con-
trol group in the subscale anxiety of the HADS, while the values of the
control for depression and self-acceptance did not show any differences
over time.
This may be an indication that being recruited for a trial and being regu-
larly assessed is perhaps in itself an important intervention for this group.
QUALITATIVE I selected 37 video-episodes from the 226 sessions, showing characteris-

EVALUATION
tic situations of therapeutic change, which I found in a process of analys-
ing (that means looking at and listening to them) and in discussions with
my supervisor David Aldridge. The episodes were evaluated by Kellys
Results 84
Repertory Grid Method and the Therapeutic Narrative Analysis, finding

categories for what happens in music therapy.
A main result, the main categorie and core-construct of the qualitative

evaluation is the individual contact between MS- patient and therapist in
music therapy.
9 parameters for contact in music therapy. To describe this contact

more in detail, I found 9 sub-categories, I call them parameters for con-
tact in music therapy. These parameters are.:
1. attitude of patient and therapist towards therapeutic situation, that is

e.g. do we play or do we exercise and work in music therapy ?
2. the idea for joint music making, e.g. a melodic motif, a mental
image.
3. The question if we improvise or play or sing a composed piece of
music
4. the material for music making: e.g the choice of instrument or the
voice
5. the musical roles of patient and therapist (this is e.g.the question
who leads and who follows?).
6. the ability to structure time
7. the ability to initiate changes in play
8. For this we have the dynamic elements of music
9. movement which represents all signs of non-verbal body-language:
is there bodily movement or not, is there eye-contact or not.
When I start to describe an episode in terms of this parameters for con-

tact, I see that it is not only one parameter per episode, but two or more
parameters that are connected with each other.
In the next episode with he title thinking about music the parameters
attitude towards the situation, the clearness of the musical roles and
the temporal strucure are important for the contact, they are connected
with each other and can be used to explain the interaction.
Results 85
The episode shows the beginning of our playing: the patient has decided
to play four drums in the same sequence. You hear what happens, when I
try to follow his idea tone for tone, and what happens, when a clear
Metrum and Tempo are intoduced into the music.
FIGURE 6. Episode thinking about music
Download video 2
This episode as well as the others show, that parameters for contact are
connected with each other and occur together in groups. This groups
have dynamic qualities depending on how they are related to each other
in various situations. Although I found no hierarchy in the parameter sys-
tem, I can fix three groups of parameters.
Results 86
FIGURE 7. Basis parameters for contact - 1
There are the three basis-parameters: attitude towards therapeutic situa-

tion, the idea for joint music making and the material. Basis-param-
eters stand for conscious or unconscious descisions of patient and
therapist for the joint music making. They are a kind of frame for the
music therapy sessions. As all parameters their properties can change and
lead to another quality of contact.
Results 87
Beside the basis-parameters there are three interaction-parameters.
1. First is movement which stands for all aspects of non-verbal com-

munication like body-movements, gesture or mimic.
2. Second is the musical roles: I found that it is very important in
music therapy with MS-patients, to help them to find a clear musical
role, as we have it in a song for example. : singer and accompanist.
3. The third interaction-parameter is temporal structure, which means,
that the ability to structure time gives both players or singers a reliable
temporal ground for their interaction.
Results 88
Last but not least there are two alteration-parameters, which stand for
changes in music like ritardando or accelerando but also for changes in
style or mood of music.
Phases of contact. This three groups of parameters follow each other

and can be described as phases for contact in active music therapy with
MS-patients.
1. First phase is exploration: where patient and therapist become

active. Within his activity the patient can orientate himself.
2. The second phase is interaction: here a bodily experience comes
into music; the patient integrates his body-movements into his musical
expression. His body-expressions become part of the encounter.
3. The third phase is development: in which the expressive repertoire
of both, patient and therapist, develops and both find in a new balance.
Results 89
This three groups of parameters follow each other and can be described
as phases for contact in active music therapy with MS-patients.
1. First phase is exploration: where patient and therapist become

active. Within his activity the patient can orientate himself.
2. The second phase is interaction: here a bodily experience comes
into music; the patient integrates his body-movements into his musical
expression. His body-expressions become part of the encounter.
3. The third phase is development: in which the expressive repertoire
of both, patient and therapist, develops and both find in a new balance.
I would like to play some more episodes to you, focussing the second
phase of contact Interaction with coordination and bodily experience in
music therapy interaction.
I found that active joint music makong supports patients bodily experi-
ence as well as the expressive repertoire of their bodies.
Results 90
FIGURE 10.
This happens in many individual ways and is shown in the parameter

grafik. Movement can be supported by
MATERIAL: Instruments which have sounding qualities like gongs,

the steel-drum etc. in contrast to rhythmic instruments
singing songs as well as improvising
MUSICAL ROLES and TEMPORAL STRUCTURE: By playing in
an alternating, dialogic mode, which challenges both players
A moving instrument, as it can be seen in the next episode.
In the episode moving instrument the patient is interested in the sound

and movements of the ocean drum. She says that the instrument makes
movements she cannot do any more. I play with her, but also just listen to
her playing. The epsiode is an example for how a patient needs time to
come into contact with her own playing.
Results 91
FIGURE 11. Episode moving instrument
Download video 3
The episode singing is from the patient you saw before with the conga.
He sings freely and brave for his first time in therapy. With his voice as
material, he is independent from motor functioning and establishes a
slow and flexible tempo with rubatos. The music is enlivened by grow-
ing tension and relaxation. He seems to enjoy it and there is room for
emotional expression and sense of tone in the music.
Results 92
FIGURE 12. Episode singing
Download video 4
Quicktime mp4 (1,8 M B) / Realplayer .rm (3 MB)
For some patients it is not as naturally to sing. One idea was, to combine
body movements and singing. This can be seen in the next episode.The
patient was too shy for just singing, so we started to walk through the
therapy room, I started to make sounds with my voice in our walking
tempo, and the patients was able to join in. You see, how she moves and
even starts to dance.
Results 93
FIGURE 13. Episode playing and singing
Download video 5
Quicktime mp4 (880 kB) / Realplayer .rm (2,1 MB)
Bodily experience in active music therapy is also connected with the

musical roles and initiatives for changes as you saw it in the first epi-
sode. Ill play it again now. Please notice the sequence after we change
our mode from playing simulatenously to an alternating, dialogic one, the
patient involves his body more into his playing.
Results 94
FIGURE 14. Episode becoming playful
Download video 6
Quicktime mp4 (892 kB) / Realplayer .rm (2,1 MB)
The last episode is from the same patient; its out of his 10th session and
shows, how he transfers his experiences from singing to his playing on a
marimbaphone. His attitude and his idea about playing an instrument
changed completely. He communicates with body movements and with
an initiative and dynamic playing. He titled this improvisation: Swing
in my brain.
Results 95
FIGURE 15. Episode Swing in my brain
Download video
Summary
To summarize, I would like to quote from the music therapy interviews,
what the patients said about their music therapy experience.
Nine out of ten participants described that it was very important for them
to become personally active.
All ten participants reported an immediate improvement in their well-

being during the sessions. For eight of them this state continued till the
next day and was confirmed by partners or colleagues.
Seven participants described an enhanced perception of themselves with

an increasing self-confidence over the course of the therapy. They were
increasingly able to let themselves be surprised by their music and by
their own previously undiscovered skills.
Summary 96
Music and music therapy are experienced as something moving that

reduces negative thoughts about the disease and offers a means of expres-
sion for feelings of security, freedom and pleasure.
References
Alcock, G., Chambers, B., Christopheson, J., Heiser, D. und Groetzinger,

D. (2001). Complementary and alternative therapies for Multiple Sclero-
sis. In J. Halper (Hrsg.), Advanced concepts in multiple sclerosis nursing
care (S. 239-266). New York: Demos Medical Publishing.
Aldridge, D. und Aldridge, G. (2002). Therapeutic narrative analysis: A

methodological proposal for the interpretation of music therapy traces.
http://www.musictherapyworld.de/modules/mmmagazin, Ausgabe 12/
2002.
Kelly, G. A. (1955). The psychology of Personal Constructs I & II. New

York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Magee, W.L. (2002). Identity in clinical music therapy: Shifting self-con-

structs through the therapeutic process. In R. MacDonald, D.J. Har-
greaves u. D. Miell (Hrsg.), Musical Identities (S. 179-197). Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Rothwell P.M., Dowell, Mc Z., Wong, C.K. und Dorman P.J. (1997).
Doctors and patients dont agree: Cross sectional study of patients and
doctors perceptions and assessments of disability in Multiple Sclerosis.
British Medical Journal 314, S. 1580-1583.
References 97
Schmidt, H.U. und Hennings, U. (1998). Gruppenmusiktherapie bei

Patienten mit MS. Dokumentation des 10. Ulmer Workshops 1998. S. 70-
81.
Springer, A., Clark, S., Price, E. und Weldon, P. (2001). Psychosocial

implications of Multiple Sclerosis. In J. Halper (Hrsg.), Advanced con-
cepts in Mulitple Sclerosis nursing care (S. 213-237). New York: Demos
Medical Publishing.
Wiens, M.E., Reimer, M.A. und Guyn, H.L. (1999). Music therapy as a
treatment method for improving respiratory muscle strenght in patients
with advanced Multiple Sclerosis: A pilot study. Rehabilitation Nursing
24, 2, S. 74-80.
THIS ARTICLE CAN BE Schmid, W. (2006) Maintaining dialogue - active music therapy for peo-
CITED AS: ple living with Multiple Sclerosis. Music Therapy Today (Online)
Vol.VII (1) 77-98. available at http://musictherapyworld.net
References 98
Music Therapy Today
Connecting and learning

through music: music
therapy for young children
with visual impairments
and their families/
Kern, Petra
An Interview with Prof. Dr. Peggy

Codding, Berklee College of Music
Introduction
Dr. Peggy Codding is a faculty member in the Music Therapy Depart-
ment at Berklee College of Music, USA. She received her doctoral train-
99
Kern, P. (2006) Connecting and learning through music: music therapy for young children with visual impairments and
their families. Music Therapy Today (Online) Vol.VII (1), (March) 99-105. available at http://musictherapyworld.net
ing in music education and music therapy at The Florida State University
and is certified in Music Education and Special Education - Visually
Impaired. Dr. Codding teaches music special education, behavioral
assessment and observation and research courses at Berklee. Among her
broad professional experiences in the field, she provided consultation
services to music therapy clinician/music educator at the Tennessee
School for the Blind. She also served on the assessment team of the Chil-
dren's Diagnostic Series-Parent Training Program for the State of Tennes-
see. Dr. Codding published several articles on the topic visual
impairment. Her chapter Music therapy literature and clinical applica-
tion for blind and severely visually impaired persons: 1940-2000 in the
text, Effectiveness of Music Therapy Procedures: Documentation of
Research and Clinical Practice, is a key publication for all of us working
with individuals with visual impairments. In her writings, she clearly
describes the value of music as an auditory and vibrotactile medium and
its potentially to promote learning and development in individuals with
visual impairments. Dr. Coddings commitment to the broader commu-
nity is evident in her involvement in the Board of Directors for Genuine
Voices, a Boston-based organization designed to serve as enrichment for
at risk children and youth, and consultant to the Boston Minstrels, an
established community organization serving incarcerated, homeless, and
underserved persons through meaningful music participation. While writ-
ing a music therapy curriculum for university programs preparing per-
sonnel to serve infants and toddlers with visual impairments and their
families at the Early Intervention Training Center for Infants and Tod-
dlers With Visual Impairments, University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, I contacted Peggy to discuss with her latest developments in the
field of music therapy and early education for individuals with visual
impairments in the U.S. Some of these discussions we recorded in an
interview for the interested listener. Peggy Coddings knowledge and
Introduction 100
experiences certainly enriched my understanding of music therapy for

infants and toddlers with visual impairments. I find her open mind, inter-
ested in evidence-based practice, and resourcefulness inspiring and
encouraging. May the listener, both within and outside the field of music
therapy understand the value of sound and music as the bridge to the
social and physical world between infants and toddlers with visual
impairments and their families and friends.
Interview
Question: What impact does music have on very young children with
visual impairments?
Answer: CODDING_TEXT 1.mp3; 1 MB
Question: Which developmental goals can be addressed by music ther-

apy?
Answer: CODDING_TEXT 2.mp3; 1,1 MB
Question: How can they be achieved through music?
Answer: CODDING_ TEXT 3.mp3; 1,5 MB
Question: How are music therapy services for young children with visual
impairments and their families delivered?
Interview 101
Answer: CODDING_ TEXT 4.mp3; 852kb
Question: What role does music therapy play in a family-centered

approach?
Question: What are some of the study outcomes?
Answer CODDING_TEXT 6.mp3; 3,4 MB
Question: What is in store for the future?
Thank you Peggy for your time and commitment to the field of music
therapy and individuals with visual impairments.
References related to this topic:

Bertolami, M. D., & Martino, L. A. (2002). Music therapy in a private
school setting for children with handicaps who are visually impaired or
blind. Voices (online), 2 (1), March 2002, available at http://
www.voices.no.
References related to this topic: 102

Codding P. (1984). Music therapy for visually impaired children. In W.

B. Lathom, & C. T. Eagle (Eds.), Music therapy for handicapped chil-
dren. Volume I: for the hearing impaired, visually impaired, deaf-blind
(pp. 43-96). Washington DC: National Association for Music Therapy.
Codding P. (2000). Music therapy literature and clinical application for

blind and severely visually impaired persons: 1940-2000. In Effective-
ness of Music therapy procedures: Documentation of research and clini-
cal practice. Silverspring, MD: American Music Therapy Association,
Inc.
Davis, W. B., Gfeller, K. E., & Thaut, H. M. (1999). An introduction to
music therapy. Theory and Practice (2nd ed). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
Gourney, C. (1998). Music therapy in the treatment of social isolation in

visually impaired children. RE: view, 29 (4), 157-162.
Humpal, M. E. (2002). Music therapy for learners in an early childhood

community interagency setting. In B. L. Wilson (Ed.), Models of music
therapy interventions in school settings (2nd ed) (pp. 389-428). Silver

Spring, MD: The American Music Therapy Association, Inc.
Kern, P., & Wolery, M. (2002). The Sound Path: Adding music to a child-
care playground. Young Exceptional Children, 5 (3), 12-20.
Kern, P., & Wolery, M. (2001). Participation of a preschooler with visual

impairments on the playground: Effects of musical adaptations and staff
development. Journal of Music Therapy, 38 (2), 149-164.
Lathom-Radocy. W. B. (2002). Pediatric music therapy. Springfield, IL:

Charles C. Thomas Publisher.

Madsen, C. K., & Darrow, A. A. (1989). The relationship between music

aptitude and sound conceptualization of the visually impaired. Journal of
Music Therapy, 26, 71-78.
McHugh, E., & Pyfer, J. (1999). The development of rocking among chil-
dren who are blind. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 93, 82-
95.
Palmer, R. (n.d.). Feeling the music philosophy. A new approach in

understanding how people with sensory impairment perceive and inter-
pret music. Retrieved from the Internet: September 4th, 2004. http://
www.kolumbus.fi/riitta.lahtinen/feeling.html
Pitman, D. J. (1965). The musical ability of blind children. American

Foundation for Blind Research Bulletin 11, 63-79.
Robb, S. R. (2003). Music interventions and group participation skills of

preschoolers with visual impairments: Raising questions about music,
arousal, and attention. Journal of Music Therapy, 40 (4), 266-282.
Rummel, M. (1992). Ein Bad in Vibration: Das Klavier in der Musikther-

apie mit Taubblinden [A bath in vibration: The piano in music therapy
with deaf-blinds]. Musiktherapeutische Umschau, 13 (2), 109-111.
Salas, J., & Gonzalez, D. (1991). Like singing with a bird: Improvisa-
tional
music therapy with a blind four-year-old. In K. E. Bruscia (Ed.), Case

studies in music therapy (pp. 18-27). Gilsum, NH: Barcelona Publishers.
Salomon (1998). Music therapy and the benefits to deaf and blind chil-
dren, Melissa, November 23rd, 1998 Music Therapy 185. Retrieved Feb-

ruary 19, 2006 from the Internet: http://www.angelfire.com/me/

HoneyBeeHive/MT2.html/.
Standley, J. M. (2003). Music therapy with premature infants. Research

and developmental interventions. Silver Spring, MD: The American
Music therapy Association.
Uslan, M. M., Russell, L., & Weiner, C. (1988). A musical pathway for
spatially disoriented blind residents of a skilled nursing facility. Journal
of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 82 (1), 21-24.
Walker, A. R. (1985). Mental imagery and music concepts: Some evi-

dence from the congenitally blind. Council for Research in Music Educa-
tion, 85, 227-238.
About the Author

Dr. Petra Kern is a member of the Music Therapy Today editorial board.
She currently is a faculty member at the School of Music, University of
Windsor, Canada. This interview is an asset to the music therapy curricu-
lum she created for the Early Intervention Center for Infants and Toddlers
with Visual Impairments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, USA. Petra can be contacted at PetraKern@prodigy.net.
THIS ARTICLE CAN BE Kern, P. (2006) Connecting and learning through music: music therapy
CITED AS: for young children with visual impairments and their families. Music
Therapy Today (Online) Vol.VII, Issue 1, (March) 99-105. available at
About the Author 105

Music Therapy Today
Vol. VII, (1) March 2006
Therapeutical usefulness of
music
Sundar, S.
Conference proceedings of the 1st

International Conference, 15.
January 2006, Nada Centre for
Music Therapy, Chennai, India
Introduction
Sumathy Sundar
President of Nada Music Therapy

Centre, Chennai, India
106
Sundar, S. & Sairam, T.V. (2006) Therapeutical usefulness of music - Conference proceedings of the 1st International Conference, 15. January 2006,
Nada Centre for Music Therapy, Chennai, India. Music Therapy Today Vol VII, Issue 1, 106-152. available at http://musictherapyworld.net
India has the longest history of a rich music culture and heritage and the
most resourceful healing traditions like Raga Chikitsa, Nada Yoga and
Vedic recitals which places sound and music at the centre stage of healing
processes.
In the global front, recent times have witnessed an increasing interest in

the complex interactions of mind and body and a shift to the integrated
approach of treating the person as a whole rather than merely treating the
disease and this has led to the use of complementary therapies which are
a vital part of any integrated approach in the health care system, moving
towards a more pluralistic approach to medical research and practice,
encompassing the physical, psychological, spiritual and social dimen-
sions of a persons life.
Introduction 107
FIGURE 1. Welcome address of the President of Nada Music

Therapy Centre Sumathy Sundar
Nada Centre for Music Therapy, Chennai is a tiny organization striving

hard to propagate and popularise Indian healing traditions and also to
examine these traditions in a scientific manner in both clinical and non
clinical environs through research, publications and development of the
discipline Music Therapy with special reference to the ethno-musicol-
ogy of the Indian sub continent. The Centre also strives to evolve a
dependable system of music therapy to alleviate the stress of the modern
day lifestyle, as a holistic, non invasive and cost effective treatment
Introduction 108
method. The aim ultimately is to develop an integrative approach to

health and healing and greater levels of peace and harmony in every con-
ceivable situation in human interactions through music.
This pioneering attempt of the Centre to convene the First International

Conference on the theme Therapeutic Usefulness of Music is to bring
together experts from diverse fields of specialization like musicology,
psychology, alternative medicine and medicine across the globe, with a
view to disseminate their feelings, knowledge, experience and belief on
the prophylactic and therapeutic application of music in general and
Indian music in particular, which would pave a strong way for the future
course of action that the Centre should undertake in order to bring out the
beneficial role of music in the society.
Introduction 109
FIGURE 2. Nada conference registration desk. (from left to right:

Sudha Srinivasan, Seetha Jayakumar, Priya Chellappa and Devi
Suhir)
The conference, though a modest attempt, was a huge success and an

inspiring event and Nada centre profusely thanks each and every one of
the participants for having shared their most valued ideas, thoughts, feel-
ings, reactions and suggestions with the Centre for the development of
this discipline. The participants had a remarkable learning experience.
Nada Centre compiled a conference handout book entitled Souvenir
2006 containing international greeting addresses, some information on
the Nada centre, further the welcome, the inaugural and the keynote
addresses, the program schedule and the abstracts (See table of contents
below).
Introduction 110
FIGURE 3. Conference handout Souvenir - 2006 released.

(from left to right: P L Sanjeev Reddy, Ryo Takahashi and T V
Sairam)
Dr. T V Sairam, a pioneering author and researcher in music therapy in

India and Hon. Technical Advisor, Nada Centre for Music Therapy in his
inaugural address gave a comprehensive presentation on Music Therapy:
From Evangelism to Science, which gave a very good introduction and
background for the participants to continue with the rest of the sessions.
Introduction 111
FIGURE 4. Delegates of the conference from left to right: P K

Seshadri, Kalluri Muralikrishna, P L Sanjeev Reddy, T V Sairam,
Manjula Devi, Ryo Takahashi and Chandra Sankara Pavan
Dr. Ryo Takahashi, Chief Director, NCSA Centre for Gerontology,

Tokyo, Japan in his key note address Interdisciplinary Musical Sense for
Soul Development with Collaborative Learning in Gerontology through
learning from Life of Leonardo da Vinci' emphasized that music will help
to improve Human Soul for collaborative learning for total life and that
the Soul grows by See, Observe, Understand, and Learn from human
nature including sound with sense.
Other topics of interest covered by the speakers from different fields of

specialization were about Indian traditional healing techniques like Nada
Introduction 112
Yoga, Raga-Chikitsa, voice culture, Omkar shakthi, aesthetic and socio-

cultural approaches to music therapy interventions having the key ele-
ment of bhakthi (devotion) element in the repertoire based Indian music
system etc., which provided a good background material for theorizing
music therapy practice and research in India.
FIGURE 5. Nada Music Therapy Centre Book release: Music

Therapy, the sacred to profane edited by TV Sairam (from left to
right: P L Sanjeev Reddy, Ryo Takahashi and T V Sairam)
During this event, the Centre also published a book called 'Music Ther-
apy, The Sacred, and the Profane' - edited by T V Sairam, a compilation
Introduction 113
of articles from renowned authors across the globe on the subject. The
contributions were from experts in different specialization like music
therapy, medicine, alternative medicine, musicology and psychology.
The Centre profusely thanks all the contributors for spending their time
to share their knowledge generously.
The Centre is especially thankful to the experts in music therapy from

different parts of the world like Dr. Carolyn Kenny, Dr. Michael Mc
Guire, Dr. Suzanne Hanser, Dr. Dorit Amir and Dr. Jrg Fachner, who
have been very supportive to the conference by sharing their ideas and
suggestions electronically though could not be present physically during
the conference. I also thank Musictherapytoday.com and its Editor Dr.
Jrg Fachner for his valued suggestions and support in bringing out the
proceedings in this journal and I am most pleased to share with all the
readers of this journal, the proceedings of the conference and the
abstracts of the papers presented during the conference.
Therapeutic Usefulness of Music

T V Sairam
Inaugural Address
Therapeutic Usefulness of Music 114

The therapeutic usefulness of music is not a modern concept. It is as

ancient as the human civilization. Long before the human species
invented language and tools, the sound was the only source of relieving
pain and anxiety. The sound was used not only for generating emotions
(such as pathos when a tribal member is dead or joy when there is union
through marriage etc.) but also for its release. Sound of drums particu-
larly, could be used to dispel fear during the war between the tribes or
during hunting animals. This was in addition to aahs and oohs of vocal-
ization that removed inhibition due to fear or suppression by the pecking
leadership. Rhythms (intervals of time) and melodies (pitch/sound vibra-
tions per sec.) were variously used to express one's love or hatred, joy or
anger, devotion or indifference. The ancient tribes used the iso-principle,
matching of mood to appropriate music and entrainment, i.e., after
matching initial mood moving towards more positive mood in their cul-
tural expressions woven in and around drumming, singing and group
dancing. Music not only brought in healthy behaviour and social interac-
tion but also strength to individuals as well as to societies across the
globe.
SOME RECENT Researchers from the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, PA, con-
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
ON THE THERAPEUTIC ducted research with cancer patients that involved those playing drums.
USEFULNESS OF MUSIC
The results showed, among other things, stronger immune systems as a
result of the music therapy.
The article says, It seems now more than ever the healing power of
music, over body and spirit, is being put to the test. Many of us have
always felt that music could help with healing. Now science is starting to
show that we are right.
The New York Academy of Sciences recently published Biological Foun-

dations of Music, a collection of scientific research, which demonstrates,

'the dynamism and richness of this emerging discipline' of music and

neuroscience. The USA Weekend article talks about how music, both lis-
tening to it and playing it, can change brain function, and how our bodies
respond to stimuli. Studies are showing that cancer patients, those with
Alzheimer's, pain patients, and those with many other diseases, benefit
from music. A study with Alzheimer's patients showed that music helped
them sleep better, because their serum Melatonin level went up signifi-
cantly. One of the researchers said, for the first time, we've been able to
measure music's impact.
STRESS AND MUSIC Particularly now, with the events like 9/11, tsunami etc. and the threats
and incidences of bio-terrorism, most of us face more stress than we
could handle. It is important for us to find ways to decrease our stress
levels through music and imagery, which have been the time-tested reme-
dies.
Alpha or soothing music helps towards relaxation as it lessens stress and

anxiety in all sections of people, be it surgeons or those undergoing sur-
gery. Reports coming across the world indicate that less pain is felt in the
case of pediatric burn patients, abdominal surgery patients. There is also
research that shows music helping to strengthen the immune system.
Therapeutic music, like music, is universal. It need not be restricted to

classical or folk, jazz or baroque. Different elements in these sounds
including nature sounds can prove therapeutic.
Using Music in ICU (After Johnston and Rohaly-Davis, 1996):
1.Assess baseline anxiety, pain etc.
2. Assess personal interest and preference

3 Ensure quiet, uninterrupted environment
4. 20 to 30 minutes BID
5. Evaluation of subjective and objective responses
Allen and Lawrence Golden of the University of Buffalo have recently

shown that those who listened to their choice of music during eye surgery
had significantly lower heart rate, blood pressure and cardiac work load
than patients who did not listen to music.
The study focused on 40 cataract or glaucoma patients ranging in age

from 51-88. The patients were divided into two groups, each composed
of 15 women and five men. Two participating surgeons treated half of
each group.
Patients in the experimental group listened to music of their choice

through headphones before, during and after surgery. Those in the control
group did not listen to music at any time.
Heart rate and blood pressure of all patients shot up the morning of sur-
gery. These measures of cardiovascular stress dropped significantly in the
music group within 10 minutes of tuning in, and remained low, results
showed. Only in the music group did cardiovascular measures nearly
reach baseline, Allen said.
Music patients also rated the stress of surgery lower and their ability to
cope higher than the control group.
If this were a drug intervention, people would be clamoring for it, said
Allen. Patients like it, it's cheap and effective, and has no negative side
effects. Hospitals could offer it and be heroes to their patients.

STRESS REDUCTION In yet another study by Nilsson, Unosson and Rawal, seventy-five
AND ANALGESIA IN
PATIENTS EXPOSED TO patients undergoing open hernia repair as day care surgery were ran-
CALMING MUSIC
POSTOPERATIVELY: domly allocated to three groups: intra-operative music, postoperative
music and silence (control group). Anesthesia and postoperative analge-
sia were standardized and the same surgeon performed all the operations.
Stress response was assessed during and after surgery by determining the
plasma cortisol and blood glucose levels. Immune function was evalu-
ated by studying immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels. Patients' postoperative
pain, anxiety, blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and oxygen saturation
were also studied as stress markers. The results indicated that there was
a significantly greater decrease in the level of cortisol in the postopera-
tive music group vs. the control group (206 and 72 mmol L(-1) decreases,
respectively) after 2 h in the post anesthesia care unit. The postoperative
music group had less anxiety and pain and required less morphine after 1
h compared with the control group. In the postoperative music group the
total requirement of morphine was significantly lower than in the control
group. The intra operative music group reported less pain after 1 h in the
post anesthesia care unit. There was no difference in IgA, blood glucose,
BP, HR and oxygen saturation between the groups. This study strongly
suggested that intra operative music may decrease postoperative pain,
and that postoperative music therapy may reduce anxiety, pain and mor-
phine consumption.
ROLE OF IMAGERY IN Imagery is an ancient healing approach in the primitive human societies,
ENHANCING THE
THERAPEUTIC which is based on belief, hope and trust in God, which is one's own
IMPULSES IN MUSIC
being. Imagery includes things such as one's perception of a stimulus in
the absence of a stimulus. For example perceiving the taste of the lemon
and then tasting it or perceiving the ice-cold water and then touching it to
compare one's experience.

Expectation of opposing experiences such as cold and hot, desert air and
garden breeze, burning pain and cooling comforts through imagery pro-
vide certain flexibility which makes the mind prepared for any events.
This concept was known as yoga nidra.
Music can be proactive to imagery.
Relaxing before imagery exercise and identifying the imagery goal

('active visualization of desired outcome') before ending with the image
of desired state (e.g., healed wound) could be worked out with appropri-
ate music. Sometimes meaningful assertions like 'I am getting well' can
also do wonders.
It has been found that the outcome of imagery and appropriate music
could be manifold: heart rate could go up or down depending on them.
While BP could go up with fear/anger images, pain and/or anxiety before
/during and after surgery were found to be considerably decreased. Per-
formance levels of athletics are also reported to be increased with appro-
priate music and imagery.
More research is however needed to make music therapy a reliable, sci-

entific discipline.
Interdisciplinary Musical Sense for SOUL

Development with Collaborative Learning in
Gerontology through learning from Life of Leonardo
da Vinci
Ryo Takahashi1
1. Chief Director at NCSA Center for Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan
Interdisciplinary Musical Sense for SOUL Development with Collaborative Learning in

Keynote
GERONTOLOGY Gerontology is based on the study of life and death education. Gerontol-
PRINCIPLES
ogy is the interdisciplinary study on aging from birth through death. This
also includes the study of aging and disabilities. Human nature has an
eternal progressive evolution regardless of age. Therefore it is said that
the most important thing to observe is spiritual wellbeing which is related
to spiritual harmony.
ABOUT THE CHAKRA-S In a human body, there is an ether body, a body of energy, which is of a
higher order than the physical body. Its shape is the same as the physical
body and its color is creamy white. Its just like portraits painted by
Leonard Fujita. In the ether body, there are number of energy paths called
Nadi or the energy channel. These Nadi-s cross or link up with the
Chakra-s the psycho energetic center that exists along side the central
axis of the human body. Chakra-s have the meaning of wheel or cir-
cle, and they are actually swirls of Prana that circulate in different
speed.
According to yoga teaching, there are seven major Chakra-s in a human

body. But the Chakras taught in yoga are the ones that link up with an

energy channel called Susumna running through the spinal canal, and are
different than those that are on the surface of the body as it is being dis-
cussed in todays inner psychological world.
Actually, Chakra-s are divided into three systems as it is shown in the

picture. Firstly, the seven Chakra-s on the Conception Vessel located on
the surface of the front side of the body. Secondly, the seven Chakra-s of
the nerve plexus located on the central axis that connects the crown and
the root. Thirdly, the seven Chakra-s located inside the spinal canal.
Each Chakra located on the body surface, in the nerve plexus and in the
spinal cord is directed in two ways emission and absorption of Prana or
energy. The colors shown in the picture stand for the emission and
absorption from the bodys surface. Each two of these colors are comple-
mentary to each other. Chakra-s are often colored in spectral hues, but in
reality, they may only be activated through the right colors. In each sec-
tion of Chakra-s are shown the right colors.
We will take the Svadhisthana Chakra for instance to explain how to

view the chart for each Chakra that you might understand easily. Its loca-
tions are described in the order of body surface, nerve plexus (for men
and women) and spinal cord. The Svadhisthana Chakra on the body sur-
face is located on acupressure points called Kangen for men and Kikai
for women. The same Chakra of the nerve plexus is located in between
the two seminal vesicles for men and inside the womb for women. And
finally, that Chakra of spinal cord is located at the end of the tailbone.
LUCKY SEVEN MEANS 7 means completion. For example, think about the moon, Mercury,
TO ACTIVATE THE 7
CHAKRA-S Venus, the sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn the 7 planets of Solar System.
This is the origin of the 7 tones of music, the 7 color of lights, the 7 ele-

ments (silver, quick silver, copper, gold, iron, tin, and lead) and the seven
glands of human body.
In addition to that, refers to a live state where the vital energy is func-
tioning properly, and refers to the state where the vital energy has van-
ished. In Christianity, there are 7 days in a week because it took 7 days to
finish the creation.
As you can see, 7 is indispensable for life and the opening of the 7
Chakra-s mean the Completion of ones self.
Hearing music will not only affect the whole body, but even the soul.
That is because each Chakra reacts to the 7 tunes in sol-fa and affects
each other, which will make the energy expand.Since Kataoka has dis-
covered the Moon Tempo (Extreme Tempo 116) and the release of the
CD Music to Invite the Moon, many people have reported its effect.
This ripple spread throughout Japan, which made me realize more clearly
the importance of tempo and potential of music. This led Kataokas
musical desire to the unknown area.
That area is Chakra. It was his adoration to compose the Music of

Chakra
He had felt that if I could activate the 7 Chakra-s with music, that will
be a contribution for the people facing conflict. He asked himself, Is
there a way that anyone can easily open up the Chakra-s? Or is it impos-
sible with music? Then, the answer came.
LEONARDO DA VINCI Leonardo da Vinci is known as an artist in the area of creative music in
LEARNING APPROACH
addition to being famous as one of the greatest painter the world ever
knew. Once a person notices a sense of feeling through harmony, an abil-
ity to understand through the heart will be increased without the need

to use any words. All people have the capacity to communicate through
their feelings. We also have the ability to understand through different
channels such as our talents and our intelligence. Gardner1999speaks
about the following 10 principles as aspects of, and avenues for, out abil-
ity to understand: Linguistic intelligence; Logical-mathematical intelli-
gence; Musical intelligence; Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence; Spatial
intelligence; Interpersonal intelligence; Intrapersonal intelligence; Natu-
ralist intelligence; Spiritual intelligence; and finally, Moral intelligence.
Gardner counts Natural and Spiritual Intelligence as personal intelligence
and Moral Intelligence as the most spiritual one. Through applying these
principles into our day to day lives we all may find that each one of us
has some gifts of being we could share with others. Just as we all have
gifts we are also able to understand that nobody is perfect. Each one of us
has some disabilities like, for many of us, the inability to speak different
languages.
HARMONY OF ARTS AND We live with harmony throughout our lives. When we live with good tun-
SOUND
ing or feeling, our lives will be inspired. That is called HADO. According
to Masaru Emoto(2005) Hado is the intrinsic vibrational pattern at the
atomic leveling all matter. The smallest unit of energy. Its basis is the
energy of human consciousness.Our body is made with 70% of water so
that water can be effected by visual and sound as well as human kinds.
When the one listens good and kind words, s/he feels good that will
effect our daily lives.
DEATH EDUCATION In order to begin death education there is a need for us to know our-
selves; to know who we are and where we did come from, which, in this
case, means what is our family lineage. We need to write down our par-
ents names and their parents names and the great grand parents names.
It is always interesting to find out how many people could really remem-

ber your great grand parents? That is the way we start in the workshop to
review our own life. Following these types of exercises, and to help us
think about our life and our death we will watch the program on a video.
And then we will have the opportunity to discuss our feelings regarding
our life and our death.
CONCLUSION Music will help to improving human SOUL for collaborative learning for
total life. SOUL will be grown by See, Observe, Understand, and Learn-
ing from human nature including sound with sense. Through these princi-
ples educational curriculum can be developed for all people throughout
the world by approaching cafeteria curriculum. NSCA Center for Geron-
tology has a vision to establish Leonardo da Vinci Center for Gerontol-
ogy for all over the world on April 15, 2012 for Da Vincis 560th annual
birthday.

FIGURE 6. Nilofer Arshad presenting the delegates

Abstracts of the papers presented during the

Conference
1. MUSIC THERAPY A Dr. Yamini V. Saripalli, Washington D.C. USA

REVIEW OF CURRENT
EVIDENCE IN THE
UNITED STATES Abstract. Music therapy has recently been gaining increasing popularity
in Western medicine. However, there are limited large scale randomized
controlled trials that have been conducted in the United States. Therefore
it can be difficult to have hospitals, administration and managed care to
approve music therapy, alone or as an adjunct, for the treatment of dis-
ease. This paper stresses the need for more randomized, double- blinded
controlled trials to increase the use of music therapy in the United States.
2. MUSIC THERAPY TO Smitha Vellanky, Queens University, Canada

REDUCE ANXIETY
ASSOCIATED WITH
INTRATHECAL Abstract. Acute childhood leukemia is the most common form of cancer
CHEMOTHERAPY IN
CHILDREN WITH ACUTE in young children. There are two types of acute childhood leukemia: (a)
CHILDHOOD LEUKEMIA
acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) more common and peaks in chil-
dren between the ages of 2 and 8; and (b) acute myelogeneous leukemia
(AML) occurs in older children (ages 12 and over). There are four
stages of treatment for children with acute childhood leukemia:
(i) induction
(ii) intensification/consolidation
(iii) maintenance
(iv) relapse
Intrathecal chemotherapy, involving injection of chemotherapy drugs

through the spinal column into the cerebrospinal fluid, is received by all
children during the course of the treatment. This procedure ensures that
Abstracts of the papers presented during the Conference 126

any leukemia cells that would have spread to the central nervous system
are killed (CNS prophylaxis). Lumbar punctures done to administer
intrathecal chemotherapy are associated with considerable amount of
anxiety and distress in children owing to the pain associated with the pro-
cedure. Intrathecal chemotherapy is a stressful procedure that may not
always be administered under anesthesia and hence, there is a need for
reducing anxiety in children undergoing this procedure.
This study will be a single-centre, randomized, unblinded, placebo con-

trolled study of music therapy during intrathecal chemotherapy proce-
dure in children with acute childhood leukemia in an outpatient setting.
The study will consist of two treatment arms live music therapy during
intrathecal chemotherapy and placebo (no music therapy). Live music
will be played or sung by a music therapist during intrathecal chemother-
apy to children in the music therapy intervention group. Anxiety is
defined as a vague feeling of uneasiness or apprehension that is directly
related to fear surrounding an unfamiliar environment. Anxiety in the
children will be measured using the self-administered State-Trait Anxiety
Scale for Children (STAIC) which is a well-validated and widely used
tool. The findings of the proposed study could indicate if live music ther-
apy should be allowed as a standard therapeutic procedure in order to
reduce anxiety in children undergoing intrathecal chemotherapy. Music
Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to
gain physical and emotional healing and wellness. Live music, with
improvisations within the context of the moment, may be particularly
crucial for young children who relate best to songs that can be made rele-
vant to their immediate experience. It can provide a familiar auditory
environment thus, distracting the childs attention from any pain or anxi-
ety. However, there have been virtually no studies done regarding anxiety
in leukemic children undergoing intrathecal chemotherapy or on the

effect of live music therapy on anxiety in children with acute childhood

leukemia. Currently, there are no standardized anxiety-reducing tech-
niques being applied to ease the stress associated with the procedure indi-
cating the need for an evidence-based study of the same.
3. MUSIC THERAPY Dr. Padmapriya, Abudhabi, UAE

DURING DENTAL
PROCEDURES
Abstract. Music Therapy for specific medical reasons have been well
documented and researched all over the world and diverse research
results of music therapy during dental procedures which are time con-
suming and also which needs patients cooperation has also been com-
prehensively meta-analysed. This paper is an attempt to verify through
physiological, self report and behaviourally observed measures, the bene-
fits of simple music therapy sessions by exposition method during dental
procedures in a dental clinic at Abudabi by the author. Three case studies
involving treatment variables like pain and anxiety before procedures
have been taken into consideration for administration of music therapy
sessions. Pre and post music session assessment forms used for docu-
mentation and video recordings of the therapy sessions during dental pro-
cedures are also presented which indicates the benefits of music therapy
sessions during dental procedures.
4. A COMPARATIVE Darshanan S.,

ANALYSIS ON THE
DEFINITIONS OF MUSIC
THERAPY Department of Music, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
Abstract. Music is an accepted universal art of linguistic expression,

irrespective of limitations like nation, race, religion, and language. Musi-
cal compositions may be in different languages with distinctive motiva-
tions towards devotion, love, nature, beauty, peace and inner awareness.
However, any kind of music should have the quality of pleasing the ear.

Apart from using music for entertainment, applying music for therapeutic
purpose gives a different value for music.
There are lot of definitions given to music therapy by the worldwide

researchers of music and related areas according to their understandings.
This research analyses those different definitions and tries to find out the
most appropriate one. Time limitations have restricted this study to tak-
ing into account twenty definitions from the internet resources by the
researchers of Scandinavia and Britain.
At the end of discussion the following definition to music therapy has

been obtained as the most appropriate. Music therapy is the use of
music as medicine
5. APPROACH TO MUSIC Sumathy Sundar

THERAPY
INTERVENTION
Ph.D. research scholar in Clinical Music therapy with University of
Madras.
President, Nada Centre for Music Therapy, Chennai, India
Abstract.. Music Therapy is both the art of music and the science of
healing, working in tandem. It involves techniques and interpretations,
bridging the gap between arts and science, towards a balanced approach.
It is an application of broad range of music with procedures, protocols,
techniques or methods adopted for application in clinical set ups. Music
therapy is based both in culture and context and music therapy interven-
tions involve assessment of various factors before treatment planning.
Benefit of music therapy depends on determining the patients music
preference and necessitates a music therapist to develop an efficient
means of determining such preference. Factors like musical upbringing,
cultural background, personality, musical training and musical taste in

family lineage influence musical preferences, music listening pattern and

musical selection which are vital with regard to music therapy. Based on
these factors, it becomes important to adopt appropriate approaches to be
tried to achieve the desired goals.
This paper discusses two different approaches like
1. The raga-based aesthetic and analytical approach and

2. The genre-based socio-cultural approach in detail.
Demonstrations on these approaches with raga-s (emphasis on specific

notes, the intervals between them, the different embellishments in use)
and songs with the same raga base in different genre are included in the
presentation.
6. RAGA - CHIKITSA IN Dr. Suvarna Nalapat,

CARDIOVASCULAR
DISEASES
Head and Professor, Department of Pathology (Retd), Amritha Institute of Medical
Sciences, Ernakulam
Abstract.
OBJECTIVE: To study effects of Indian classical music in reducing ten-

sion, anxiety, stress, blood pressure and pain (modifiable factors of heart
disease1) Music can be used in therapy and as therapy2. The current
project explored both the possibilities giving stress to the use of music as
therapy in a hospital set up. Music in therapy establishes contact and
facilitates rapport between patients and caretakers. The music is the
opening wedge between two individuals, 3 here the therapist and patient.
The modifying factors of coronary artery disease and the role of music in
altering them so that it can be used both as preventive and curative tool in
heart disease was studied.

INTRODUCTION: In music as therapy, therapist is not concerned with

the aesthetics of music but with functional music which gives relief or
cures the patient. We used both to get maximum effects and yet in this
pilot project we are presenting our experience of music as therapy (the
results measured from a medical point of view rather than from musical
point of view.)It is not just an alternative therapy, but therapy itself.
We selected the voice and personality of the musician and therapist in our
institution so that we get maximum results. Our statistically proven study
shows the impact of music on prevention of heart diseases which is prev-
alent in our country.
METHOD OF STUDY: We had our therapeutic programme with a team

of people, including a specially trained musician with postdoctoral expe-
rience in music teaching, an indologist-pathologist with interdiscipli-
nary knowledge in Yoga, music, Ayurveda, Jyothisha and literature, a
clinical psychologist and physicians well versed in doing research on
human behaviour and psychology and on pain and palliative care.
1. The questionnaire.(sample)
To be filled in by patient, physician and music therapist separately.
The therapist assesses musical background and musical preferences of
the patient independently.
As first step, simple and common raga-s according to musical back-
ground and preference of patient given. We gave human voice, with
least instruments, except a thambura and an organ playing soft sounds
like that of chirping birds and gurgling streams at the beginning of the
first session. The members were given the music in different settings.
1. in closed AC room without disturbance.
2. room where outside disturbances like phone, automobiles etc. were
there.
3. study with same music in open ground in public meeting place, con-
ducted with unknown people, (not volunteers or patients)
4. music to patients with cancer chemotherapy, pain of different
organs, spastic children, pregnant females etc.(outside the control vol-
untary patients)

2. The second step was to give specific raga-s for each patient depending
upon their chakra (organ affected) and the cosmic energy field (birth
star).
The BP, respiratory and pulse rate, anxiety scale (Hamiltons) and pain
index assessed prior and after session.
Charts-1.
1. Raga preferences
2. Voice preferences
3. Voices selected
4. Instructions given
OBSERVATIONS
1. The subjective factor-written feedback.

2. The objective factor
BP and respiratory rate and pulse rate before, after 15 minutes of playing
music and after the test and the Hamiltons anxiety score and pain score
Tables, statistics and discussion.

Academic principles behind selection of voice
Difference from other studies
CONCLUSIONS
(will be presented along with power point presentation to substantiate the

points.)
7.BASIC SCIENCE Mohan D. Sundararaj MBBS, BMus, MT-BC, ATCL

RESEARCH
APPLICATIONS IN
WESTERN MODELS OF Board-Certified Music Therapist (USA)
MUSIC THERAPY
Resident House-Surgeon - Sri Ramachandra Medical College &

Research Institute, Chennai, India
Official Representative (Near & Middle East Countries), WFMT Council

Abstract. Basic science research entails the speculation of biological and

chemical processes that underlie specific physiologic and pathophysio-
logical functions. These may include the role of specific pharmacological
and non-pharmacological interventions, and the nature of their impact on
the human body. Music therapy as an established allied health care pro-
fession came into existence in the United States during the 20th century
succeeding the inculcation of educational and clinical programmes,
research and most importantly a certification process to address the issue
of accountability. The origins of music therapy prior to this period were
apparent only in traditional practices and clinical models in hospitals dur-
ing the post-war era. Over the last twenty years, biomedical investiga-
tions have taken a significant place in music medicine research thereby
improving our understanding of how music therapy impacts the human
condition at a cellular and molecular level. These in-depth evaluations
are necessary to add further credibility to the profession of music therapy
and to sufficiently integrate this complementary intervention with main-
stream medicine. Such collaboration leads to an effective practice of
Integrative Medicine. This paper identifies the need for basic science
research in music therapy to corroborate its role in health care thus
advancing our strategies towards evidence-based methods. Basic science
research is essential for progress, vital to the evolution of music therapy
and will ultimately lead to better patient care.
8. RHYTHM AS Dr. Lalitha Ramakrishna

VITALISING TONIC
Research Director, Tattvaloka, Chennai
Abstract. Rhythm is called laya and tala in Indian music. It has pro-
found mythical origins. Nataraja the lord of dance creates the universe
with rhythmic syllables that flow out of the drum that he holds in his
right hand. The order that is seen in the regular patterns of the seasons, of

birth, growth and death, of the respiration in all living beings, the patterns
of the galaxies and the order within the nucleus of the atoms all point to
the significance of rhythm in human life and our environment. In a puz-
zling paradox, Lord Nataraja who begins creation with his rhythmic
dance is also the Lord of destruction when he performs the Tandava
dance there is total upheaval and destruction and the cosmos becomes
extinct. This gives us the message that rhythm can destroy. The power of
regular rhythmic beats with its stress and silence intervals must be recog-
nised and then used for its curative value.
In the classical system, laya is the father and melody is the mother of all
music. This means that laya confers life and energy; it creates enthusi-
asm. The symbol of father is one of authority.It suggests affirmative mas-
culine qualities. This is needed today when there are more lonely people,
more rootless people, who need the support of a father figure.
In classical music laya and tala are not culture specific and thus tran-
scend national boundaries. Rhythms can be enjoyed and used by even
those who do not understand classical music.
Rhythm apart from curing diseases such as depression and autism can
make normal people sharper in their faculties. Rhythm is based on num-
bers and mathematics. A great deal of calculation and skill is necessary to
perform the complex tala-s of Indian classical music. This helps to
enhance the memory and reflexes of the performer and the audience who
keep the rhythm along with him.
In folk music, rhythm is more dominant than melody. All early tribal
societies explored rhythm. Chanting brought about altered conditions of
mind in the group and made them amenable to discipline. Rhythmic
songs brought individuals together during festivals and strengthened

community bonds. Rhythm helped to relieve monotonous and unpleasant

tasks that were a necessary part of tribal living. As recreation, simple
repetitive group songs gave a high and brought in cheer without the
dependence on liqueur or drugs.
Rhythm is a powerful aid in the cure of modern maladies especially those

of the psychosomatic type.
9. TIGER DANCE - A T.Saraswathi Devi

THERAPEUTIC
TREASURE - HOLISTIC
APPLICATIONS FOR Lebenshilfe, A.P. India
TRADITIONAL ARTS OF
INDIA
Abstract. Tiger Dance Therapy is a new conception and a therapeutic
innovation developed to drive the people with intellectual disabilities
having aberrant and other behaviour disorders towards overall develop-
ment.
The idea of Tiger Dance Therapy is to translate the irregular body move-
ments of the mentally handicapped into meaningful gestures, tuning to
the tiger hunt jumps with rhythmic drum beats.
The innovative adaptation of Tiger Dance or Puli Vesham, a folk form of

art of Andhra Pradesh by T. Saraswathi Devi and her efforts in using tiger
dance technique utilizing the drum-beat will create a sense of interest in
the delegates.
Author Saraswathi Devi, founder of Lebenshilfe in India will discuss the

origin and applications of this therapy, its psychological, physiological,
and social benefits, and highlight future possibilities regarding the adap-
tation of traditional Indian arts as holistic therapy in her paper presenta-
tion.

It is a low-cost training technique leading to a total Body-Mind applica-

tion, bringing amazing results. Through rhythmic drum-beat which
improves hearing skills and sense of reasoning. Children with irregular
movements, jerky gait, and poor walking balance learn to match their
body movements suitable to the drum- beats as per the commands of the
brain thus leading to motor skills development. It provides a provision
for a lot of foot, neck and shoulder work, closer to some yoga postures all
go by sounds of the drums.
The authors endeavors to teach the expressions skills such as anger,

aggression, love, affection, happiness, joy etc. to the retarded by encour-
aging them to imitate the tiger cubs play and the movements of the tigers
and tigresses following the sounds are shown in this paper.
Tiger Dance is proved to be an effective therapy to help children gain

emotional control, acting as an outlet for accumulated aggression, ten-
sion, stress and other such feelings.
The success of Tiger Dance Therapy has captured the attention of mental
health professionals throughout the world: Papers presented on Tiger
Dance Therapy at several international conferences in India, Australia,
Finland, and Germany caught the attention of experts in the field drawing
their attention towards looking into possibilities of Tiger Dance as a
research project.

FIGURE 7. Demonstration of the Tiger Dance by T.S. Devi
10. HEALING POWERS Dr. Harre Harren, Pondicherry

OF INDIAN MUSIC
THERAPY: A GLOBAL
PERSPECTIVE. Abstract. The practice of Indian Music Therapy in the nations of other
World by Dr.M.Harre Harren, the music therapist and healer from India.
His visits to various countries like USA, Japan, Australia, Singapore,
Europe has been very noticeable and more than 160 people have bene-
fited from his Music Therapy. The methodology used for healing people
has been very systematic and at a slow pace with the result several people
have found unimaginable changes in their health care and life style.
Many clients who were otherwise depressed and daunted by personal
problems have come out of their trauma and are free today from their life

ending situations. They are now living happily making use of Indian
Music Therapy.
Dr.M.Harre Harren, an accredited Music Therapist who has attended

more than six International Conferences in Music Therapy and Music
Education in South Korea, USA, Japan, Singapore, Australia will talk
about his experiences with his clients on the various situations of using
Indian Music therapy for healing and rejuvenation.
11. STRESS Mr. Jaydeep Chakraborty, Kolkata

MANAGEMENT USING
INDIAN CLASSICAL
MUSIC Abstract. The effects of anxiety and stress on human behaviour have
been widely recognized. Music also taps into our neural machinery and
places music therapy squarely into the realm of science. The approach
describes a non-invasive method of applying Indian Classical music for
reducing stress. This approach differs from the Music Therapy as it
attempts to reduce stress in a proactive manner using Indian Classical
Music and has the following steps
Identify the various causes and situation of stress and effects on the
human brain
Identify the Raga-s and the corresponding Rasa-s that they pro-
duce
Identify the Rasa-s as defined in the Natya Shastra and study them
for similar effects on the brain
Check if the Rasa can counteract the causes of stress as outlined in
Step 1.
Derive a relationship of Ragas and Situations for Proactive Stress
Management.
In the IT sector where we work with tight schedules and work to be com-
pleted within stiff deadlines, a certain amount of good stress (Eustress)
may be generated. However one may land up into the situation of a
breaking point where the stress becomes a distress. This may manifest in
the form of head jamming. Another stress factor also noted is a sense of

insecurity causing anxiety neurosis and finally leading to chronic anxiety

state. Hence this approach could be beneficial for the IT industry. Also
besides opening doors for research on Indian Classical Music, benefits to
the society are also perceived in rendering acceptable mode of treatment.
12. MUSIC THERAPY IN Dr. V Srinivasan, MDRT,

PALLIATIVE CARE
Radiation Oncologist, Kamakshi Memorial Hospital, Chennai
Abstract. This paper is an eye opener to the use of music therapy in pal-
liative Care. Palliative care extends beyond meeting the medical and
nursing needs of terminally ill patients by addressing not only their phys-
ical, but also the psychological, social and spiritual needs and music ther-
apy has the ability to address each of these needs. It is well documented
that music therapy is beneficial for palliative care patients and their fami-
lies and complements the primary goal of palliative care in addressing the
quality of life issues for cancer patients and their families. This paper dis-
cusses about how music therapy promotes comfort, soothes and energizes
the patients, helps in pain management, stimulates the expression of
thoughts and feelings and provides sensory stimulation and diminishes
pain.
13. MUSICS INHERENT Mr. Kalluri Muralikrishna, Hyderabad

THERAPY POWER.
Abstract. This paper discusses about musics inherent therapy power,

how it is generated and works. Swara-s Frequencies Harmonics
Symmetrical resultants. Also how human body controls curing of various
diseases and how music helps the human body in this. Raga-s Classifi-
cation Sampoorna, Audava, Shadava and Vakra raga-s and their differ-
ent actions. Raga as Medicine, raga-s for various diseases and ailments.
Implementation and practice of music therapy, the systematic and intu-

itional processes, group therapies, the future of music therapy whether as

alternate therapy or self acting or complementary, experimental results
and statistics are elucidated.
15. TEVARA TRINITY: Dr. T Kalaivani,

PIONEERS OF MUSIC
THERAPY
Avinashilingam University,Lecturer(SS) in Music, Coimbatore 641043
Prof. S Tamilvelu,
Department of Tamil, AVC College, (Autonomous) Mayiladuthurai 609

305
Abstract. Art of Music is the foremost and important art among the 64
arts. From the very beginning, musical art served as a treasure of peo-
ples culture, civilization, humanism and other features of life.
Music served as a medium to spread religious doctrines, to evoke thirst

for freedom and to teach good and evil things in life. It was a part of
every movement of human activity and was used as medicine to cure dis-
eases of people.
The Trinity of Tevara glorified god through their songs and also achieved
some miracles in their life with the help of music
They have cured diseases of people by way of their songs called pans.
This paper makes a comparative study of the songs used by the Trinity to
cure diseases and the respective ragas of the modern times.
As a result of this study, the researcher concludes that the Trinity of

Tevara were pioneers in making use of the ragas as a remedy for several
ailments.

15. MUSIC PANACEA Munmun Ghosh, Mumbai

FOR THE ELDERLY
Abstract. In her late 50s, Rangamani Surenkumar, engaged in the care of

her twin grand daughters, hums almost all day long. Having gone back to
Karnatak classical music with a vengeance and enrolled as a student of
the same, she claims nothing calms her like music. Likewise, septaage-
narian Mr. T. Bhatia locates great joy and peace in the cooling waters of
Rabindra Sangeet. 67-year-old Kamala Ghosh is listening to music more
than ever before, in her expanded leisure hours. Even whilst cooking, she
prefers to listen to bhajans as she believes this helps her to progress spir-
itually. For Mrs. Sahur, singing bhajans every evening at the local Sai
Baba temple is the most potent multivitamin that she can take and that
keeps her healthy and anchored. Music, an ineluctable part of our lives at
every stage, assumes a larger role in our mature years, evolving into an
effective, painless, inexpensive therapy.
For what is music? In a broader sense, music is any pattern, in a more

limited sense, it is any sound-pattern that pleases us, and as opposed to
noise that offends our senses. Penetrating our systems through our sense
of hearing, music affects our entire being and fills every pore of it like
fragrance fills a room. The body recognises music, as much as the mind,
and responds to it instinctively. Music can stimulate, provoke, arouse our
passions, energise and also soothe and relax us completely. Not surpris-
ing then that every community in the world has evolved different kinds of
music just as it has evolved different languages and art forms. India being
a pluralistic society has thrown up an almost bewildering variety of musi-
cal forms in folk, classical, vocal, instrumental, and dance categories.
The word music comprises vocal, instrumental and dance forms.
As we grow older, our musical preferences modify in tune with our bod-
ies, our situations and mind-sets. It has been noticed that as elders, we

tend to go back to the kind of music we grew up listening to, even if we

had rejected it in our youth and sought exposure to other forms of music.
The mature mind seeks the comfort of the familiar and is inclined to
reject newer, emerging forms of music. (This is a point I would like to
explore in detail in my paper.)
In India, the elderly generally turn to the rich repertoire of devotional

songs and classical music that we have inherited from our forefathers.
Both the Karnatak and Hindusthani classical musical schools had their
origins in temples and worship and are thus spiritual in flavour and con-
tent. Of course, good, devotional music impacts the body positively. As
doctors acknowledge today, stress has a 50 per cent hand in the onset of
any ailment, for accumulated stress debilitates our immune system that is
otherwise geared to stave off diseases. In the elderly body, challenged by
age, stress can trigger off a number of problems like high blood pressure
and hypertension. Music helps by evening down our breathing; deep
breathing allows proper oxygenation of the entire body and revitalises it.
What is more important, to the mature mind often contemplating issues

like our eventual passage from this world, the shedding of the body and
going back to the earth devotional music provides a way of accepting
and merging with the universe. For to pray is to connect with the whole,
the universe (the sun, stars, rivers, sea, all humanity, all nature) and shed
the ego (our consciousness of separateness). Prayer is the individual soul
stretching itself and embracing the universe in its desire for complete-
ness. In the act of prayer, the worshipper feels connected, complete, and
hence joyous; in prayer, we lose ourselves. And music serves as the
medium to achieve that loss. Whether it was Osho Rajneesh who propa-
gated dance as the way to achieve that loss or Vivekananda who encour-
aged the regular singing of bhajans in his ashram, music has been

recognised and practiced as a form of worship down the ages. It helps the
mature mind to retain its poise, ease and cheerfulness.
17. NADA YOGA AND Mrs. Kala Ramesh, Pune

VOICE CULTURE
Abstract.
We talk of voice culture
What exactly do we mean by that?
A good voice, refined, tuned to shruti.
And lack of voice culture means a rough, untrained, offkey voice?
Yes partly true.
But actually, what I mean by voice culture is something more.
Voice culture means protection for the voice against the ravages of
time. Protection against lets say - deterioration of voice due to over
usage, bad diet, exposure to extremities of climate and indiscriminate use
of medicines.
We are all aware that Tansen was supposed to have sung in the open dais
surrounded by a water moat and was heard for great distances. Would
that have been possible without some type of technique for the preserva-
tion of the voice?
We do hear about the vulnerability of the sports personalities/ fraternity

who repeatedly get medical treatment and rest because of constant injury
to certain parts of their body. If we go by that logic, then it is but natural
that the vocal cords can get strained during singing. And believe me
singing means many hours of sadhana spanning several years.

Then the logical question, can we have a voice without fatigue?
A voice that stays as fresh to day as it was say ten or fifteen years back?
So that, as the music ripens with age, the voice mellows with richness,
retaining its entire luster and beginning to sparkle like a well cut dia-
mond!
The need of the hour is becoming aware and knowing what voice culture
is all about and then practicing it meticulously everyday, which then
takes us closer to nada yoga.
Dr Karandikar [an M.D.in Cardiology] of Ahmednagar near Pune has

worked extensively in this field. Being a performing musician, he was
tormented with the lack of anything constructive, concrete in the name of
voice culture. He studied all the voice techniques of Western classical
music but found that they pertained more to western type of voice pro-
duction.
During the course of his search he found that Sant Dnyaneshwari [A

Marathi Saint who translated The Gita into Marathi at the age of 13] had
a whole chapter on the mahima of The AUM.
Dr. Karandikar based his Omkar Shakti completely on the firm belief that
the Omkar dwani being the first ever primordial nad that permeated
through the cosmos is best suited for purification of the voice, the mind
and the body.
His systematic teaching covers wide areas covering the nad and anu- nad.

Thus, the whole package comes with forty different types of omkar-s
along with proper breathing, position of the mouth, the throat, the stom-
ach and the abdomen.
I will be demonstrating several of the omkar-s, with their benefits

explained.
And how a well tuned and polished voice aids the singing voice and how
it acts as a balm for the soul, for the singer as well as to the listener.
18. NADA YOGA: THE Mr. Chandra Sankara Pavan, Pune

CONSCIOUS VIBRATION
Abstract.
Nada Yoga - The Conscious Vibration
Nada forms the basis for the emergence of the universe. The root word
Nad is to vibrate and the vibrations are the manifestation of all pervading
cosmic power. Every atom, molecule in the universe is in incessant vibra-
tional activity and the interblending activities of these vibrations produce
the vast diversity of the universe around us. We can classify these vibra-
tions into three types
i....... the inner casual movements that are expressed through bodies
ii.......the vibrations that manifest on the astral , emotional and psycholog-

ical levels
iii......the vibrations of intellectual level.
Nada is the manifested sound form of the soundless sound, the Supreme
Consciousness, where from, emerges the Paranada that creates the uni-
verse. From Paranada the Nadanadisakti, the energy current of sound
emerges and heard through the pulsing nerve system.

During deep meditation, the yogi hears the musical sounds of nada tak-
ing the form of sounds such as bells, conch, flute etc and deep contempla-
tion on these sounds leads one to the Supreme consciousness
Nada forms the basis for music and music is considered as therapy both
for mental and physical ailments. The sound vibrations can influence the
DNA structure and can be reprogrammed by the words and frequencies.
Music consists of systematic vibrations that can change the ill structure
of DNA and can be used as an effective therapy.
The whole universe is filled with sound vibrations and the sound vibra-
tions remain forever in space and they can be grasped only by the nada
yogis who are able to unite their consciousness with the Supreme. The
great seers of past formulated the Vedas by hearing the eternal sound
vibrations that exists in the cosmos.
This paper presents the Theory of Nada, its four stages, and how it forms
the basis for music, the theory of vibrations and the therapeutic aspects of
sounds, particularly music
19. THERAPEUTIC Ms. Jyoti Dass and Dr. Lovely Sharma, Agra
EFFECTS OF MUSIC
Abstract. Music is both an art and science since it deals with the expres-
sion of ones feelings and emotions through sound in melody and har-
mony, may be through its composition. On the systematic management
of sound at all levels in the universe, music is the oldest form of expres-
sion, older than language.
Music has frequently been used as a therapeutic agent since ancient

times. The therapeutic values of music have been recognized and
employed from a very early stage in the history of mankind and medi-
cine. Music is a unique way of expressing feelings and thoughts. It is

because of this power of fine expression of inner feelings in a natural

manner, music is considered as an important medium of therapy as any
other discipline of therapy.
EFFECT OF MUSIC
General effects, Physiological effects, physical effects, effect on animals,

effect on plants and effect on mental patients.
EFFECT OF INDIAN RAGAS
The scientific field of music therapy is still an unexplored area in India.

A number of successful experiments have been made to assess the effect
of raga-s on human beings by playing particular combinations of sound
and also particular raga-s. Health cure with the help of classical raga
with their specific emotional sentiment has also been experimented.
Raga Ragini-s can be successfully used for the treatment of various dis-
eases. But there is a need to train good musicians and medical profes-
sionals to become experts in this therapy .
Six primary ragas which have particular qualities, sentiments and moos
are discussed.
1. Raga Hindol:
The effect of this raga is to create all the sweetness and freshnessof the
spring season in mind of the listener.
2. Raga Shri:
This raga acts on the mind and produces the effect of calmness and
silence while approaching the evening and darkness.

3. Raga Megh Malhar:
The quality of this raga is to produce the effect of approaching thunder-

storm and rain. This raga has also been found to have the power of influ-
encing clouds in times of drought.
4.Raga deepak:
This raga is said to be related to fire which can destroy the trees and ani-
mals.
5.Raga Bhairav:
This raga is to inspire the mind of the listener with the feeling of
approaching dawn, humming insects and chirping of bird and the start of
morning.
6.Raga Kaushik:
The effect of this raga on the listener is known to be grave and screen.
TABLE 1. RESPONSE OF THE INDIAN RAGAS

Raga Responses
Puriya Dhanashri Physically tired,
Neelambari Sleep, relaxation
Kasi Pleasantness, Romance
Hansdhwani Exhilaration
Madhyamavati Aesthetic sense
CONCLUSION:
Music therapy has no side effects and can be safely used as a therapy
20. PSYCHOLOGICAL Ms. Madhulika Srivatsav and Dr. Lovely Sharma, Agra
EFFECTS OF MUSIC
Abstract. Among the psychological effects of music, the most pro-

nounced ones are on the behaviour & temperament of the individual.

Emotions, feelings and thoughts have been reported to be greatly influ-

enced by music listening or participates. Emotional experience divided
from music has a powerful effect on the formation of ones moral and
intellectual outlook. Music activities enhance imagination & creative
thinking. Music has a great ability to inspire and enthuse the listener and
the performer.
Cyril Burt (1969) has suggested that the capacities of mentally handi-
capped children in musical abilities are good as that of the average chil-
dren of the same age. Further, music education has been employed as a
means of improving the academic achievement of mentally handicapped
children so that they feel themselves as part of the society.
Slac (1970) studied the effect of music psychology on slow learners,

pupils and found that music had positive psychological effects in the nor-
malization of their pent up emotions & developed their abilities to the
full.
Psychology plays an important role in the all round development of per-

sonality of an individual right from infancy. It helps a child to learn
through movement by singing and dancing together & by exposure to
natural environment to participant in the joy of sensing colours, forms
and rhythms. Music develops aesthetics values and provides opportuni-
ties in understanding Indias cultural heritage.

Tables of content
TABLE 2. Table of contents Music Therapy - the sacred and the profane edited by T V
Sairam
Title Author Page
Acknowledgements Sumathy Sundar
Preface T.V. Sairam
Music Therapy, the Sacred, and the Profane Carolyn Kenny. 1
The Therapeutic Value of Musical Elements and Dorit Amir 4
Instruments in Western Music Psychotherapy
Research Methodology for Music Therapy Shipra Banerjee 10
Music Therapy and the use of Altered States in Fachner, Jorg 19
Healing Rituals
Music that heals the Mind and the Body Premeela Gurumoorthy 24
Acceptance of Music Therapy as Integrative Medi- Suzanne B. Hanser 28
cine: Progress in the United States of America
The Specifics of Using Simple Instruments in ses- Mariya A. Ivannikova 31
sions of Group Music Therapy for Depression
Drumming as Music Therapy Kiran Puri 38
Competent Music Therapy in the United States Michael G. McGuire 41
Raga-Chikitsa: A Treatment with Music Suvarna Nalapat 49
NadanusandanaYoga Chandra Pavan Sankara 56
Healing Quality of Musical Notes Lalitha Ramakrishna 66
Music Therapy: An Evidence-based Approach R Ravi Kannan 70
Music Therapy : Designing Training Methods for T.V. Sairam 74
the Mentally Retarded (MR) Children
Music Procedures and their Impact on Emotional Seema Puri 79
Health
Medical Music Therapy: The Florida State Univer- Jayne M. Standley. 81
sitys Evidence-Based Clinical Program
Music as Therapy: Its Role as a Cognitive, Motor N. Subbulakshmy 87
and Behavioural Modulator
Music therapy in India: General Guidelines on Sumathy Sundar 91
Musical Preferences and Approaches for Musical
Selection
Tables of content 150

TABLE 3. Table of contents Souvenier - 2006

Title Page
1
Welcome Message from Dr. Michael G McGuire,
Chairman of the Board of Directors, CBMT. US.
Greetings and Congratulatory Message from Dr. 3
Carolyn Kenny, Co Editor, Voices:A World forum
for Music Therapy
Greetings and Message from Dr. Suzanne Hanser, 5
Immediate Past President, World Federation of
Music Therapy.
Message to Delegates - Dr. Dorit Amir, Head of 7
MT Program,Bar Ilan University, Israel
Greetings from Dr. Jorg Fachner, Editor, E journal, 9
musictherapytoday.com, Managing Editor, Info
site musictherapworld.net
Welcome Address by Sumathy Sundar, President, 12
Nada Centre for Music Therapy, Chennai, India
Nada Centre for Music Therapy: Aims and Objec- 14
tives
List of Members - Advisory Board of Nada Centre 16
for Music Therapy
Conference - Programme Schedule 17
Music Therapy: From Evangelism to Science 20
Inaugural Address by Dr. T V Sairam, Hon. Tech-
nical Advisor, Nada Centre for Music Therapy,
Chennai.
Interdisciplinary Musical Sense for Soul Develop- 24
ment with Collaborative Learning in Gerontology
thro Learning from Life of Leonardo Da Vinci.
Synopsis of Key Note Address by Dr.Ryo Taka-
hashi, Chief Director at NCSA Centre for Geron-
tology, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstracts of the papers presented during the Con- 27
ference
Can an Integration of Different Music Cultures be 44
useful for Music Therapy? A Little Story about
Indian Ragas by Mariya A Ivannikova,
Contact and order information

Sumathy Sundar
Contact and order information 151

Nada Centre for Music Therapy,
Plot No.11/25 Jothi Ramalingam Street,
Madipakkam,
Chennai 600 091, India
sumusundar@yahoo.com
http://www.nada.in
THIS ARTICLE CAN BE Sundar, S. & Sairam, T.V. (2006) Therapeutical usefulness of music -
CITED AS: Conference proceedings of the 1st International Conference, 15. January
2006, Nada Centre for Music Therapy, Chennai, India. Music Therapy
Today Vol VII, Issue 1, 106-152. available at http://musictherapy-
world.net
Contact and order information 152

Music Therapy Today
Book review: Silke Jochims

(Ed.): Musiktherapie in der
Neurorehabilitation (music
therapy in neurological
rehabilitation)
Schmid, W.
Music therapy in neurological rehabilitation is often seen as a miraculous

cure for severely affected patients, which may raise irrational hopes but
can also mean a very real chance.
In her book Musiktherapie in der Neurorehabilitation Internationale

Konzepte, Forschung und Praxis (Music therapy in neurological reha-
bilitation international concepts, research and practice) Silke Jochims
has compiled articles on current research in neuro sciences and on inter-
national music therapy research projects and intervention approaches.
This combination is intended to provide a more substantial foundation for
music therapy in neuro rehabilitation without destroying the myth of a
miraculous cure. The book addresses music therapists as well as physi-
cians, therapists and nursing staff in neuro rehabilitation. The compre-
hensive work has two sections: the first volume (entitled Grundlagen
or fundamentals) describes neurological syndromes and presents up-to-
date findings from neuro science on perception and processing of music
in healthy and brain-damaged humans. The reader feels that what music
153
Schmid, W. (2006) Book review: Silke Jochims (Ed.): Musiktherapie in der Neurorehabilitation (music therapy in neurological rehabil-
itation). Music Therapy Today (Online) Vol.VII (1), (March) 153.156. available at http://musictherapyworld.net
therapy has been generating and practising in neuro rehabilitation on the

basis of experience for 20 years is now corroborated from the perspective
of neuro science. Studies by Kotchoubey et al. on the efficiency of simple
and complex auditory stimuli suggest, for example, that complex sounds
offered by the human voice stimulate event-correlated responses in
severely brain-damaged patients far more often than acoustic stimuli in
the form of simple sinus notes. Music therapists associate such findings
with the concept of singing for coma patients; readers may find many
such connections without getting the impression that music therapy has
to be legitimized by neuro science.
The second volume (Musiktherapiekonzepte: Forschung und klinische

Praxis music therapy concepts: research and clinical practice) presents
20 approaches from music therapy research and practice with adult
patients as a wide range of applications of music therapy in neurological
rehabilitation. Articles from Europe, U.S. and Australia cover issues from
a variety of related aspects - motor, sensory, cognitive, interactive-com-
municative, social and emotional rehabilitation, and thus form something
like a work of reference according to topics. All chapters are of practical
relevance and and well-grounded and provide differentiated insights in
music therapy concepts and research. Examples are musical-rhythmic
work with Parkinson patients, a vocal exercise programme with patients
with traumatic brain injuries, or an improvisation group to promote social
interaction in stroke patients. Valuable suggestions and ideas provided in
these chapters make the book worthwhile for beginners and experienced
music therapists alike. Frequent questions emerging in practice, for
example the use of earphones for patients in persistent vegetative state, or
which condition of life is worth living or not, are critically discussed
here. Highly impressive are those chapters that address the limits of
music therapy due to the severity or hopeless prognosis of neurological
154
disease. An authentic integration of the discipline within the therapeutic

context of neurological rehabilitation requires exactly this kind of thor-
ough and unbiased exploration.
A summary of the practice chapters underlines in addition that the

national and international debate about the one correct music therapy
approach in neuro rehabilitation does not serve the interests of patients
who are often affected in all aspects of their existence. This is why many
different types of music therapy concepts are applied in clinical practice,
depending on individual symptoms and stage of rehabilitation: active and
receptive, exercise or experience oriented, individual and group therapy,
as well as interdisciplinary cooperation with, for example, speech thera-
pists. This great variety and flexibility is a specific asset in music therapy
and must be underlined as such to insurers, physicians, therapists and rel-
atives. Silke Jochims book is a valuable contribution. She provides a
platform for understandings gained from music therapy experience and
scientific findings from neuro physiology and neuro biology and offers
interdisciplinary insights that will support the work of music therapists in
rehabilitation clinics. The gap between miraculous cure and recognized
therapy in neurological rehabilitation has clearly narrowed.
After ZwischenWelten Musiktherapie bei Patienten mit erworbenen

Hirnschden by Monika Baumann and Christian Gresssner, and Music
Therapy and Neurological Rehabilitation by David Aldridge, Silke
Jochims has presented another book on music therapy in neurological
rehabilitation that will make an essential contribution to sharpening the
profile of the discipline.
PUBLISHERS http://www.hippocampus.de
HOMEPAGE:
155
THIS ARTICLE CAN BE Schmid, W. (2006) Book review: Silke Jochims (Ed.): Musiktherapie in
CITED AS: der Neurorehabilitation (music therapy in neurological rehabilitation).
Music Therapy Today (Online) Vol.VII (1), (March) 153-156. available at
156
Music Therapy Today
Odds and ends - themes

and trends
Tom Doch
Experimental neurophysiology
Souce: <http://www.neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/thbio/group/
neurophys/index_d.html>
The Experimental Neurophysiology group represents the scientific cul-

ture of functional, integrative and cognitive neuroscience in the lab. The
main focus of the group is neuronal plasticity, learning and aging. In par-
ticular, we are interested in understanding the relation between percep-
tual learning and brain plasticity.
Methodologically, we use a broad repertoire of psychophysical tests to

quantitatively assess perceptual and sensorimotor performance.
Brain reorganization in humans is studied in collaboration with the

Department of Neurology and the Department of Radiology at the Ruhr-
University Bochum using fMRI, EEG and TMS (transcranial magnetic
stimulation).
157
Organization of the Human Trichromatic Cone Mosaic
Electrophysiological investigations and recordings of optical intrinsic

signals in selected animal models provide details about mechanisms of
plastic changes bridging the level between single neurons, neuron popu-
lations and cortical maps.
Conceptually, we study forms of use-dependent plasticity occurring

under everyday-life conditions such as in musicians or elderly people.
In addition, we develop new stimulation procedures (so-called "unat-

tended activation based learning" protocols such as "tactile coactivation")
that allow a targeted modification of brain activation, and by that a tar-
geted modification of sensorimotor performance.
MORE INFORMATION: Prof. Dr. Martin Tegenthoff
E-Mail: martin.tegenthoff@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Associate Professor Dr. Hubert R. Dinse
E-Mail: hubert.dinse@neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de
OUTDOORLINKS: Department of Neurology and the Department of Radiology at the Ruhr-

University Bochum
http://www.neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/thbio/index_d.html
Organization of the Human Trichromatic Cone

Mosaic
By Heidi Hofer, Joseph Carroll, Jay Neitz, Maureen Neitz and David R.
Williams

Organization of the Human Trichromatic Cone Mosaic
Source: The Journal of Neuroscience, October 19, 2005, 25(42):9669-

9679; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2414-05.2005
http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/abstract/25/42/9669
Using high-resolution adaptive-optics imaging combined with retinal

densitometry, we characterized the arrangement of short- (S), middle-
(M), and long- (L) wavelength-sensitive cones in eight human foveal
mosaics.
As suggested by previous studies, we found males with normal color

vision that varied in the ratio of L to M cones (from 1.1:1 to 16.5:1).
We also found a protan carrier with an even more extreme L:M ratio
(0.37:1). All subjects had nearly identical S-cone densities, indicating
independence of the developmental mechanism that governs the relative
numerosity of L/M and S cones. L:M cone ratio estimates were corre-
lated highly with those obtained in the same eyes using the flicker photo-
metric electroretinogram (ERG), although the comparison indicates that
the signal from each M cone makes a larger contribution to the ERG than
each L cone.
Although all subjects had highly disordered arrangements of L and M

cones, three subjects showed evidence for departures from a strictly ran-
dom rule for assigning the L and M cone photopigments.
In two retinas, these departures corresponded to local clumping of cones

of like type.
In a third retina, the L:M cone ratio differed significantly at two retinal
locations on opposite sides of the fovea.

Mice Have A Gift for Song
These results suggest that the assignment of L and M pigment, although

highly irregular, is not a completely random process.
Surprisingly, in the protan carrier, in which X-chromosome inactivation

would favor L- or M-cone clumping, there was no evidence of clumping,
perhaps as a result of cone migration during foveal development.
OUTDOORLINKS: David R. Williams
http://www.cvs.rochester.edu/people/d_williams/d_williams.html
Quelle: Press Release from PLoS Biology 26 October 2005
http://www.alphagalileo.org/index.cfm?fuseac-
tion=readrelease&releaseid=508563
The biology of song and song learning comes mostly from research on
songbirds, and shares important characteristics with human language.
Song commonly figures in courtship rituals among birds, insects, and

frogs, but aside from humans, such behavior in mammals had been
restricted to whales and bats. And none of these organisms can be studied
with genetic tools.
In a new study published in the open access journal PLoS Biology, Timo-
thy E. Holy and Zhongsheng Guo at the Washington University School of
Medicine show that mice can sing too; and this could open whole new
avenues of research into the genetic contributions to song and song learn-
ing.

Mouse social encounters prompt vocalizations, such as the inaudible

ultrasonic calls of males presented with females or urine pheromones.
Previous studies of these vocalizations focused on classifying them by
when they happened, rather than on their acoustic patterns.
In this study, Holy and Guo focused on the sounds themselves. The
authors used cotton swabs coated with either female mouse urine, male
mouse urine, or a combination of the two to elicit the male mouses ultra-
sonic sounds, and then recorded their vocal responses.
Far from random patter, male ultrasonic calls contain complex passages
with long sequences composed of diverse syllable types.
The authors manipulated the recordings to hear the ultrasonics.
One approach used a slow playback (at one-sixteenth of the recorded

speed) that distorted the temporal structure of the calls, which sounded
like low, intermittent whistles.
The other dropped the pitch to an audible level without interfering with
the time sequencethe pitch-shifted recording sounds remarkably like
birdsong.
(To listen, go to DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030386.sa004.)
To bolster this subjective conclusion, the authors then undertook a quan-

titative analysis of the sounds.
The males produced rapid chirp-like syllables of varying duration,

spaced at about ten syllables per second, with a burst of closely spaced
syllables followed by periods of silence.

In keeping with previous reports, some of the syllables showed sudden,

significant changes in frequency (or pitch).
The authors identified discrete clusters of pitch changes by analyzing a

set of 750 syllables produced by one mouse in a single 210-second trial
and determined that these pitch changes followed a stereotyped pattern
instead of random occurrence.
Trials with 45 different mice produced similar results, indicating that the
pitch changes are a universal feature of mouse ultrasonic vocalizations.
Since the mice produced multiple syllable types arranged in regular,

repeated time signatures, their vocalizations meet the definition of song.
The authors also showed that individual males produced songs distinct
from those of other males. The richness and diversity of mouse song
appear to approach that of many songbirds, Holy and Guo write.
And just like songbirds, the mice appear to be singing their own tune.
Future studies can begin to unravel the physiological basis and mechan-
ics of ultrasonic mouse songand perhaps decipher the messages
encoded in the notes and melody.
Fulltext PDF at
http://www.plos.org/press/plbi-03-12-holy.pdf
OUTDOORLINKS: Timothy E. Holy
http://dbbs.wustl.edu/dbbs/website.nsf/0/
64e97125efc6975e86256d4e005b2d35?OpenDocument&Click=

Semantic congruity affects numerical judgments similarly in monkeys and
Email: holy@wustl.edu
Semantic congruity affects numerical judgments

similarly in monkeys and humans
By Jessica F. Cantlon and Elizabeth M. Brannon
Source: www.pnas.org/October 31, 2005
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0506463102v1
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0506463102
Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were trained to order visual arrays based on

their number of elements and to conditionally choose the array with the
larger or smaller number of elements dependent on a color cue.
When the screen background was red, monkeys were reinforced for
choosing the smaller numerical value first.
When the screen background was blue, monkeys were reinforced for
choosing the larger numerical value first.
Monkeys showed a semantic congruity effect analogous to that reported

for human comparison judgments. Specifically, decision time was sys-
tematically influenced by the semantic congruity between the cue
("choose smaller" or "choose larger") and the magnitude of the choice
stimuli (small or large numbers of dots).

Foreign Sounds Fail to Heal Russians
This finding demonstrates a semantic congruity effect in a nonlinguistic

animal and provides strong evidence for an evolutionarily primitive mag-
nitude-comparison algorithm common to humans and monkeys.
To whom correspondence may be addressed.
Jessica F. Cantlon, E-mail: jfc2@duke.edu
Elizabeth M. Brannon, E-mail: brannon@duke.edu
OUTDOORLINKS: Elizabeth M. Brannon
http://www.duke.edu/web/mind/level2/faculty/liz/people_Liz.html
Source: MosNews/02.11.2005
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/11/02/soundtherapy.shtml
Russian psychiatrists practicing music therapy to treat mental disorders

have concluded that the healing effect of sounds fail to improve the state
of most of their patients.
Music that proves soothing and calming for Europeans and Americans
may further aggravate disorders Russians suffer from.
Russian psychiatrists practicing music therapy to treat mental disorders

have concluded that the healing effect of sounds fail to improve the state
of most of their patients, a popular Russian tabloid, the Moskovsky
Komsomolets daily, reported Wednesday.

Music that proves soothing and calming for Europeans and Americans
may further aggravate disorders that Russians suffer from.
The MK correspondent has learnt at a Moscow drug addiction treatment

clinic that Russian medics have decided against blindly following the
advice of U.S., German and Swedish experts who have long practiced
music therapy to treat addicts.
A survey by Russian doctors has revealed that sounds pleasant for Euro-
peans and Americans may have a very different effect on Russians.
For example, elsewhere around the globe doctors used sounds of nature
to treat psychasthenic neurosis.
The Russian doctors, having adopted the method, discovered that Rus-
sians are afraid of the sound made by a flying mosquito, but on the other
hand like the sound of oars splashing on water or the croaking of frogs.
Unlike European patients, Russians do not find the sound of logs crack-
ling in the fireplace soothing; on the contrary, they associate the sound
with the threat of fire.
Moreover, Russians still feel more comfortable at a traditional Russian

hearth rather than in front of a fireplace.
In some cases the use of such therapy ended in increased anxiety, with
patients being afraid to be left alone in their rooms.

Sex Differences in the Brain: Implications for Explaining Autism
Sex Differences in the Brain: Implications for

Explaining Autism
By Simon Baron-Cohen, Rebecca C. Knickmeyer, Matthew K. Belmonte
Source: www.sciencemag.org/4 November 2005
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/sci;310/5749/801
Science, Vol 310, Issue 5749, 801 , 4 November 2005
[DOI: 10.1126/science.310.5749.801]
Empathizing is the capacity to predict and to respond to the behavior of

agents (usually people) by inferring their mental states and responding to
these with an appropriate emotion.
Systemizing is the capacity to predict and to respond to the behavior of

nonagentive deterministic systems by analyzing input-operation-output
relations and inferring the rules that govern such systems.
At a population level, females are stronger empathizers and males are

stronger systemizers.
The "extreme male brain" theory posits that autism represents an extreme
of the male pattern (impaired empathizing and enhanced systemizing).
Here we suggest that specific aspects of autistic neuroanatomy may also
be extremes of typical male neuroanatomy.
To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Simon Baron-Cohen, E-mail: sb205@cam.ac.uk

Penn researchers study the use of ultrasound for treatment of cancer
OUTDOORLINKS: Autism Research Centre, Cambridge University
http://www.autismresearchcentre.com/
Simon Baron-Cohen
http://www.autismresearchcentre.com/arc/staff_member.asp?id=33
Penn researchers study the use of ultrasound for

treatment of cancer
Initial results in mice show this promising new treatment may disrupt the
vessels supplying blood and nutrition to tumors
Source: www.eurekalert.org/4-Nov-2005
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/uops-prs110405.php
For the first time, ultrasound is being used in animal models to treat
cancer by disrupting tumor blood vessels.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine com-

pleted a study in mice in which they used ultrasound both to see a tumor's
blood perfusion and then to treat it with a continuous wave of low-level
ultrasound.
After three minutes of treatment at an intensity similar to what is used in

physiotherapy ultrasound (about 2.5 watts), researchers observed that the
tumors had little or no blood supply.
"We used an ultrasound intensity higher than that used for imaging, but
much lower than the high intensities used to ablate tissue. And we saw

that this new use had a profound effect on shutting down the blood flow
to the tumor and reducing the growth of the tumor in mice," said Chandra
Sehgal, PhD, Director of Ultrasound Research in the Department of
Radiology at Penn and the study's principal investigator.
"We wanted to study this use of ultrasound because we observed that

some of these newly formed vessels created by tumors are very weak in
nature, and if you turn on low-intensity ultrasound vibrations you can
disrupt the blood flow through these vessels," explained Andrew Wood,
DVSc, PhD, a co-investigator of the study and based in the University of
Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
Sehgal adds, "This approach is in keeping with the latest study of cancer
treatment utilizing antiangiogenic and antivascular therapies, in which
we look for ways to stop the growth of the vessels supplying blood and
nutrition to the tumors, rather than develop methods to kill the tumor
cells themselves."
For years, ultrasound has been used for clinical imaging and for thera-
peutic action in physical therapy. But now, Sehgal explains, "These
results are extremely encouraging. They raise the possibility that, in the
future, treatments with ultrasound either alone or with chemotherapeutic
and antivascular agents could be used to treat cancers."
The results of this study were published in the October 2005 issue of
"Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology." You can access it on-line at:
www.sciencedirect.com (search for the UMB journal and then access
Volume 31 October 2005, article 15 "The Antivascular Action of Phys-
iotherapy Ultrasound on Murine Tumors").

Editor's Notes: To schedule an interview with Dr. Chandra Sehgal, the

principal investigator of the study or Dr. Andrew Wood, the first author
of the study, please contact Susanne Hartman at 215-349-5964 or sus-
anne.hartman@uphs.upenn.edu.
This study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Related images available upon request.
PENN Medicine is a $2.7 billion enterprise dedicated to the related mis-

sions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient
care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School
of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the
University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Penn's School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH

research funds; and ranked #4 in the nation in U.S. News & World
Report's most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools.
Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medi-
cine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of
the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medi-
cine.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals

[Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, which is consistently ranked
one of the nation's few "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World
Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; and Penn Pres-
byterian Medical Center]; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider
network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home care and hos-
pice.

Personality predicts activity in reward and emotional regions associated with
OUTDOORLINKS: The Antivascular Action of Physiotherapy Ultrasound on Murine Tumors

(PDF)
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/radiology/depa/ultrasoundlab/publications/
2005/wood200502.pdf
Chandra Sehgal
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/radiology/depa/ultrasoundlab/mem-
bers.shtml
Personality predicts activity in reward and emotional

regions associated with humor
By Dean Mobbs, Cindy C. Hagan, Eiman Azim, Vinod Menon and Allan
L. Reiss
Source: www.pnas.org/November 7, 2005
Previous research and theory suggest that two stable personality dimen-
sions, extroversion and neuroticism, differentially influence emotional
reactivity to a variety of pleasurable phenomena.
Here, we use event-related functional MRI to address the putative neural

and behavioral associations between humor appreciation and the person-
ality dimensions of introversion-extroversion and emotional stability-
neuroticism.

See the Ball, Hit the Ball: Apparent Ball Size is Correlated with Batting Average
Our analysis showed extroversion to positively correlate with humor-

driven blood oxygenation level-dependent signal in discrete regions of
the right orbital frontal cortex, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and bilat-
eral temporal cortices.
Introversion correlated with increased activation in several regions, most

prominently the bilateral amygdala. Although neuroticism did not posi-
tively correlate with any whole-brain activation, emotional stability (i.e.,
the inverse of neuroticism) correlated with increased activation in the
mesocortical-mesolimbic reward circuitry encompassing the right orbital
frontal cortex, caudate, and nucleus accumbens.
Our findings tie together existing neurobiological studies of humor

appreciation and are compatible with the notion that personality style
plays a fundamental role in the neurobiological systems subserving
humor appreciation.
Allan L. Reiss, E-mail: reiss@stanford.edu
OUTDOORLINKS: Allan Reiss
http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Allan_Reiss/
See the Ball, Hit the Ball: Apparent Ball Size is

Correlated with Batting Average
Source: http://www.faculty.virginia.edu/perlab/misc/Witt2005b.pdf

See the Ball, Hit the Ball: Apparent Ball Size is Correlated with Batting Average
Baseball players frequently say that the ball appears bigger when they are
hitting well.
In describing a mammoth 565ft home run, Mickey Mantle said, I never

really could explain it. I just saw the ball as big as a grapefruit (Ultimate
New York Yankees, n.d.).
George Scott of the Boston Red Sox said, When youre hitting the ball
[well], it comes at you looking like a grapefruit. When youre not, it
looks like a blackeyed pea (Baseball Almanac, n.d.).
During a slump, Joe Ducky Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals said he
felt like he was swinging at aspirins (ESPNMAG.com, n.d.). Similar
comments have been made by such Hall of Famers as Ted Williams
(Roger Joslin, n.d.), Wee Willie Keeler (ESPNMAG.com, n.d.),
George Brett (LA Article, n.d.), and more.
This phenomenon is not limited to baseball. When playing well, tennis

players report that the ball looks huge, golfers say the cup looks bigger,
and basketball players say the hoop looks enormous.
All of these people report perceptions, which were modulated by perfor-

mance efficacy. Our experiment confirms that this phenomenon is a psy-
chological reality.
Read more at Fulltext (PDF) here
OUTDOORLINKS: Jessica Witt
http://www.virginia.edu/psychology/people/detail.php?id=179

Functional morphology of Richardson's ground squirrel, Spermophilus
Functional morphology of Richardson's ground

squirrel, Spermophilus richardsonii, alarm calls: the
meaning of chirps, whistles and chucks
By Jennifer L. Sloan, David R. Wilson and James F. Hare,
Source: www.sciencedirect.com/4. October 2005
Animal Behaviour Volume 70, Issue 4 , October 2005, Pages 937-944
doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.01.013
Copyright 2005
Repetitive alarm vocalizations of Richardson's ground squirrels vary in

terms of the acoustic structure of their primary syllables and the inclusion
of brief, lower-amplitude, frequency-modulated trailing elements we
term chucks.
Chucks are included in calls of both males and females and increase in
prevalence with the proximity of the caller to the alarm-evoking stimu-
lus.
Furthermore, chuck presence is not independent of primary syllable type:

chucks follow primary syllables that have constant frequency and dimin-
ishing amplitude (whistle), but do not trail primary syllables with
diminishing frequency and nondescending amplitude spectra (chirps).
Playbacks to free-living squirrels of repeated alarm calls having whistle-

or chirp-like primary syllables factorially combined with chuck presence
or absence revealed that chirp-like syllables elicited greater vigilance
from call recipients during signal propagation.

Sonic Canon Gives Pirates an Earful
The addition of chucks to the end of primary syllables of either type,

however, increased initial vigilance duration and the proportion of time
devoted to vigilance during and after signal reception.
Chucks thus promote increased and lasting vigilance on the part of call
recipients. Beyond enhancing vigilance, however, the inclusion of fre-
quency-modulated chucks and chirps facilitates the orientation of receiv-
ers to the signaller.
Multiple acoustic parameters of Richardson's ground squirrel alarm

vocalizations thus interact to communicate information regarding several
aspects of a predator encounter.
Receivers use this information to their advantage, affording greater atten-

tion to calls that would be more readily located by predators, and hence
are more costly for signallers to produce.
Correspondence:
J. F. Hare, Email: harejf@cc.umanitoba.ca
OUTDOORLINKS: J. F. Hare
http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/science/zoology/staffpages/hare.html
The Weapon of Sound
By Marco Evers

Source: Marco Evers/service.spiegel.de/ November 15, 2005
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/
0,1518,385048,00.html
Pirates off the coast of Somalia last week tried to take a US cruise ship.
But the attackers got more than they bargained for when the crew turned
a newly developed sonic weapon on
The sea bandits wore maniacal grins as they approached the "Seaborn
Spirit" early in the morning of Nov. 5. Thinking they had found easy
prey, they headed towards the cruise ship as it was peacefully sailing
along the often lawless coast of Somalia. Most of the luxury liner's 151
passengers were still asleep, as the pirates began to open fire with
machine guns from two motor boats. With bullets bouncing off the hull,
the Norwegian Captain Sven Erik Pedersen warned his guests over the
intercom: "Stay inside, we are under attack."
Charles Supple, a 78-year-old passenger, pulled his camera just as one of

the pirates only 40 meters away steadied a rocket propelled grenade and
fired. Supple saw a flash and quickly threw himself on the deck before
the shot exploded just overhead. "It was extremely frightening," he said.
The Spirit was in extreme danger and a few of the ship's crew tried to
wash the attackers into the sea with fire hoses. But it was a new high-tech
weapon that allowed Captain Pedersen to escape the floating villains with
only minimal damage to his vessel. In charge of ship security was a fear-
less former Gurkha -- the elite soldiers from Nepal in the British army. It
was he who used a futuristic sonic cannon developed by the Pentagon to
send the pirates packing.

Until now, it wasn't widely known that the US Defense Department was
sharing the so-called Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) with com-
mercial cruise ships. The weapon is essentially a small dish that beams
hellishly loud noise that is deafening but not lethal. Weighing 20 kilo-
grams and as big as a TV satellite dish, the device looks deceptively
harmless. But once trained on its target, it blasts a tight beam of painful
siren-like sound.
It's not known how the grinning pirates 160 kilometers off the coast of
the Horn of Africa reacted as they suddenly were hit by the LRAD. But
they were close, and the closer one is to the sonic cannon, the worse the
effect is. It's possible they received permanent hearing damage, but at the
very least they experienced an excruciating headache and ear pain to the
point that they could no longer see or hear. They also quickly lost the
desire to board the ship. Of course, even Captain Blackbeard would have
quickly set sail when confronted with 150 decibels of pure noise.
It appears the small dish proved instrumental in scaring off the attackers,
although Captain Pedersen, dressed in his bathrobe, took to the helm and
began maneuvering to create dangerous waves with the ship's wake. He
also attempted to ram the pirates, but was unable to hit the smaller motor
boats. The brave Gurkha came under fire and was lightly injured from
splinters, but he continued his sonic blasts. Eventually, the Seabourn
Spirit, engines at full speed, left the Somalis behind. When the ship
docked in the Seychelles, the passengers celebrated the captain as if he
were Lord Nelson himself.
The Long Range Acoustic Device from the California-based American

Technology Corporation.

Conference: Music and Consciousness
The LRAD was designed by a small San Diego, California firm called
American Technology Corporation. The company has sold thousands of
the acoustic cannon since 2003, including large orders to the US Armed
Forces. Following the al-Qaida attack on the USS Cole in October 2000
that killed 17 sailors, the Pentagon wanted a non-lethal weapon to defend
its ships that wouldn't necessarily kill potential attackers.
Around 300 LRADs are in currently in use in Iraq. The US Army even
uses the sonic cannons to clear houses acoustically. The dish can even be
used as a super megaphone -- enabling soldiers to warn drivers over 300
meters ahead of checkpoints.
Recognizing the potential, police in New York and Boston have also pur-
chased a few of the $30,000 devices. So too, of course, have American
and British cruise lines. Besides the Seabourn Spirit, the world's largest
cruise ship, the "Queen Mary 2", is able to give pirates an earful.
OUTDOORLINKS: LRAD - The Sound of Force Protection
http://www.atcsd.com/lrad.html
17-19 July 2006, University of Sheffield, UK
Source: http://www.shef.ac.uk/music/staff/academic/eric-clarke/escom
The last 10 years or so have seen the emergence of consciousness studies

as a multi-disciplinary field of inquiry, partly driven by rapid develop-

ments in the neurosciences, but also stimulated by renewed interest

within philosophy and the arts and humanities more generally.
There is a long history of thought about the relationship between music

and consciousness, and this conference is intended as a forum to bring
together the diverse fields within which that thinking has gone on.
The aim of the conference is therefore to approach the subject in as broad

and inclusive a manner as possible, to provide an opportunity to discover
different ways in which the relationship has been theorised and
described, and to propose some of the ways in which future research and
practice might develop.
The conference will consist entirely of plenary sessions so as to enable

the most inclusive and wide-ranging participation, and significant
amounts of time will be allocated for discussion.
Following a large and very diverse response to the call for papers, the
successful proposals have now been selected, and the schedule of papers
and posters, together with registration and accommodation details, will
soon be posted on the website.
The change of date is to accommodate a larger number of presentations

than we had anticipated, and to make it possible for the conference to be
residential allowing for a greater degree of interaction between delegates.
OUTDOORLINKS: A conference jointly organised by
The University of Sheffield Department of Music

Ice harmonies
http://www.shef.ac.uk/music/
The University of Newcastles International Centre for Music Studies.
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/sacs/about/music/
Ice harmonies
source: http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/AWI/Presse/PM/pm05-2.hj/
051124Eisberg-e.html
Vibrations originating from an iceberg were recorded seismographically

at the Antarctic Neumayer Station by scientists of the Alfred Wegener
Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and Fielax, a private
business. The recorded vibrations produce harmonic sounds with up to
30 overtones. However, the sounds are not audible to the human ear
because of the tones low register. The data might facilitate a better
understanding of the processes in volcanoes where vibration patterns are
similar.
Results might help vulcanologists
The scientists are analysing the results of their measurements in a study

just published in the scientific journal Science. Initially, volcanic activity
was thought to cause the low frequency vibrations; so-called tremors.
However, comparisons of seismic soundings revealed movement of the
source of the vibrations. By means of satellite imagery, a giant iceberg
covering an area of 30 by 50 kilometres, was identified as the cause.

Ice harmonies
The researchers suspect that water flowing within the icebergs system of
crevasses and tunnels, is stimulating elastic vibrations, similar to those of
an organ pipe. Understanding these recordings that are so comparable to
volcanic tremors might in turn also help volcanologists to explain the
causes of volcanic tremors, surmises Christian Mller from Fielax
GmbH. In contrast to complex volcanic systems, icebergs have a sim-
pler structure.
13 hours tremor
The most spectacular of a total of eleven events was recorded on July 22,
2000 and lasted for 16 hours. It was triggered by two brief earthquakes,
which could be localised and were the result of a collision of an iceberg
identified as B-09A with the continental slope. Subsequently, a two-hour
sequence of seismic signals with highly variable frequencies was fol-
lowed by an one-hour seismic pause. The subsequent harmonic tremor
lasted 13 hours. The seismic sounds were caused either by continuing
collisions of the iceberg scraping alongside the continental slope, or by
incursions within the iceberg.
As early as1987, this particular iceberg had fractured from Ross Ice
Shelf. On its way around Antarctica it had been beached twice for several
years, before, in 2000, it drifted westward past the Alfred Wegener Insti-
tutes Neumayer Station. In addition to the harmonic features of the trem-
ors recorded from B-09A, their intensity was particularly notable. The
vibrations were detected seismically over a distance of 800 kilometres
and their strength is comparable to volcanic tremors by Mount St Helens,
for instance, or by Hawaiian volcanoes.

Active listening gives meaning to digital music
The article Singing icebergs will be published November 25 in Sci-

ence (Vol. 310, issue 5752).
Your contact person is:
Dr. Christian Mller, Email mueller@fielax.com
OUTDOORLINKS: Harmonien im Eis
http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/AWI/Presse/PM/pm05-2.hj/
051124Eisberg-d.html
Source: www.alphagalileo.org/21 November 2005
Imagine a home hi-fi system where music was automatically categorised

according to preferences, where you could read the lyrics as you listen,
summon up a favourite tune by humming it, and play along with your
favourites.
It may sound farfetched, but all these functions and more have already
been achieved.
The SemanticHIFI project, coordinated by the Paris-based music tech-

nology institute, Ircam, is unique.

It represents a quantum leap in home music technology, in which access

to musical content, and the ability to manipulate it, have hardly advanced
since the days of the gramophone.
Essentially, we are adding descriptions to musical content, explains

Ircams Hugues Vinet, the project coordinator. This allows for more
interaction with music, so users can do more than just passively listen.
Actually, its about making our sophisticated software tools for profes-
sional musicians available to a broader public.
These tools enable a wide variety of functions.
Some address ways to browse the large number of recordings that now
inhabit the average hard disk. Browsing techniques for digital music
were very basic, explains Vinet. You could only search editorial
information, such as titles.
But SemanticHIFI will allow people to label and browse their own col-
lections according to actual musical content, categorised as they see fit.
Its not our object to define genres, but to let people define their own,
explains Vinet. Then the system learns the definition criteria, and can
label other titles accordingly.
Browsing by example is another intriguing possibility simply select

the kind of music you want to hear, on the basis of features such as tempo
or orchestration, and the programme comes up with a list of comparable
pieces.
Naturally, exploring musical content in this way requires a mode of visu-

alisation.

So we have developed a system that analyses the temporal structure of a

piece of music and develops a graphical map or interface based on that,
explains Vinet. So if you click on one of the elements in the graphical
map, you go directly to that part of the music. Whats more, using this
algorithm you can generate a musical summary as a new file condens-
ing a long piece into a much shorter one, but complete with all its varia-
tions.
Then you can manipulate musical content via the summary and the
graphical map.
Another way of navigating through musical documents involves the abil-

ity to separate different instruments, using sound manipulation tech-
niques that reproduce sounds in space. Here, SemanticHIFI challenges
the usual recorded music model, which is undoubtedly polyphonic: We
have to persuade the music industry to evolve its production process by
providing multitrack recordings, says Vinet. Being able to separate the
instruments allows the listener to arrange an orchestra in space, choosing
where to place the violins, for example. It invites listeners and musicians
to really understand the construction of a piece, and play along with it.
The system even includes simplified musical instruments that you can
play with, using your voice, Vinet explains.
SemanticHIFIs system architecture has several components: a hi-fi box

in the living room will house most of the capabilities. PC applications
will enable more advanced functions, such as performance ones.
Other capabilities are peer-to-peer file sharing In a non-copyright

infringing way, Vinet insists. Users can share metadata their indexing
and manipulations but not original tracks.

The computer identifies the original behind the metadata, and if you
dont own it, will suggest you buy it. SemanticHIFI is therefore compati-
ble with the commercial model.
The project counts Berlins Native Instruments and the Sony European
Technology Centre (Stuttgart) as its industrial partners.
Sony handles the integration of the technologies into a box, which is the
next step. Were two-thirds of the way there, says Vinet. All the tech-
nologies have been validated and the first application prototypes will be
ready early in 2006, for a first trial at the Cit des Sciences in Paris.
He believes it is up to industry to decide the commercial future of the

project: The box itself may be a product, and parts of it may be adapted
into mobiles or games there are many possibilities, he says.
But whatever form SemanticHIFI takes, one thing is for sure: listening to
music will never be the same again.
Contact:
Hugues Vinet, Email: Hugues.Vinet@ircam.fr
OUTDOORLINKS: SemanticHIFI project website
http://shf.ircam.fr/
Ircam
http://www.ircam.fr/?L=1

Echolocating bats can use acoustic landmarks for spatial orientation
Echolocating bats can use acoustic landmarks for

spatial orientation
By Marianne Egebjerg Jensen, Cynthia F. Moss and Annemarie Surlykke
source: http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/208/23/4399
Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 4399-4410 (2005)/doi: 10.1242/

jeb.01901
We investigated the echolocating bat's use of an acoustic landmark for

orientation in a complex environment with no visual information.
Three bats of the species Eptesicus fuscus were trained to fly through a
hole in a mist net to receive a food reward on the other side.
In all experiments, the vocal behavior of the bats was recorded simulta-
neously using a high-speed video recording system, allowing for a 3D
reconstruction of the flight path.
We ran three types of experiments, with different spatial relations

between the landmark and net hole.
In the first experiment, the bat's behavior was studied in test trials with
the landmark placed 10 cm to the left of the net opening; between test tri-
als, the positions of the net opening and landmark were moved, but the
spatial relationship between the two remained fixed.
With the landmark adjacent to the net opening, the bats quickly found the
hole.

Musician breaks new ground with glass composition
In the second experiment, bats were tested in control trials in which the
landmark was moved independently of the hole, breaking the established
spatial relationship between the two.
Here the bats spent more time per trial searching for the net opening with
an increased number of inspections as well as crashes into the net. In con-
trol trials the bats repeatedly crashed into the net next to the landmark,
and inspected the area around it. In the final experiment, the landmark
was removed altogether from the set-up.
However, over the course of a test day without the landmark, bats
reduced the time spent per trial and focused inspections and crashes
around the hole.
The behavioral data show for the first time that the echolocating bat can
learn to rely on an acoustic landmark to guide spatial orientation.
OUTDOORLINKS: Marianne Egebjerg Jensen
http://www.lamiller.biology.sdu.dk/gb/undervisning.htm
Source: www.york.ac.uk/01 December 2005
http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/presspr/pressreleases/glassman.htm
For musician Neil Sorrell, it was one of his most unusual assignments
to create 15 minutes of music, using only the sounds of glass.

Dr Sorrell, a senior lecturer in the University of Yorks Department of

Music, was asked to create the music for a radio play his brother, Martin,
had written about an unusual medical condition that caused sufferers to
believe they were turning to glass.
The glass delusion -- a state of profound anxiety now associated with

severe depression -- was relatively common in the Middle Ages. King
Charles VI of France was a sufferer and had iron ribs sewn into his cloth-
ing to protect himself in case of a fall while in 1610, Cervantes wrote a
novella The Glass Graduate about the condition.
But Martin Sorrell, Professor of French at Exeter University, has set his
play The Glass Man, chronicling a young mans affliction with the condi-
tion, in the present day.
He approached his brother to write the music and Neil Sorrell took up the
challenge, though with a limited budget and a tight deadline, he decided
on a novel approach.
Dr Sorrell said: I didnt want to use normal instruments. I decided that

using the sounds that could be created by glass would give the music an
other-worldy quality. If it had been done on normal instruments, it would
have sounded banal and nave.
After sketching out his musical ideas, Dr Sorrell set about gathering his
instruments including wine glasses, large vessels from the Universitys
Department of Chemistry and even the inside of a vacuum flask.
He enlisted the help of second-year postgraduate student in the Depart-

ment of Music, Chilean Felipe Otondo, to act as recording engineer.

How the Brain Tunes Out Background Noise
I started producing sounds using the glass and recorded them with
Felipe which gave me a scale of notes to work with. It was very satisfy-
ing and very creative but a bit of white-knuckle ride towards the end
when the deadline was fast approaching!
It took 24 hours of studio time to produce 15 minutes of music.
The Glass Man directed by Sara Davies, and starring Cark Prekopp,
Saskia Reeves, Barbara Flynn and Stephen Perring, will be broadcast on
BBC Radio 4 at 2.15pm on 6 December 2005.
OUTDOORLINKS: Martin Sorrell
http://www.departments.ex.ac.uk/french/staff/MS.html
Felipe Otondo
http://www.otondo.net/
Neil Sorrell
http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~nfis1/welcome.htm
Source: news.yahoo.com/05.12.2005
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20051202/sc_space/howthebraintune-
soutbackgroundnoise

Special neurons in the brainstem of rats focus exclusively on new, novel

sounds and help them ignore predictable and ongoing noises, a new study
finds.
The same process likely occurs in humans and may affect our speech and
even help us laugh.
The "novelty detector neurons," as researchers call them, quickly stop fir-
ing if a sound or sound pattern is repeated. They will briefly resume fir-
ing if some aspect of the sound changes. The neurons can detect changes
in pitch, loudness or duration of a single sound and can also note shifts in
the pattern of a complex series of sounds.
"It is probably a good thing to have this ability because it allows us to

tune out background noises like the humming of a car's motor while we
are driving or the regular tick-tock of a clock," said study team member
Ellen Covey, a psychology professor at the University of Washington.
"But at the same time, these neurons would instantly draw a person's
attention if their car's motor suddenly made a strange noise or if their cell
phone rang."
Covey said similar neurons seem to be present in all vertebrates and

almost certainly exist in the human brain.
The novelty detector neurons seem to act as gatekeepers, Covey and her
colleagues conclude, preventing information about unimportant sounds
from reaching the brain's cortex, where higher processing occurs. This
allows people to ignore sounds that don't require attention.
The results are detailed this month in the European Journal of Neuro-
science.

The novelty detector neurons seem able to store information about a pat-
tern of sound, so they may also be involved in speech, which requires
anticipating the end of a word and knowing where the next one begins.
"Speech fluency requires a predictive strategy," Covey explained. "What-

ever we have just heard allows us to anticipate what will come next, and
violations of our predictions are often surprising or humorous."
OUTDOORLINKS: Ellen Covey, Ph.D.
http://web.psych.washington.edu/directory/people.php?person_id=39
ATP Signaling Is Crucial for Communication from Taste Buds to Gusta-

tory Nerves
By Thomas E. Finger, Vicktoria Danilova, Jennell Barrows, Dianna L.

Bartel, Alison J. Vigers, Leslie Stone, Goran Hellekant, Sue C. Kinna-
mon
Source: www.sciencemag.org/2 December 2005
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/310/5753/1495
Vol. 310. no. 5753, pp. 1495 1499/DOI: 10.1126/science.1118435
Taste receptor cells detect chemicals in the oral cavity and transmit this
information to taste nerves, but the neurotransmitter(s) have not been
identified.
We report that adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) is the key neurotransmit-

ter in this system.

Be a rock star. Play the Virtual Air Guitar
Genetic elimination of ionotropic purinergic receptors (P2X2 and P2X3)

eliminates taste responses in the taste nerves, although the nerves remain
responsive to touch, temperature, and menthol.
Similarly, P2X-knockout mice show greatly reduced behavioral

responses to sweeteners, glutamate, and bitter substances.
Finally, stimulation of taste buds in vitro evokes release of ATP.
Thus, ATP fulfils the criteria for a neurotransmitter linking taste buds to
the nervous system.
Sue C. Kinnamon E-mail: sue.kinnamon@colostate.edu
OUTDOORLINKS: Thomas E. Finger
http://www.uchsc.edu/cdb/faculty/finger.htm
Sue C. Kinnamon
http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/bms/kinnamon.htm
Source: http://airguitar.tml.hut.fi/
The Virtual Air Guitar is a new way of experiencing music.
It is an instrument literally played in the air: no strings, no keys, just you,

free to perform.

Playing air guitar is like playing rock guitar, only without the guitar or
any musical skills.
It is a wild show, it is letting go, it is the essence of the rock attitude.
But up until now, air guitarists have been limited to playing along exist-
ing music.
The Virtual Air Guitar changes all this.
It is an entertainment device that you can learn to use instantly - no musi-

cal skills required.
Just wear the orange gloves and play.
The guitar does not merely respond - you are actually playing it.
It's a new way of experiencing music.
The experience is currently featured in the Heureka Science Centre in

Finland, and has toured the world in various conferences.
To read Fulltext, click to the Homepage of Virtual Air Guitar
http://airguitar.tml.hut.fi/
OUTDOORLINKS: Homepage of Virtual Air Guitar
http://airguitar.tml.hut.fi/

Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Head Circumference Study of Brain Size in
Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Head

Circumference Study of Brain Size in Autism
Birth Through Age 2 Years
By Heather Cody Hazlett, PhD; Michele Poe, PhD; Guido Gerig, PhD;
Rachel Gimpel Smith, BA; James Provenzale, MD; Allison Ross, MD;
John Gilmore, MD; Joseph Piven, MD
Source: archpsyc.ama-assn.org/Vol. 62 No. 12, December 2005/

2005;62:1366-1376.
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/62/12/1366
Context
While the neuroanatomical basis of autism is not yet known, evidence

suggests that brain enlargement may be characteristic of this disorder.
Inferences about the timing of brain enlargement have recently come
from studies of head circumference (HC).
Objectives
To examine brain volume and HC in individuals with autism as compared

with control individuals.
Design
A cross-sectional study of brain volume was conducted at the first time

point in an ongoing longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging study of
brain development in autism. Retrospective longitudinal HC measure-

Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Head Circumference Study of Brain Size in
ments were gathered from medical records on a larger sample of individ-

uals with autism and local control individuals.
Setting
Clinical research center.
Participants
The magnetic resonance imaging study included 51 children with autism

and 25 control children between 18 and 35 months of age (the latter
included both developmentally delayed and typically developing chil-
dren). Retrospective, longitudinal HC data were examined from birth to
age 3 years in 113 children with autism and 189 local control children.
Main Outcome Measures
Cerebral cortical (including cortical lobes) and cerebellar gray and white
matter magnetic resonance imaging brain volumes as well as retrospec-
tive HC data from medical records were studied.
Results
Significant enlargement was detected in cerebral cortical volumes but not

cerebellar volumes in individuals with autism. Enlargement was present
in both white and gray matter, and it was generalized throughout the cere-
bral cortex. Head circumference appears normal at birth, with a signifi-
cantly increased rate of HC growth appearing to begin around 12 months
of age.
Conclusions

Rapid developmental switch in the mechanisms driving early cortical columnar
Generalized enlargement of gray and white matter cerebral volumes, but

not cerebellar volumes, are present at 2 years of age in autism. Indirect
evidence suggests that this increased rate of brain growth in autism may
have its onset postnatally in the latter part of the first year of life.
OUTDOORLINKS: Heather Cody Hazlett
http://www.psychiatry.unc.edu/directories/hazlett.htm
Archives of General Psychiatry
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/
Rapid developmental switch in the mechanisms

driving early cortical columnar networks
By Erwan Dupont, Ileana L. Hanganu, Werner Kilb, Silke Hirsch and

Heiko J. Luhmann
Source: www.nature.com/4 December 2005
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/
nature04264.html;jses-
sionid=CD9BEE2CAE67ACFA2207071C9FC011D7
Nature advance online publication; published online 4 December 2005 |

doi:10.1038/nature04264
The immature cerebral cortex self-organizes into local neuronal clusters

long before it is activated by patterned sensory inputs.

Rapid developmental switch in the mechanisms driving early cortical columnar
In the cortical anlage of newborn mammals, neurons coassemble through

electrical or chemical synapses either spontaneously or by activation of
transmitter-gated receptors.
The neuronal network and the cellular mechanisms underlying this corti-
cal self-organization process during early development are not com-
pletely understood.
Here we show in an intact in vitro preparation of the immature mouse

cerebral cortex that neurons are functionally coupled in local clusters by
means of propagating network oscillations in the beta frequency range.
In the newborn mouse, this activity requires an intact subplate and is

strongly synchronized within a cortical column by gap junctions.
With the developmental disappearance of the subplate at the end of the

first postnatal week, activation of NMDA (N-methyl-d-aspartate) recep-
tors in the immature cortical network is essential to generate this colum-
nar activity pattern.
Our findings show that during a brief developmental period the cortical
network switches from a subplate-driven, gap-junction-coupled syncy-
tium to a synaptic network acting through NMDA receptors to generate
synchronized oscillatory activity, which may function as an early func-
tional template for the development of the cortical columnar architecture.
Correspondence to:
Heiko J. Luhmann, Email: luhmann@uni-mainz.de
OUTDOORLINKS: Arbeitsgruppe Prof. Dr. Heiko Luhmann

Unexceptional sharpness of frequency tuning in the human cochlea
http://physiologie.uni-mainz.de/physio/luhmann/index.htm
Unexceptional sharpness of frequency tuning in the

human cochlea
By Mario A. Ruggero and Andrei N. Temchin
Source: www.pnas.org/ December 12, 2005
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0509323102v1?etoc
www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0509323102
The responses to sound of auditory-nerve fibers are well known in many

animals but are topics of conjecture for humans.
Some investigators have claimed that the auditory-nerve fibers of

humans are more sharply tuned than are those of various experimental
animals.
Here we invalidate such claims.
First, we show that forward-masking psychophysical tuning curves,

which were used as the principal support for those claims, greatly overes-
timate the sharpness of cochlear tuning in experimental animals and,
hence, also probably in humans.
Second, we calibrate compound action potential tuning curves against the

tuning of auditory-nerve fibers in experimental animals and use com-
pound action potential tuning curves recorded in humans to show that the
sharpness of tuning in human cochleae is not exceptional and that it is

Attention Gaming
actually similar to tuning in all mammals and birds for which compari-
sons are possible.
Third, we note that the similarity of frequency of tuning across species

with widely diverse cochlear lengths and auditory bandwidths implies
that for any given stimulus frequency the "cochlear amplifier" is confined
to a highly localized region of the cochlea.
Mario A. Ruggero, E-mail: mruggero@northwestern.edu
OUTDOORLINKS: Mario A. Ruggero
http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/csd/faculty/
Mario_Ruggero/
Attention Gaming
by Lindsay Carswel
Source: Lindsay Carswel/www.sciencentral.com/8.12.2005
http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?article_id=218392700
Playing too many video games has been reported to increase violent ten-
dencies in some people or make some kids slow learners, but they may
also create skilled surgeons and have also been used as a virtual distrac-
tion helping some kids get through painful medical treatments.

Attention Gaming
Now it seems that playing certain special computer games could help
prepare some kids for school.
Psychologists at the University of Oregon designed the games to train the

network of brain areas involved in attention, which undergoes important
development between ages three and seven.
"It's important, particularly in child development, for the child's ability to

regulate their thoughts and to control their emotions," explains neuro-
psychologist Mike Posner.
"This executive network, which tends to control the child's emotions, and
also allows them to continue to work on a particular task, it's also likely
that that network is also deficient in ADHD children."
Posner and his research team were interested in seeing whether, with a
certain amount of training, they might be able to improve the efficiency
of the network in children at the age when the network is developing.
They studied groups of children aged four to six. Those in the training
group were given increasingly difficult attention tasks.
"Training programs designed to teach monkeys to go into outer space and

work on NASA experiments involved teaching those monkeys to resolve
conflict between different thoughts. And that's a very important aspect of
the executive attention network. So we decided we would adopt those
training programs for children," he explains.
The children were asked to use a control device, like a game joystick, to
move a cursor on a screen to the larger of two groups of objects. But a
conflict was sometimes created by making the larger group have a lesser

Attention Gaming
value, for example, the larger group was made up of lots of number 2's,
while the smaller group consisted of number 7's.
"So there's a conflict between going to the larger number of items and
going to the larger digit," Posner says, "and the children are taught to
resolve that conflict."
Using caps wired with electrodes, the team recorded children's brain-
waves at the beginning and end of the study.
They reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences that they could see the network get more efficient after just five
training sessions.
"Part of the network developed a more mature response," says Posner. "It
looked more like the adult subjects that we've also run in these experi-
ments that is higher levels of behavior both in the task and in the
responses of their brains."
The researchers believe this shows that it is possible to train the executive
attention network and will lead to future studies into exactly how this
might be fit into an appropriate training program for children.
They also found that even this brief attention training improved one mea-
sure of the IQ, involving nonverbal reasoning.
"This suggests that the improvements of attention that we achieved by

this training will also affect other aspects of cognitive processes," he
says. "But let's keep in mind that training was only five days training,
which is a very minimal period of training. The training effects were not
as large as the effects of norm development between four and six years."

Attention Gaming
Posner says that while this study measured subtle effects, it shows that
early childhood educators should pay attention to improving attention.
"We don't know how long this lasts however. We have not followed up
children at later ages to see whether the improvement in attention helps,"
he says. "But I think you have to realize that when children enter school,
if they're better able to attend even at the very start, then that allows them
to absorb information better. That might increase their later attention and
things might spiral. So very small changes might turn out to be really
quite important in the life of the child."
During their experiments, the researchers also took DNA samples to

study whether differences in genes involved in the network can predict
who will benefit most from the training.
They discovered that the dopamine transporter gene, one of four genes
they had previously found to be related to this network in adults, also
showed a strong relation in children.
"People have several different versions of the gene," Posner explains.

"Different versions of the gene resulted in somewhat different efficiency
of the attention network."
He says that children with a particular version of the gene seemed to have
more difficulty with attention to benefit more from the attention training,
suggesting that genetics tests might one day aid educators in targeting
special training .
"So I think it's become hopeful that we will get more and more knowl-
edge about the genetic basis that underlies the efficiency of these net-

Music therapy brings progress with the beat of a drum
works, and even the genes that actually build the network as the child
develops," says Posner.
Posner's work was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy

of Sciences early edition, Sept 28, 2005 and was funded by the 21st Cen-
tury Science Initiative of the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the
National Institute of Mental Health (HD 38051), and the Dana Founda-
tion for Studies of the Arts.
OUTDOORLINKS: Michael Posner
http://www.neuro.uoregon.edu/ionmain/htdocs/faculty/posner.html
Teach-the-Brain Learning Tools Downloads
Various tools are available for download that are free for your use.
http://www.teach-the-brain.org/learn/downloads/index.htm
By Amanda Fehd
Source: Amanda Fehd/www.tahoedailytribune.com/December 13, 2005
http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20051213/NEWS/112130030
A year ago, 3-year-old Anthony Triano could not walk, feed himself,
dress himself or go to the potty alone.
Anthony has Down syndrome and he learns things a little more slowly
than other children.

But with the help of a drumbeat and a song, Anthony can now do all of
those tasks.
"Music engages a different part of the brain," said Colleen Klym, a music
therapist. "So while one part of the brain might not be able to process
things, the part that processes music might be more advanced in these
kids who are developmentally disabled."
Klym, 27, works with children like Anthony, as well as the elderly who
have lost speech or motor functions.
Through her company, Mountain Music Therapy, she works at several

area schools and nursing homes and provides private sessions.
Anthony took his first steps with Colleen through music, said his mother,
Shauna Triano.
She had been working with Anthony for more than a year to teach him to
thread beads on a string, considered a developmental milestone.
He got it within five minutes during music therapy session last week.
Other tasks, like using a spoon, have also come more easily, his parents
said.
With standard therapies, Anthony would make some progress, his father
Dave Triano said, "but the difference when the therapies were integrated
with music was stunning."
Music therapy is an established health care profession which requires

412 years of training plus a credential, according to the American
Music Therapy Association.

The profession began in the hospitals of World Wars I and II, where doc-
tors noticed music's benefit to patients' well-being.
The first music therapy degree was awarded 51 years ago at Michigan
State University.
The therapy was featured in the Nov. 14 edition of Time magazine for its
alleged benefits to patients with Alzheimer's and dementia.
Despite this history, Klym said she still senses skepticism from people
and feels she has to prove it is valid.
But parents like the Trianos have left their doubt behind.
"It's amazing," Shauna Triano said. "I keep thinking it's not going to work
and it works. Every time she does something with him, he's able to do it."
Klym is not a performer. Rather, she uses several instruments to teach

speech and movement, and improve social skills through an interactive
environment, where the patient participates to his or her best ability.
With the beat of a drum or guitar, Klym breaks down the steps to a cer-
tain task like putting on pants or making a sentence, and might come up
with a song to match.
Lynne Tara wishes she knew about music therapy a long time ago, when
her 15-year-old daughter Katelyn, who also has Down syndrome, was an
infant.

BDNF from microglia causes the shift in neuronal anion gradient underlying
When Katelyn started therapy last year with Klym, she could only say a
couple of words at a time. Now, she is forming sentences for the first time
in her life, according to her mother.
"We had not seen much improvement at all until this came along," Tara
said. "She works hard with these kids. There's so many children who
have speech delay who could benefit from this."
Klym grew up in an Irish home with music all around her. In tough times,
she always turned to music to help her get through, she said.
"I feel like I've been blessed with the gift of music. And I'm honored to
work with these people and see them learn and feel good and be touched
by music like I was touched by music.
"The music speaks for itself and it does work."
OUTDOORLINKS: American Music Therapy Association
http://www.musictherapy.org
Michigan State University
http://www.msu.edu/index.html
BDNF from microglia causes the shift in neuronal

anion gradient underlying neuropathic pain
By Jeffrey A. M. Coull, Simon Beggs, Dominic Boudreau, Dominick

Boivin, Makoto Tsuda, Kazuhide Inoue, Claude Gravel, Michael W.
Salter and Yves De Koninck

BDNF from microglia causes the shift in neuronal anion gradient underlying
Source: Nature 438, 1017-1021 (15 December 2005) | doi:10.1038/

nature04223
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7070/abs/nature04223.html
Neuropathic pain that occurs after peripheral nerve injury depends on the
hyperexcitability of neurons in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord1, 2, 3.
Spinal microglia stimulated by ATP contribute to tactile allodynia, a

highly debilitating symptom of pain induced by nerve injury4.
Signalling between microglia and neurons is therefore an essential link in

neuropathic pain transmission, but how this signalling occurs is
unknown.
Here we show that ATP-stimulated microglia cause a depolarizing shift in

the anion reversal potential (Eanion) in spinal lamina I neurons.
This shift inverts the polarity of currents activated by GABA (-amino

butyric acid), as has been shown to occur after peripheral nerve injury5.
Applying brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mimics the alter-

ation in Eanion. Blocking signalling between BDNF and the receptor
TrkB reverses the allodynia and the Eanion shift that follows both nerve
injury and administration of ATP-stimulated microglia.
ATP stimulation evokes the release of BDNF from microglia.
Preventing BDNF release from microglia by pretreating them with inter-

fering RNA directed against BDNF before ATP stimulation also inhibits
the effects of these cells on the withdrawal threshold and Eanion.

Scientists Figure Out Why Mona Lisa Smiles
Our results show that ATP-stimulated microglia signal to lamina I neu-

rons, causing a collapse of their transmembrane anion gradient, and that
BDNF is a crucial signalling molecule between microglia and neurons.
Blocking this microglianeuron signalling pathway may represent a ther-

apeutic strategy for treating neuropathic pain.
Correspondence to:
Yves De Koninck, Email: Yves.DeKoninck@crulrg.ulaval.ca
OUTDOORLINKS: Yves De Koninck
http://www.medicine.mcgill.ca/pharma/displayp-
harma.asp?Pharma_ID=18
Michael Salter
http://www.utoronto.ca/pain/about_us.html
By TOBY STERLING
Source: TOBY STERLING/ The Associated Press/www.washington-

post.com/ December 15, 2005
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/15/
AR2005121501168.html

The mysterious half-smile that has intrigued viewers of the Mona Lisa
for centuries isn't really that difficult to interpret, Dutch researchers said
Thursday.
She was smiling because she was happy - 83 percent happy, to be exact,
according to scientists from the University of Amsterdam.
In what they viewed as a fun demonstration of technology rather than a

serious experiment, the researchers scanned a reproduction of Leonardo
da Vinci's masterpiece and subjected it to cutting-edge "emotion recogni-
tion" software, developed in collaboration with the University of Illinois.
The result showed the painting's famous subject was 83 percent happy, 9
percent disgusted, 6 percent fearful and 2 percent angry.
She was less than 1 percent neutral, and not at all surprised.
Leonardo began work on the painting in 1503, and it now hangs in the
Louvre in Paris.
The work, also known as "La Gioconda," is believed to have portrayed

the wife of Francesco del Giocondo.
The title is a play on her husband's name, and also means "the jolly lady"
in Italian.
Harro Stokman, a professor at the University of Amsterdam involved in

the experiment, said the researchers knew the results would be unscien-
tific _ the software isn't designed to register subtle emotions.
So it couldn't detect the hint of sexual suggestion or disdain many have

read into Mona Lisa's eyes.

In addition, the technology is designed for use with modern digital films
and images, and subjects first need to be scanned in a neutral emotionless
state to accurately detect their current emotion.
Lead researcher Nicu Sebe took the challenge as seriously as he could,

using the faces of 10 women of Mediterranean ancestry to create a com-
posite image of a neutral expression. He then compared that to the face in
the painting, scoring it on the basis of six emotions: happiness, surprise,
anger, disgust, fear and sadness.
"Basically, it's like casting a spider web over the face to break it down
into tiny segments," Stokman said. "Then you look for minute differ-
ences in the flare of the nostril or depth of the wrinkles around the eyes."
Stokman said with a reading of 83 percent, it's clear happiness was the
woman's main emotion.
Biometrics experts not involved with the experiment said the results were
interesting even if they aren't the last word on the Mona Lisa.
"Facial recognition technology is advancing rapidly, but emotional rec-

ognition is really still in its infancy," said Larry Hornak, director of the
Center for Identification Technology Research at West Virginia Univer-
sity.
"It sounds like they did try to use a data set, even if it was small, and
that's typical of work in an area like this that's relatively new. It's an inter-
esting result," he said.

Neural activity in speech-sensitive auditory cortex during silence
Stokman said he knew the University of Amsterdam effort won't prove or

disprove controversial theories about the painting. One is that it was actu-
ally a self-portrait of Leonardo himself as a woman.
"But who knows, in 30, 40, 50 years, maybe they'll be able to tell what
was on her mind," Stokman said.
Hornak agreed the idea was entertaining.
"It's always fun to apply technology to areas of public interest, and some-
times you can come up with results that are very illuminating," he said.
Jim Wayman, a biometrics researcher at San Jose State University

agreed.
"It's hocus pocus, not serious science," Wayman said. "But it's good for a
laugh, and it doesn't hurt anybody.
OUTDOORLINKS: Harro Stokman
http://staff.science.uva.nl/~stokman/isis/title.html
Nicu Sebe
http://staff.science.uva.nl/~nicu/contact.html
Neural activity in speech-sensitive auditory cortex

during silence
By M. D. Hunter, S. B. Eickhoff, T. W. R. Miller, T. F. D. Farrow, I. D.

Wilkinson and P. W. R. Woodruff

Neural activity in speech-sensitive auditory cortex during silence
Source: www.pnas.org/ December 21, 2005
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0506268103v1?etoc
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0506268103
That auditory hallucinations are voices heard in the absence of external

stimuli implies the existence of endogenous neural activity within the
auditory cortex responsible for their perception.
Further, auditory hallucinations occur across a range of healthy and dis-

ease states that include reduced arousal, hypnosis, drug intoxication,
delirium, and psychosis.
This suggests that, even in health, the auditory cortex has a propensity to
spontaneously "activate" during silence.
Here we report the findings of a functional MRI study, designed to exam-

ine baseline activity in speech-sensitive auditory regions.
During silence, we show that functionally defined speech-sensitive audi-

tory cortex is characterized by intermittent episodes of significantly
increased activity in a large proportion (in some cases >30%) of its vol-
ume.
Bilateral increases in activity are associated with foci of spontaneous

activation in the left primary and association auditory cortices and ante-
rior cingulate cortex.
We suggest that, within auditory regions, endogenous activity is modu-

lated by anterior cingulate cortex, resulting in spontaneous activation
during silence.

Mind Recreates Past Reality When Remembering
Hence, an aspect of the brain's "default mode" resembles a (preprepared)

substrate for the development of auditory hallucinations.
These observations may help explain why such hallucinations are ubiqui-
tous.
Full-Text PDF:
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0506268103v1
M. D. Hunter, E-mail: m.d.hunter@sheffield.ac.uk
OUTDOORLINKS:
Peter Woodruff (M.B., B.S., PhD, M.R.C.P., MRCPsych.)
http://www.shef.ac.uk/medicine/staff/woodruff.html
By Daniel DeNoon
Source: www.webmd.com/December 22, 2005
http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/116/112273.htm
WebMD Medical News/December 22, 2005
When we try to remember something, we do mental time travel.

New studies show that as we try to recall something, our brain works to
match the brain state we had during the event we are remembering. When
our reassembled brain state is a close enough match to the old one, voila!
We remember.
The finding comes from brain imaging studies by University of Pennsyl-

vania postdoctoral student Sean Polyn, PhD, and colleagues.
"Memory retrieval is like revisiting the past," Polyn says, in a news

release. "Brain patterns that are long gone can be revived by the memory
system."
The findings appear in the Dec. 23 issue of Science.
Remembering Celebrities, Landmarks, and Things
Polyn's team asked volunteers to study three lists. Each list contained 30
items: celebrity photographs, pictures of famous places, and photos of
common objects.
The brain stores different classes of things -- such as faces, places, and
things -- in different ways. As each volunteer studied each item, the
researchers scanned their brains with an fMRI (functional magnetic reso-
nance imaging) device. This imaging lets researchers see which parts of
the brain are being used, and when.
Later, the volunteers tried to remember the faces, places, and things in
any order they liked while the researchers scanned their brains. Sure
enough, as they tried to remember something, their brains began to look
just as they did when they were learning that class of object.

MIT researcher finds neuron growth in adult brain
And just before they reported the object they remembered, their brain
activity matched the brain activity for that class of object.
"As subjects search for memories from a particular event, their brain state
progressively comes to resemble their brain state during the sought-after
event," Polyn and colleagues write. "And the degree of match predicts
what kind of information the subjects will retrieve."
Polyn says the findings help explain a common experience.
"[It is] much like when you try to remember where you put your keys last
night," Polyn says. "If you recall that you were washing dishes, that
might trigger associated memories, leading you to remember that your
keys are next to the sink."
And the findings also carry some hint of mind reading. The brain scans
told the researchers -- before the subjects did -- what class of object the
subjects were remembering.
OUTDOORLINKS: Sean Polyn
http://www.polyn.com/
Source: www.eurekalert.org/26-Dec-2005
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/miot-mrf122205.php
Despite the prevailing belief that adult brain cells don't grow, a researcher
at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory reports in the Dec.

27 issue of Public Library of Science (PLoS) Biology that structural

remodeling of neurons does in fact occur in mature brains.
This finding means that it may one day be possible to grow new cells to
replace ones damaged by disease or spinal cord injury, such as the one
that paralyzed the late actor Christopher Reeve.
"Knowing that neurons are able to grow in the adult brain gives us a
chance to enhance the process and explore under what conditions --
genetic, sensory or other -- we can make that happen," said study co-
author Elly Nedivi, the Fred and Carole Middleton Assistant Professor of
Neurobiology.
While scientists have focused mostly on trying to regenerate the long

axons damaged in spinal cord injuries, the new finding suggests targeting
a different part of the cell: the dendrite. A dendrite, from the Greek word
for tree, is a branched projection of a nerve cell that conducts electrical
stimulation to the cell body.
"We do see relatively large-scale growth" in the dendrites, Nedivi said.

"Maybe we would get some level of improvement (in spinal cord
patients) by embracing dendritic growth." The growth is affected by use,
meaning the more the neurons are used, the more likely they are to grow,
she said.
The study's co-authors -- Nedivi; Peter T. So, an MIT professor of

mechanical and biological engineering; Wei-Chung Allen Lee, an MIT
brain and cognitive sciences graduate student; and Hayden Huang, a
mechanical engineering research affiliate -- used a method called two-
photon imaging to track specific neurons over several weeks in the sur-

face layers of the visual cortex in living mice. While many studies have
focused on the pyramidal neurons that promote firing, this work looked
at all types of neurons, including interneurons, which inhibit the activity
of cortical neurons.
With the help of technology similar to magnetic resonance imaging

(MRI), but at a much finer, cellular resolution, the researchers were able
to stitch together two-dimensional slices to create the first 3-D recon-
struction of entire neurons in the adult cortex. Dendritic branch tips were
measured over weeks to evaluate physical changes.
What the researchers saw amazed them.
In 3-D time-lapse images, the brain cells look like plants sprouting
together. Some push out tentative tendrils that grow around or retract
from contact with neighboring cells. Dendrite tips that look like the thin-
nest twigs grow longer. Of several dozen branch tips, sometimes only a
handful changed; in all, 14 percent showed structural modifications.
Sometimes no change for weeks was followed by a growth spurt. There
were incremental changes, some as small as seven microns, the largest a
dramatic 90 microns.
"The scale of change is much smaller than what goes on during the criti-
cal period of development, but the fact that it goes on at all is earth-shat-
tering," Nedivi said. She believes the results will force a change in the
way researchers think about how the adult brain is hard-wired.
Nedivi had previously identified 360 genes regulated by activity in the

adult brain that she termed candidate plasticity genes or CPGs. Her group
found that a surprisingly large number of CPGs encode proteins in charge

of structural change. Why are so many of these genes "turned on" in the
adult well after the early developmental period of dramatic structural
change?
The neuroscience community has long thought that whatever limited

plasticity existed in the adult brain did not involve any structural remod-
eling, mostly because no such remodeling was ever detected in excitatory
cells. Yet evidence points to the fact that adult brains can be functionally
plastic. In response to the CPG data, Nedivi and Lee revisited this ques-
tion with the help of So and Huang.
By applying an innovative new imaging technology that allows monitor-

ing of neuronal structural dynamics in the living brain, they found evi-
dence for adult neuronal restructuring in the less-known, less-accessible
inhibitory interneurons.
"Maybe the inhibitory network is where the capacity is for large-scale

changes," Nedivi said. "What's more, this growth is tied to use, so even as
adults, the more we use our minds, the more robust they can be."
FullText PDF
http://biology.plosjournals.org/archive/1545-7885/4/2/pdf/
10.1371_journal.pbio.0040029-p-S.pdf
Contact:
Elizabeth Thomson, Email: thomson@mit.edu
OUTDOORLINKS: Homepage Elly Nedivi

Semantic descriptors to help the hunt for music
http://web.mit.edu/bcs/people/nedivi.shtml
FullText PDF
http://biology.plosjournals.org/archive/1545-7885/4/2/pdf/
10.1371_journal.pbio.0040029-p-S.pdf
Source: www.alphagalileo.org/04 January 2006
You like a certain song and want to hear other tracks like it, but dont
know how to find them?
Ending the needle-in-a-haystack problem of searching for music on the

Internet or even in your own hard drive is a new audio-based music infor-
mation retrieval system.
Currently under development by the SIMAC project, it is a major leap

forward in the application of semantics to audio content, allowing songs
to be described not just by artist, title and genre but by their actual musi-
cal properties such as rhythm, timbre, harmony, structure and instrumen-
tation.
This allows comparisons between songs to be made and listeners to find

little-known tracks that suit their tastes but may otherwise go unnoticed.

The music world is highly commercial and only the works of the biggest
artists are really well known and widely promoted, notes SIMAC
project manager Xavier Serra at Barcelonas Pompeu Fabra University.
Something like 10 per cent of music accounts for 90 per cent of music
sales, while the remaining 90 per cent accounts for just 10 per cent of
sales this system could therefore herald a revolution for little-known
music and artists.
Technologically, the project has made significant progress toward bridg-

ing the so-called semantic gap in audio content.
Existing classification systems, such as those used to generate play lists

on popular PC media players and MP3 devices, are based on low-level
description techniques using text data about the artist, the track, album
and genre.
Users can find other tracks by the same artist, from the same album or
within the same genre but there is no guarantee that the songs will be
anything but remotely alike.
Alternatively, websites and online stores selling music often provide rec-
ommendations to users based on their personal preferences and the past
purchases they and other customers have made.
The since you bought this artist, you might also want to buy this one, as
other customers with a similar profile did method is not that effective,
however, because there may be similar songs out there but if they havent
been bought that much they wont appear as a recommendation, Serra
says.

The SIMAC approach, which incorporates machine learning, signal pro-

cessing and musical knowledge as well as text retrieval, overcomes these
problems by using a technique to describe music by its actual properties
and characteristics. The musical facets of songs are analysed and the
tracks are automatically tagged by an annotator. This then allows them to
be organised based on the similarities between them within a music
surfer programme.
The technique represents a major advancement over the existing meth-

ods used by audio software, Serra notes. It improves the way users can
organise, navigate and visualise audio files and how they can interact
with music on their audio player, PC or the Internet.
Another component of the system is a music recommender for users to

obtain recommendations that really interest them about new or old songs
from online stores. Called FoaFing the Music, it uses not only the musi-
cal characteristics of songs to recommend similar ones but also the users
profile, their past purchasing history and what has been written about the
songs in website news and reviews. It is based on the Friend of a Friend
(FoaF) concept that draws on information from thousands of machine-
readable Web pages via RSS feeds.
The prototype has drawn positive feedback from trial users, according
to Serra, and commercial interest in the SIMAC project, which ends in
March, is high.

The system offers evident advantages to users in the way they can find
and interact with music, and big benefits to artists, producers and the
music content industry as a whole, he notes.
Lesser known artists and small production companies who dont have
big promotional budgets should benefit in particular because it will
increase their visibility and the accessibility of their content.
The system could also be a boon to the software and consumer electron-
ics industries, Serra predicts, noting that there is extensive interest in
employing the annotation and music surfing techniques in Internet music
sites, PC software and portable devices.
Project partner Philips is currently developing an MP3 player incorporat-

ing audio analysis components and one SIMAC component has already
been licensed to mSoft, a US company that will use it to search library
music to find authorless tracks and sound effects that cannot be categor-
ised using traditional methods.
Though we were originally planning to set up a spin-off company to

exploit the project results, were now looking to collaborate with other
firms to introduce our technology into existing products and others that
are still in development, Serra says.
SIMAC Contact:
Xavier Serra, Email: xserra@iua.upf.edu
OUTDOORLINKS: SIMAC project
http://www.semanticaudio.com/

The feelSpace Study Project
Xavier Serra
http://www.iua.upf.es/~xserra/
The feelSpace Study Project
Source: http://www.cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de/%7Efeelspace/downloads/
feelSpace_finalReport.pdf
Introduction
The aim of the feelSpace pro ject was to investigate the effects of long-
term stim-
ulation with orientation information on humans.
In order to do this, we constructed a belt which enables its user to feel his
orientation in space via vibrotactile stimulation.
This belt is equipped with a set of vibrators controlled by an electronic

compass: it is always the element pointing north which is slightly vibrat-
ing.
That way, the person wearing the belt is provided with permanent input
about his heading relative to the earths magnetic field.
In humans, there is no natural sensory organ providing this kind of infor-

mation. The central questions were concerned about how environmental
information, not yet provided by an existing sensory organ, would influ-
ence the human nervous system.

Long Chaotic Transients in Complex Networks
Would this information be utilizable?
If so, would it take conscious effort to use it, or would it be somehow -

integrated, to allow for its sub-cognitive use?
If the latter be the case, what would be the nature of integration?
What would be the sub jective quality of it?
Would it be that of a tactile stimulation or something else, yet unper-

ceived?
Would we have even have created created a new modality after providing
access to a yet unknown domain of sensory information and its hypothet-
ical qualitative novelties?
To read the FullText please go to
http://www.cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de/%7Efeelspace/downloads/
feelSpace_finalReport.pdf
OUTDOORLINKS: Peter Knig
http://www.cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de/~NBP/peterhome.html
FeelSpace
http://feelspace.de/en/index.html
By Alexander Zumdieck, Marc Timme,1Theo Geisel and Fred Wolf

Source: http://www.chaos.gwdg.de/downloads/publications/
timme2004c.pdf
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.244103 PACS numbers: 05.45.Xt,

87.10.+e, 89.75.k
We show that long chaotic transients dominate the dynamics of randomly

diluted networks of pulsecoupled oscillators.
This contrasts with the rapid convergence towards limit cycle attractors
found in networks of globally coupled units.
The lengths of the transients strongly depend on the network connectivity

and vary by several orders of magnitude, with maximum transient
lengths at intermediate connectivities.
The dynamics of the transients exhibit a novel form of robust synchroni-

zation.
An approximation to the largest Lyapunov exponent characterizing the

chaotic nature of the transient dynamics is calculated analytically.
To Read more go to FullText-PDF
http://www.chaos.gwdg.de/downloads/publications/timme2004c.pdf
OUTDOORLINKS: Fred Wolf
http://www.chaos.gwdg.de/
Long Chaotic Transients in Complex Networks (PDF)

Sharon's Sons Use Music to Help Father
http://www.chaos.gwdg.de/downloads/publications/timme2004c.pdf
Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Gttingen
http://www.bccn-goettingen.de
By ARON HELLER
Source: Associated Press /MUSTHP-L:9965/15. Januar 2006
MUSTHP-L@listproc.cc.ku.edu
Ariel Sharon's sons have been playing Mozart and Israeli folk tunes by
their ailing father's bedside, hoping he'll show some reaction, however
faint.
Music can be an effective tool in stirring patients who've undergone trau-

mas such as the 77-year-old Israeli leader's stroke, some experts say.
Sharon, who suffered a massive stroke Jan. 4, is known to love classical

music. His sons, Omri and Gilad, have been playing it for him at the
behest of doctors, said Ron Krumer, an official at Hadassah Hospital.
Aside from Mozart, one of Sharon's favorite Israeli songs, "The King's
Bride," an ode to Israel by folk singer Rivka Zohar, is being played for
the ailing leader. In an interview with Channel 2 on Tuesday, Zohar said
she was honored and hoped her music would help Sharon.

"I think there is something even in an unconscious man that is still

awake. I am not a doctor but I think warmth and goodwill will help a lot.
A song can't harm, it can only help," she said.
Experts agreed.
"There is evidence of people emerging from comas and saying they

remember the music" played to them, said Dr. Dorit Amir, who directs
Israel's only college-level music therapy department, at Bar-Ilan Univer-
sity outside Tel Aviv.
Amir defines music therapy as "the conscious application of music and

its elements such as rhythm, melody and harmony in order to achieve
therapeutic goals" such as healing the sick.
The music of Mozart is said to be particularly therapeutic. Some

researchers have posited that listening to Mozart can increase brain
development in children under age 3, a controversial finding dubbed the
"Mozart effect."
Amir said music often helps post-comatose patients recover and some-
times is used with those in Sharon's condition as well. She insisted music
can enter the soul and "wake one up."
"Of course, we all hope he (Sharon) recovers from this, and if he does it
will be very interesting to ask him" if he remembers the music, she said.
Just this week, the family of the sole survivor of a coal mine explosion in
West Virginia played Metallica and Hank Williams Jr. in hopes of helping
the young miner recover.

Yuval Naveh, an Israeli occupational therapist, told Channel 2 that people

he had worked with after strokes responded positively to Mozart and also
to their personal favorites. The fact that Sharon's favorite composer was
Mozart could have a "double effect," he said.
If that doesn't help, Avi Yaffe, a soldier who served under Sharon in the
1973 Yom Kippur war, sent the prime minister's secretary a recording he
saved of radio traffic from that war ? hoping Sharon would recall one of
his finest hours.
"I don't know the state of his brain, but if there is something that can
wake him, this is it," he said.
Did our ancestors breathe through their ears?
Source: http://www.expertsvar.nu/publicIn-
dex.asp?page=10&fromPage=public&lang=2&PRID=5905
A fossil fish skull from Latvia that researchers from Uppsala University,
Sweden, describe in this weeks issue of Nature shows that the earliest
land animals probably breathed through their ears.
"It looks as if the first step in the evolution of the middle ear had nothing
to do with hearing. Our forebears developed ears in order to breathe
through them," says Professor Per Ahlberg.
The human sense of hearing is based on the interaction of two different

organs: the inner ear and the middle ear. The inner ear contains sensory
cells that capture sound vibrations and send them on as nerve impulses to
the brain. The middle ear is an ingenious mechanical audio amplifier that
captures the weak sound vibrations in the air with a membrane (the ear-

drum), amplifies them with a leverage system (ear bones) and sends them
on to the inner ear. Without the middle ear, the inner ear would not func-
tion.
All vertebrates have inner ears, but the middle ear exists only in land ani-
mals. Fish dont need middle ears since sound vibrations are stronger in
water and easily pass through the body of a fish.
The construction of the middle ear differs, however, among different

groups of land animals: mammals have an eardrum and three ear bones
(hammer (malleus), anvil (incus), and stirrup (stapes)), while birds, rep-
tiles, and frogs have only one ear bone (stirrup) that connects the eardrum
directly to the inner ear.
But it is questionable whether the eardrums in mammals, reptiles, and

frogs are identical or whether they arose independently of each other.
A comparison with fish muddies the picture even further: instead of mid-
dle ears, fish have a little gill, the blow-hole, that isnt covered by an ear-
drum but rather forms an open canal between the throat and the outside of
the head.
The equivalent of the stirrup, the hyomandibula, supports the gill lid but
has no contact with the inner ear. Neither the hyomandibula nor the blow-
hole plays any role in hearing.
These differences make it difficult to understand how the middle ear

arose. How could evolution change both the structure and function of the
fishes blow-hole so radically?
Did the earliest land animals have a sound amplifying middle ear at all?

The earliest fossil land vertebrates or tetrapods, like Acanthostega from

Greenland (that lived roughly 360 million years ago), had a stirrup that
was in contact with the inner ear, but it was large and clumsy and appears
not to have been connected to the eardrum.
They also had a couple of round outlets in the rear edge of the skull: in
modern frogs the corresponding outlet is the fastening point for the ear-
drum, but in fish it is the site of the outer opening of the blow-hole. This
combination of characteristics has led to the hypothesis that the earliest
land animals still had open blow-holes and perhaps breathed through
them.
The Uppsala scientists new data strongly support this hypothesis. The
information comes from the skull of a Panderichthys from Latvia, the
fossil fish that is closest to the emergence of land animals.
It has been known that Panderichthys had a hyomandibula, and it was

generally assumed that its blow-hole was of the normal fish type.
But this is not the case: in actual fact the hole is similar to the middle
ear of a tetrapod like Acanthostega. Since the hyomandibula of the Pan-
derichthys had no contact with the inner ear, its blow-hole could hardly
have had a sound-amplification function.
"Thus the transformation of the form of the blow-hole must have been
caused by another driving force than the improvement of hearing," says
Per Ahlberg.
Compared with closely related fish, the blow-hole in Panderichthys has a

considerably larger diameter and is furthermore both shorter and
straighter.

It looks like an adaptation to active breathing (of either water or air)

through the blow-hole, compared with ordinary fish in which only a
small portion of breathing water passes through this hole.
A similar adaptation can be seen in modern rays, which have a very large
blow-hole.
Since the middle ear in the earliest tetrapods has the same form as the
blow-hole in Panderichthys, it seems likely that they retained the breath-
ing function.
But in tetrapods the gill lid is gone and the hyomandibula is transformed
into a primitive stirrup.
The fact that the stirrup has contact with the inner ear indicates that a
rudimentary hearing function had also been added.
"We can speculate about how this came about. The blow-hole of a fish
can be closed by a valve muscle on top. If an early tetrapod did the same
thing, a truly enclosed middle ear was temporarily created, where the stir-
rup, which probably supported the wall of the middle ear, could forward
vibrations from the middle ear to the inner ear. When the hearing func-
tion eventually became more important, the blow-hole was permanently
closed by an eardrum," reasons Per Ahlberg.
Contacts:
Martin.Brazeau, Email: Martin.Brazeau@ebc.uu.se
Per Ahlberg, Email: Per.Ahlberg@ebc.uu.se
The article is being published in Nature on January 19.

Mommys Brain
OUTDOORLINKS: Martin Brazeau
http://lancelet.blogspot.com/
Per Ahlberg
http://www.geol.lu.se/bgg/eng/personal/pera.html
Mommys Brain
Research in animals shows that motherhood changes the brain
By Lindsay Carswell
Source: Lindsay Carswell/www.sciencentral.com/01.24.06
We all know motherhood changes the body. But research in animals

shows it also changes the brain.
Parental Complexity
Coping day or night with the demands of a new born baby and worrying
over every cough and sniffle are just in a day's work for parents, but it's
something that people without kids often find hard to imagine being able
to do until they have kids of their own that is.
So where do that cool head, that parenting instinct and those coping skills
just materialize from?

Mommys Brain
Sleep-deprived new mothers might find it hard to believe, but having

kids may actually make you sharper. Brain researcher Kelly Lambert
says that, at least in rodents, pregnancy and parenting change the brain
and behavior in ways that go beyond nursing and nurturing.
"From what we've seen, having a whole different being to take care of
requires a whole new set of skills and a lot more awareness, cognitive
awareness and multi-tasking," explains Lambert, professor and Chair of
the psychology department at Randolph-Macon College.
As Lambert and her collaborator Craig Kinsley, of the University of

Richmond, wrote in Scientific American, mother rats outperform non-
mothers at searching for food.
Lambert found that the mother rats' brains have increased complexity in
an area involved in this type of memory. "They have a wonderful search
strategy and we don't see these in the animals that have never been
moms, our virgin rats," she explains. The moms are also bolder than non-
moms at exploring the winding passages of an elevated maze.
"When I was expecting my first baby I had to read books and go to the
hospital to take classes," she says. "I was amazed when I would look at
the cages where these rat moms knew immediately what to do as soon as
they started having these pups."
In most of the mammalian models they looked at, the female is a single
mom. "The dads don't hang around to take care of the pups, so she has to
go beyond the nest to forage, to find food for her pups," Lambert
explains. "In our rodent models the moms have 13 or 14 pups, so this has

Mommys Brain
a lot of energy demands for the mom they needed to explore and get
back, and we know that moms defend their nest."
Lambert, Kinsley and others have shown some brain changes are trig-
gered by the surges of hormones that accompany motherhood, and they
last into old age. "A day of exposure to these hormones results in
increased complexity in these neurons, or nerve cells, in the hippocam-
pus," says Lambert. "So we were thinking that if this happens just over
the course of several hours, then what happens when the female actually
goes through pregnancy, and she's exposed to these higher levels of hor-
mone associated with a pregnancy for a lot longer period of time."
"Perhaps the hormones associated with pregnancy and lactation and

motherhood kind of prime the brain so that it can respond to the changes,
the many changes, that are about to happen as an animal becomes a
mom," she says.
Changes like being exposed to those needy offspring. Could that alone
alter the brain? Lambert showed it could, by giving pups to rats that
weren't mothers. She found the same mental benefits in a species of mice
in which the dads help care for the pups.
"Right now it's looking like this is an enriching experience for the brain,"
she says.
Lambert has also found that mother rats have lower levels of stress hor-
mones, and less of the substance that forms toxic brain plaques in Alzhe-
imer's disease. "So there might be some neural benefits with aging in a
sense that this experience, maybe not unlike other enriched environ-
ments, may provide a buffer or some protection against some of these

Music proves therapeutic for seniors
neurodegenerative disorders that animals and humans get in old age," she
says.
While the researchers plan to look for similar effects in people, the
research so far goes to show that although it may sometimes feel like it,
parenting is much more than a rat race.
Lambert's work was published in the August 2005 issue of Behavioral

Neuroscience and was featured in Scientific American, January 2006. It
was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Randolph-Macon Col-
lege, and the University of Richmond.
OUTDOORLINKS: Kelly G. Lambert
http://www.rmc.edu/directory/academics/psyc/klambert.asp
Craig Kinsley
http://www.richmond.edu/%7Eckinsley/
Randolph-Macon College
http://www.rmc.edu/
Dancing, instruments help many mentally and physically
By IN-SUNG YOO
Source: http://www.delawareonline.com/01/24/2006

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/
HEALTH/601240310/-1/NEWS12
As Cindy Cordrey prepares for her music therapy class at the senior adult
day program at Elwyn Delaware, 70-year-old Paddy Petrillo of Wilming-
ton chimes in with a friendly request for "You Are My Sunshine."
Cordrey agrees to play the ditty -- one of Petrillo's favorites -- but only
after her usual sing-song greetings to the group.
Soon, she is leading the seniors in some "seated" dance steps to the old
swing tune "Little Brown Jug." Helen Lloyd, 79, of New Castle, swings
her shoulders back and forth in perfect time, embellishing the simple cal-
isthenics with her own flair. Later, the group members are handed percus-
sion instruments so they can make a little music of their own.
This is no idle entertainment. This is rehabilitation in the guise of recre-

ation, said Cordrey, who has been practicing music therapy since 1982.
Some of the seniors at the Wilmington center -- which offers activities

and supervision for seniors with a range of mental and physical condi-
tions -- are recovering from strokes, which can lead to impaired speech
and muscle control. Others are coping with dementia or developmental
disorders. Music, it seems, can sometimes aid in their rehabilitative ther-
apy by training healthy parts of the brain to compensate for less able
areas, helping people regain lost function, Cordrey said.
"The music is like a skeleton," she said. "Other things kind of build upon
it."

The rhythm and familiarity of songs are thought to play a role in reinvig-
orating the connections in the brain that translate mental commands into
physical actions. Dancing and playing instruments such as drums and
maracas encourage physical activity and help develop coordination.
Striking the keys on a glockenspiel with a small mallet enhances fine
motor skills. And a song from the past may help improve responsiveness
for individuals suffering from the disorientation of dementia, Cordrey
said.
Just as important is the social aspect of the music-making experience,

Cordrey said. Impairment from an illness or injury can leave a person
withdrawn and unsure of how he will be perceived by others. And fear of
re-injury can restrict activity.
"There's a grieving that's part of realizing they're not going to be able to

do the things they used to," Cordrey said. "But they learn there are other
things they can do."
Through music therapy, people who might be scared of breaking a hip

again are brought to their feet. The shy are drawn into the spotlight. And
sharing in the creative process of making music shows them all that they
can still contribute.
The choice of music depends on the audience, Cordrey said. No one kind
of music works for everyone, so engaging the participants is always the
first step. Instruments also are tailored to the audience. Some participants
have the necessary muscle control to grasp and shake a maraca. Those
who don't are offered a bell rope.

Signs of improvement may be as subtle as the tap of a toe, Cordrey said.

Rhythmic and steady, that little bit of movement may not seem like
much. But for someone recovering from a stroke or coping with a condi-
tion like multiple sclerosis, it's real progress. Wiggling the toe today
might lead to shaking the foot tomorrow, Cordrey said.
Modern music therapy came about during World War II, said Al Buma-
nis, director of communications for the American Music Therapy Associ-
ation.
At Veterans Administration hospitals, doctors noticed that soldiers who

returned from the war with shell shock seemed to respond positively to
music, Bumanis said. Since then, music therapy has been used to treat
motion and speech disorders in people with physical disabilities, Parkin-
son's disease, post-stroke paralysis and autism, and coma patients. It also
has been found to improve sleep and decrease agitation in Alzheimer's
patients, he said.
"Most people don't know we've been around since 1950," Bumanis said.
"It isn't a new-age, flash-in-the-pan kind of thing."
Donna Stowell, intake coordinator of social services at Elwyn Delaware,

said she has seen dramatic results since Cordrey started working with the
senior day program at the center.
She recalled a patient recovering from a stroke who had become very
withdrawn. For months he didn't even communicate with his wife. But a
week after starting music therapy, he surprised his wife one day by wish-
ing her a good morning, Stowell said.

Spontaneous Pain, Both Neuropathic and Inflammatory, Is Related to Frequency
"It just reaches people on such deep levels," she said. "It reaches their
souls."
Not everyone responds to therapy, Cordrey said. But she sees progress at
almost every session. When the breakthroughs come, they strengthen her
belief that just under the visible frailty and limitations of her clients lie
the same spirited individuals that were there before their health took a
turn.
"Every day when I'm with a group, it validates what I do," she said. "It's
like uncovering a treasure."
Spontaneous Pain, Both Neuropathic and

Inflammatory, Is Related to Frequency of
Spontaneous Firing in Intact C-Fiber Nociceptors
By Laiche Djouhri, Stella Koutsikou, Xin Fang, Simon McMullan, and

Sally N. Lawson
Source: www.jneurosci.org/ January 25, 2006
http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/1281
The Journal of Neuroscience, January 25, 2006, 26(4):1281-1292;

doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3388-05.2006
Spontaneous pain, a poorly understood aspect of human neuropathic

pain, is indicated in animals by spontaneous foot lifting (SFL).
To determine whether SFL is caused by spontaneous firing in nociceptive

neurons, we studied the following groups of rats: untreated; spinal nerve

Spontaneous Pain, Both Neuropathic and Inflammatory, Is Related to Frequency
axotomy (SNA), L5 SNA 1 week earlier; mSNA (modified SNA), SNA

plus loose ligation of the adjacent L4 spinal nerve with inflammation-
inducing chromic gut; and CFA (complete Freunds adjuvant), intrader-
mal complete Freunds adjuvant-induced hindlimb inflammation 1 and 4
d earlier.
In all groups, recordings of SFL and of spontaneous activity (SA) in ipsi-

lateral dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons (intracellularly) were made.
Evoked pain behaviors were measured in nerve injury (SNA/mSNA)
groups.
Percentages of nociceptive-type C-fiber neurons (C-nociceptors) with SA

increased in intact L4 but not axotomized L5 DRGs in SNA and mSNA
(to 35%), and in L4/L5 DRGs 14 d after CFA (to 3825%).
SFL occurred in mSNA but not SNA rats. It was not correlated with
mechanical allodynia, extent of L4 fiber damage [ATF3 (activation tran-
scription factor 3) immunostaining], or percentage of L4 C-nociceptors
with SA. However, L4 C-nociceptors with SA fired faster after mSNA
(1.8 Hz) than SNA (0.02 Hz); estimated L4 total firing rates were 5.0 and
0.6 kHz, respectively.
Similarly, after CFA, faster L4 C-nociceptor SA after 1 d was associated

with SFL, whereas slower SA after 4 d was not.
Thus, inflammation causes L4 C-nociceptor SA and SFL. Overall, SFL

was related to SA rate in intact C-nociceptors.
Both L5 degeneration and chromic gut cause inflammation. Therefore,

both SA and SFL/spontaneous pain after nerve injury (mSNA) may result
from cumulative neuroinflammation.

Giving dj vu a second look
Correspondence should be addressed to
Dr. Laiche Djouhri, Email: L.Djouhri@bristol.ac.uk
OUTDOORLINKS: Sally N. Lawson
http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Physiology/new/pi/sally_lawson/
lawson_intro.htm
Source: reporter.leeds.ac.uk/30 January 2006
http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/513/s5.htm
Many of us have experienced dj vu - the unsettling sensation of know-

ing that a situation could not have been experienced, combined with the
feeling that it has.
It is usually so fleeting that psychologists have until recently thought it

impossible to study.
But for some people, the feeling of having been there before is a persis-
tent sensation, making every day a Groundhog Day.
Psychologists from Leeds memory group are working with sufferers of

chronic dj vu on the worlds first study of the condition.
Dr Chris Moulin first encountered chronic dj vu sufferers at a memory

clinic.

We had a peculiar referral from a man who said there was no point visit-
ing the clinic because hed already been there, although this would have
been impossible.
The patient not only genuinely believed he had met Dr Moulin before, he
gave specific details about the times and places of these remembered
meetings.
Dj vu has developed to such an extent that he had stopped watching TV

- even the news - because it seemed to be a repeat, and even believed he
could hear the same bird singing the same song in the same tree every
time he went out.
Chronic dj vu sufferers are not only overwhelmed by a sense of famil-

iarity for new experiences, they can provide plausible and complex justi-
fications to support this.
When this particular patients wife asked what was going to happen next
on a TV programme hed claimed to have already seen, he said how
should I know? I have a memory problem! Dr Moulin said.
For the first time, those who suffer chronic dj vu can help provide sus-
tained research into the problem.
So far weve completed the natural history side of this condition - weve
found ways of testing for it and the right clinical questions to ask.
The next step is obviously to find ways to reduce the problem, he said.

PhD student Akira OConnor, funded by the Economic and Social

Research Council, is working with Dr Moulin to find ways of creating
the phenomenon in the laboratory.
Akira has begun inducing dj vu in Leeds students using hypnosis, ask-

ing students to remember words, hypnotising them to forget and then
showing them the same word again to induce a feeling that theyve seen
it before.
The students are then asked to make subjective reports - how dj vu

actually feels - in addition to the data about what they can and cannot
remember.
This new programme of research, the Cognitive Feelings Framework

(CFF), is unique to the University, and is being conducted by Dr Moulin
with ESRC professorial fellow Martin Conway.
By considering subjective experience - feelings - from a cognitive sci-

ence perspective, we hope to better understand everyday sensations like
dj vu, and also to help understand cognitive impairment, for example in
older adults, said Dr Moulin.
People might suffer from chronic dj vu, but be unwilling to discuss

this with their doctor - any hint of mental illness is, particularly to older
people, a taboo subject.
But as soon as we found this first patient, we discovered that if you ask
the right questions, you find other people have experienced the same
thing.

Chronic dj vu can be distressing to the point of causing depression, and

some sufferers have been prescribed anti-psychotics.
But Dr Moulins group believe it is not a delusion, but a dysfunction of

memory: The challenge is to think about what this means. We can use it
to examine the relationships between memory and consciousness.
The exciting thing about these people is that they can recall specific
details about an event or meeting that never actually occurred. It suggests
that the sensations associated with remembering are separate to the con-
tents of memory, that there are two different systems in the brain at
work.
Dr Moulin believes a circuit in our temporal lobe fires up when we recall

the past, creating the experience of remembering but also a recollective
experience the sense of the self in the past.
In a person with chronic dj vu this circuit is either overactive or perma-

nently switched on, creating memories where none exist.
When novel events are processed, they are accompanied by a strong feel-
ing of remembering.
A new collaboration launching this month with the University of Yorks

neuro-imaging lab will provide objective evidence to the subjective
reports supplied by the CFF.
When examining someones subjective experience, its important to

have an idea of whether their subjective account is comparable to other
peoples, said Dr Moulin. The neuro-imaging facilities allow us to see
if the same areas of brain are activated in different people when they

Music and art therapy at The Source help both the young and old - Music is a
report certain subjective states. Ultimately, we may even be able to pin-

point the neural areas important for conscious states such as remember-
ing.
Dr Moulin is keen to develop a network of patients in Leeds and across

the globe who experience chronic dj vu. Were finding people all over
the world with these problems.
Chronic dj vu sufferers need the reassurance that theyre not alone, and
we need them to help us learn more about who has it, what causes it, and
why.
For further information, please contact:
Claire Jones, Email: c.c.jones@leeds.ac.uk
OUTDOORLINKS: Chris Moulin
http://elgg.leeds.ac.uk/psccjam/weblog/
Economic and Social Research Council
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/index.aspx
Music and art therapy at The Source help both the

young and old - Music is a powerful way to connect to
feelings and to relax
Quelle: /www.strausnews.com/ January 20, 2006
http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2006/01/20/warwick_advertiser/
news/23wa.txt

When we look at the body of evidence that the arts contribute to our
society, its absolutely astounding. Music therapists are breaking down
the walls of silence and affliction of autism, Alzheimers and Parkinsons
disease.
So said Michael Greene, president and CEO of National Academy of

Recording Arts and Sciences at the 1997 Grammy awards.
Certified Music Therapist Melinda M. Burgard, M.A., agrees - and she

should know.
Since 1987, Burgard has been using music as a therapeutic tool for the
elderly in their homes, assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
For people with Alzheimers disease and other dementias, music, espe-
cially familiar songs, can unlock memories.
Participation in music improves communication and can assist in over-

coming withdrawal.
For individuals with acute and chronic pain, music therapy provides
relief, induces relaxation and decreases anxiety.
Music also is a powerful way for connecting to feelings, expressing

thoughts and overcoming isolation for a person suffering from depres-
sion.
You dont have to know how to play an instrument or read music to be a

participant in music therapy, said Burgard. All one needs is an inclina-
tion to enjoy music and a need for therapeutic improvement.

Burgard also holds a music therapy group for children ages four through
eight on the Autism Spectrum.
Her main goals in that group are to increase socialization skills, speech,
self-expression and self-esteem.
She also is proud to be in her 10th year of offering parent/child music

classes for ages infant to four years old in the Warwick community.
Art and music go hand in hand. As with music, art and healing have
always been connected, too.
Now neurophysiologists are saying that art, prayer and healing all come
from the same source in the body.
Judith Duboff is a certified art therapist. She offers art therapy through
The Source of the Healing Arts in Warwick.
Art breaks through the fear that people experience when they are having
difficulties and opens a space for joy to enter, said Duboff.
This then frees the immune system so it can relieve pain, heal depres-
sion and lift the spirit. The creative force takes a person into a sacred
space where one can gain a new perspective on the situation.
Art used for healing is a very powerful way to access deep insight into
oneself - it is helpful to have support in this, Duboff added.An artist/ther-
apist understands the symbolic language of artwork and can provide a
safe place for a person to express him or herself artistically and process
the results.

Art therapy works well with many of the other programs at The Source.
Art therapy sessions have been included in the cancer support group.
There will be art therapy in many of the upcoming programs as well,
including trauma and wellness. Art therapy workshops are also being
planned.
The Source of the Healing Arts, located on West Street in Warwick, is an

integrative health programming combining 13 different modalities that
work with traditional medical practices. Integrative health care focuses
on healing, not the disease.
Started about two years ago by psychotherapist Barbara Priestner-Werte,

The Source of the Healing Arts Integrative Oncology Program is recog-
nized by the American Cancer Society. Many of its services are covered
by insurance.
To learn more about The Source of the Healing Arts, call 986-1977 or
check the Web site at www.sourceofhealingarts.com.
OUTDOORLINKS: Melinda Burgard
http://www.geocities.com/melindas_music/
The Source of the Healing Arts
http://www.sourceofhealingarts.com/
CEO of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
http://www.interactive.org/Dice/speakers2004.asp

Are Dancers Genetically Different Than the Rest of Us?
Are Dancers Genetically Different Than the Rest of

Us?
Yes, Says Hebrew University Researcher
Source: http:www.alphagalileo.org/i01 February 2006
What makes dancers different than the rest of us?
Genetic variants, says a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusa-

lem.
In a study published in the American journal, Public Library of Science

Genetics, Psychology Prof. Richard P. Ebstein and his research associates
have shown, through DNA examination, that dancers show consistent
differences in two key genes from the general population.
Ebstein is the head of the Hebrew University Psychology Departments

Scheinfeld Center for Human Genetics in the Social Sciences.
This finding is not surprising, says Ebstein, in view of other studies of

musicians and athletes, which also have shown genetic differences.
Ebstein and his colleagues found in an examination of 85 dancers and

advanced dancing students in Israel variants of two genes that provide the
code for the serotonin transporter and arginine vasopressin receptor 1a.
Both genes are involved in the transmission of information between

nerve cells. The serotonin transporter regulates the level of serotonin, a

Are Dancers Genetically Different Than the Rest of Us?
brain transmitter that contributes to spiritual experience, among many

other behavioral traits.
The vasopressin receptor has been shown in many animal studies to mod-
ulate social communication and affiliative bonding behaviors. Both are
elements involved in the age-old human social expression of dancing.
The genetic evidence was corroborated by two questionnaires distributed

by the researchers to the dancers.
One is the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS), that correlates aspects of

spirituality and altered states of consciousness, and the other is the Tridi-
mensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), a measure of the need for
social contact and openness to communication.
The genetic and questionnaire results of the dancers were compared with
those of two other groups examined athletes as well as those who were
both non-dancers and non-athletes. (Athletes were chosen for compari-
son since they require a good deal of physical stamina like dancers.)
When the results were combined and analyzed, it was clearly shown that
the dancers exhibited particular genetic and personality characteristics
that were not found in the other two groups.
The dancer type, says Ebstein, clearly demonstrates qualities that are
not necessarily lacking but are not expressed as strongly in other people:
a heightened sense of communication, often of a symbolic and ceremo-
nial nature, and a strong spiritual personality trait.

Hour long whale songs woo females
Others involved in the research with Ebstein were his Ph.D. student
Rachel Bachner- Melman, as well as additional researchers from Israel
and France.
OUTDOORLINKS: Richard P. Ebstein
http://www.herzoghospital.org/index.asp?id=16
Source: www.uq.edu.au/01 February 2006
http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=8918
University of Queensland (UQ) researchers have discovered singing

males spend more quality time with females who may be using the male's
song as the basis for mate choice.
The researchers, UQ PhD student Joshua Smith, his supervisor, whale

expert Dr Michael Noad from UQ's School of Veterinary Science, and
volunteers have tracked whales off Peregian Beach, on Queensland's
Sunshine Coast.
The UQ team has been observing and tracking the whales for the last
three years as the whales migrate south from their breeding inside the
Great Barrier Reef.
During September and October each year, they recorded whale behav-
iours, interactions, took genetic samples and used hydrophones (under-
water microphones) to record male singers round-the-clock.

Scientists had suspected that whale songs were used for female attraction
and male repulsion, but the UQ team was the first to provide a range of
evidence that linked to courtship.
Songs appear to be directed more towards females possibly as a court-

ship and mating display than a signal to warn off or repel rival males,
Mr Smith said.
Singers are joining females with calves more often and singing for a
much longer duration with them than any other social group.
The characteristics of the song are possibly being used by the female to
assess these males.
The way they structure the songs, perhaps using particular elements like
higher or lower frequencies and how well they do that could reflect
attributes of that male such as his fitness, maybe his age.
Mr Smith said male whales sang mostly in the presence of females but
the songs also attracted other males too.
He said the songs were repetitive but structured, made up of chirps,

moans and barks that could last for 10 minutes up to 23 hours.
Their songs are basically broadcast signals that other whales and hydro-
phones can detect from at least fifteen or twenty kilometres away.
The 27-year-old from Highgate Hill said he couldn't say the male songs
were necessarily attracting females but the songs still helped sexual inter-
action.

Dr Noad has also disproved a theory that whale songs regulated spacing
between singing males.
Since 2002, the UQ Team has recorded more than a thousand hours of
whales' songs. This is stored as 400GB of data enough to fill about
five computer hard drives.
Mr Smith and Dr Noad's research has been part of an international

project called the Humpback Acoustic Research Collaboration (HARC).
It's a joint project for American and Australian scientists primarily

funded by the United States Office of Naval Research but also by the
Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation.
Other contributors are the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the University of St Andrews and
the University of Newcastle.
Mr Smith said he hoped to work in marine animal acoustics or with the

Australian Antarctic Division when he finished his PhD in six months.
His PhD is also supervised by Associate Professor Anne Goldizen, an

ecology expert from UQ's School of Integrative Biology.
OUTDOORLINKS: Joshua Smith
http://www.uq.edu.au/berg/josh/main.html
Michael Noad
http://www.uq.edu.au/vetschool/index.html?page=15732

Wale sprechen Dialekt (mit Soundbeispiel)
Anne Goldizen
http://profiles.bacs.uq.edu.au/Anne.Goldizen
Wale sprechen Dialekt (mit Soundbeispiel)
http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/erde/0,1518,393185,00.html
Whalesong recorded in 2003
http://omc.uq.edu.au/audio/news/whalesong.mp3
School of Veterinary Science
http://www.uq.edu.au/vetschool/index.html
Humpback Acoustic Research Collaboration (HARC)
http://www.mpl.ucsd.edu/people/deane/research/nearshore_HARC.html
Rats Smell in Stereo
By Raghav Rajan, James P. Clement, Upinder S. Bhalla
Source:/www.sciencemag.org/3 February 2006
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/311/5761/666
Vol. 311. no. 5761, pp. 666 670/DOI: 10.1126/science.1122096

Rats Smell in Stereo
It has been hypothesized that rats and other mammals can use stereo cues
to localize odor sources, but there is limited behavioral evidence to sup-
port this hypothesis.
We found that rats trained on an odor-localization task can localize odors

accurately in one or two sniffs.
Bilateral sampling was essential for accurate odor localization, with

internasal intensity and timing differences as directional cues.
If the stimulus arrived at the correct point of the respiration cycle, inter-
nasal timing differences as short as 50 milliseconds sufficed.
Neuronal recordings show that bulbar neurons responded differentially to

stimuli from the left and stimuli from the right.
E-mail: bhalla@ncbs.res.in
OUTDOORLINKS: Upinder Bhalla
http://www.ncbs.res.in/~faculty/upi.php
Johan Lundstrm
http://www.psyk.uu.se/hemsidor/olfaction/johan_lundstrom.htm

Distinct memory traces for two visual features in the Drosophila brain
Distinct memory traces for two visual features in the

Drosophila brain
By Gang Liu, Holger Seiler, Ai Wen, Troy Zars, Kei Ito, Reinhard Wolf,
Martin Heisenberg and Li Liu
Source: www.nature.com/2 February 2006
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v439/n7076/abs/nature04381.html
Nature 439, 551-556 (2 February 2006) | doi:10.1038/nature04381
Abstract
The fly Drosophila melanogaster can discriminate and remember visual

landmarks.
It analyses selected parts of its visual environment according to a small

number of pattern parameters such as size, colour or contour orientation,
and stores particular parameter values.
Like humans, flies recognize patterns independently of the retinal posi-

tion during acquisition of the pattern (translation invariance).
Here we show that the central-most part of the fly brain, the fan-shaped
body, contains parts of a network mediating visual pattern recognition.
We have identified short-term memory traces of two pattern parame-

terselevation in the panorama and contour orientation.
These can be localized to two groups of neurons extending branches as

parallel, horizontal strata in the fan-shaped body.

Altering expectancy dampens neural response to aversive taste in primary taste
The central location of this memory store is well suited to mediate trans-
lational invariance.
Correspondence to:
Li Liu, Email: liuli@sun5.ibp.ac.cn
OUTDOORLINKS: Prof. Dr. Martin Heisenberg
http://genetics.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/home/VirtualBrain/people/
martin.htm
Altering expectancy dampens neural response to

aversive taste in primary taste cortex
By Jack B Nitschke, Gregory E Dixon, Issidoros Sarinopoulos, Sarah J

Short, Jonathan D Cohen, Edward E Smith, Stephen M Kosslyn, Robert
M Rose & Richard J Davidson
Source: www.nature.com/5 February 2006
http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nn1645.html
Published online: 5 February 2006; | doi:10.1038/nn1645
The primary taste cortex consists of the insula and operculum. Previous
work has indicated that neurons in the primary taste cortex respond solely
to sensory input from taste receptors and lingual somatosensory recep-
tors. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we show here that
expectancy modulates these neural responses in humans. When subjects
were led to believe that a highly aversive bitter taste would be less dis-

Mmm, sounds tasty!
tasteful than it actually was, they reported it to be less aversive than when
they had accurate information about the taste and, moreover, the primary
taste cortex was less strongly activated. In addition, the activation of the
right insula and operculum tracked online ratings of the aversiveness for
each taste. Such expectancy-driven modulation of primary sensory cortex
may affect perceptions of external events.
Correspondence should be addressed to
Jack B Nitschke, Email: jnitschke@wisc.edu
or
Richard J Davidson, Email: rjdavids@wisc.edu
OUTDOORLINKS: Jack Nitschke
http://psychiatry.wisc.edu/faculty/FacultyPages/Nitschke.htm
Mmm, sounds tasty!
Source: www.alphagalileo.org/07 February 2006
In a unique double discovery, researchers at the University of Leeds have

shown that massive bursts of ultrasound are generated during the first
second of biting into crunchy food and are simultaneously analysed by
the ears and mouth.

Mmm, sounds tasty!
Food physicist Professor Malcolm Povey explains:
Food is, in effect, talking to us and we innately understand what its say-
ing about texture by interpreting the sensations through our ears and
mouths. Our research shows that the sound and feel of food in the mouth
is as important as taste, look and smell in deciding whether we like some-
thing or not.
Using a microphone, an acoustic microscope, some simple software and

an enviable supply of different biscuits, Professor Povey realised that the
energy produced by the very first crack of a biscuit breaking is released
as distinct pulses of ultrasound sound waves beyond the range of
human hearing.
Slowed down and plotted onto a graph, the pulses can be seen as a series
of tall peaks, but actually last only for milliseconds and are generated at
frequency levels more usually associated with bats, whales and dolphins
for echolocation.
Its a good job we cant hear all the energy in these pulses, says Povey,
as they would damage our ears if we did. Theyre enormously loud
bangs often way beyond safe decibel levels.
The discovery of recordable ultrasound pulses is expected to be of great

interest to the food manufacturers, who in the pursuit of the perfect
crispy/crunchy texture for their products, employ an army of trained tast-
ing panels. These people form the crux of manufacturers efforts at prod-
uct consistency and quality control in terms of creating the optimum
texture for a product.

Mmm, sounds tasty!
The technique of recording the sound of biting or breaking crispy food

and simply counting the peaks of soundwaves provides a cheap, quantifi-
able and accurate analysis of texture, that will ensure absolute product
consistency: The more peaks, the crispier it is its as simple as that,
says Povey.
The research also demonstrates that the human mouth is extremely accu-
rate in its innate analysis of these ultrasound pulses. Test results show a
very high correlation to the machine-measured results by both profes-
sional tasters working in the food industry and untrained volunteers. We
had no idea that the human ears and mouth were so adept at capturing
and analysing this information, especially in the space of milliseconds;
its incredible, he says.
Were not trying to replace tasting panels, he insists, in fact we need

them to calibrate the instruments. But a machine-measured test is a quick
and simple way to check consistency of products once the desired texture
for a product has been decided. However, the research does suggest that
the training of food tasters in respect of measuring crispness is probably
unnecessary.
Povey is convinced that the same ultrasound measuring techniques could

potentially be applied to other textures in food manufacturing as well as
having major applications outside the food industry.
Essentially our methods measure what happens when a material fails,

explains Povey. So this technique could easily be transferred to industry
to detect failures in materials used in engineering or the aerospace indus-
try, for instance.

Loud music worsens effects of taking ecstasy
Materials testing usually requires expensive equipment, but weve

proved that recording, measuring and comparing sound pulses is rigorous
and accurate. In the same way engineers used to tap wheels on railway
engines to listen for faults, we can use these microphones to record a
much wider frequency range to pick up tiny defects. Its potential is enor-
mous.
For further information, please contact:
Hannah Love, Email: h.e.b.love@leeds.ac.uk
OUTDOORLINKS: Malcolm Povey
http://www.foodcolloids.com/povey/index.htm
Source: www.alphagalileo.org/10 February 2006
Loud music prolongs the effects of taking ecstasy for up to five days.
A study published today in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience

shows that the reduction in rats brain activity induced by 3,4 -Methyl-
enedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) lasts long after adminis-
tration of the drug up to five days if loud music is played to them
simultaneously.
The effects wear off within a day when no music is played.

Michelangelo Iannone from the Institute of Neurological Science, Italy,

and colleagues from University Magna Graecia in Catanzaro, Italy,
injected rats with a low dose (3mg/kg) or a high dose (6mg/kg) of
MDMA or, in the control group, with saline.
The rats were either left without acoustic stimulation or exposed to white
noise - sound at a stable frequency that is used in many types of elec-
tronic music.
The sound was played at 95dB, the maximum noise intensity permitted in
nightclubs by Italian law.
The electrocortical activity (EcoG spectrum) of the rats was monitored,

using electrodes placed on their skull, from 60 minutes before adminis-
tration of the drug and start of the music, to up to five days after the
music was stopped.
Iannone et al.s results show that low-dose MDMA did not modify the
brain activity of the rats compared with saline, as long as no music was
played.
However, the EcoG total spectrum of the rats given a low dose of
MDMA significantly decreased once loud music was played. The EcoG
spectrum of rats in the control group was not modified by loud music.
High-dose MDMA induced a reduction in brain activity, compared with

both saline and low-dose MDMA.
This reduction was enhanced once the loud music was turned on and
lasted for up to five days after administration of the drug.

The brain differentiates human and non-human grammars: Functional
In rats that had been given a high dose of MDMA but had not been
exposed to music, brain activity returned to normal one day after admin-
istration of the drug.
To read Fulltext go to
http://www.biomedcentral.com/imedia/
8917874394882838_article.pdf?random=990460
OUTDOORLINKS: Institute of Neurological Science, Italy
http://www.isn.cnr.it/public/pagine_ita/index.asp
Michelangelo Iannone
http://www.isn.cnr.it/public/pagine_ita/personale_view.asp?codice=28
The brain differentiates human and non-human

grammars: Functional localization and structural
connectivity
By Angela D. Friederici, Jrg Bahlmann, Stefan Heim, Ricarda I.

Schubotz and Alfred Anwander
Source: www.pnas.org/February 6, 2006
The human language faculty has been claimed to be grounded in the abil-
ity to process hierarchically structured sequences.

No Recipe for Superstardom
This human ability goes beyond the capacity to process sequences with
simple transitional probabilities of adjacent elements observable in non-
human primates.
Here we show that the processing of these two sequence types is sup-
ported by different areas in the human brain.
Processing of local transitions is subserved by the left frontal operculum,

a region that is phylogenetically older than Broca's area, which specifi-
cally holds responsible the computation of hierarchical dependencies.
Tractography data revealing differential structural connectivity signa-

tures for these two brain areas provide additional evidence for a segrega-
tion of two areas in the left inferior frontal cortex.
Angela D. Friederici, E-mail: angelafr@cbs.mpg.de
OUTDOORLINKS: Alfred Anwander
http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/db/indices/a-tree/a/Anwan-
der:Alfred.html
By Mary Beckman
Source: http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/209/3
ScienceNOW Daily News 9 February 2006

For all those parents wondering why their teens are so devoted to scantily
clad pop stars, take hope: It's not really the music that they like. They just
want to fit in, according to new research.
The news isn't so encouraging for aspiring artists, though.
While talent might distinguish good from bad, social pressure and pure
dumb luck are also big influences on which bands gain the most fame,
sociologists report in the 10 February issue of Science.
Music industry professionals would dearly love to figure out what makes
some bands skyrocket off the charts while equally--or more--talented
musicians wallow in relative obscurity.
Obviously, they haven't been able to pin it down. (Neither have book
publishers or movie producers, for that matter.)
Duncan Watts, a sociologist at Columbia University, and colleagues

wanted to know whether peer pressure contributes to which bands go
platinum. Can science do a better job of picking pop idols than the cold
calculations of capitalists?
Watts started by collecting 48 songs from unknown but real bands listed
on a garage band Web site (including tunes such as Beerbong's "Father to
Son") and creating an experimental music site.
Visitors to the site were randomly assigned to a particular Web page.
On one of these, they could listen to any of the rock songs and rate them
on a scale of 1 to 5, then download them for free if they liked.

Some songs were downloaded much more than others, and because all
the visitor's judgments were independent, the researchers defined these as
good songs.
Other visitors ended up on one of eight Web pages that looked the same
except for numbers next to each song listing the number of times previ-
ous visitors to that page had downloaded the song.
After tabulating the whims of 14,000 visitors, the researchers learned that
there was some accounting for taste:
Good songs always ranked high, and bad songs ranked low.
But when visitors had access to information about what other people
were downloading, they were much more likely to download songs with
high download rates, even if they weren't the highest quality, and pushed
the highest-ranked ever closer toward superstardom.
This indicates that knowing what other people thought of the music influ-
enced what people downloaded.
Moreover, success was random. Even though the eight Web pages started
with the same 48 songs, different tunes hit the top 10 list in each.
The researchers could not predict which songs would reach success in
one Web page by examining the results of another.
Stardom is indeed a crap shoot, Watts concludes.
So if the independent rankings show that there actually is some account-

ing for taste, why does it lose out to popularity?

Instant replay may help to mould memories
"There's a social function to all of us liking the same thing," he specu-

lates. "It's not the thing that's important, but having something to share."
Calling the experiments "pathbreaking," sociologist Michael Macy of

Cornell University says the findings illustrate how a small advantage can
snowball, making popularity hard to predict. Economist Robert Frank,
also at Cornell, says the work shows "we're all susceptible to the herd
mentality."
OUTDOORLINKS: Matthew Salganik
http://www.columbia.edu/~mjs2105/
Duncan Watts
http://www.iserp.columbia.edu/people/faculty_fellows/watts.html
Michael Macy
http://www.soc.cornell.edu/faculty/macy.shtml
Brain's rewind function argues for taking a break.
By Helen Pearson
Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060206/full/060206-13.html
Published online: 12 February 2006; | doi:10.1038/news060206-13
Getty

Idlers, loafers and layabouts, listen up.
A new study suggests that the times when we sit around twiddling our
thumbs could in fact be vital for learning.
The idea stems from experiments in which neuroscientists eavesdropped

on the brains of rats as they explored their environments.
They found that the rats' brains 'replay' their experiences in reverse when
the animals pause briefly to rest.
The scientists, David Foster and Matthew Wilson working at the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, inserted a pincushion of
fine wires into the animals' skulls.
These allowed the team to simultaneously monitor the electrical activity

of around 100 individual brain cells in the hippocampus, a brain region
involved in learning and memory.
The researchers placed each wired-up rat in a straight 1.5-metre run.

They recorded brain-cell activity as the rats scurried up and down, paus-
ing at each end to eat, groom and scratch their whiskers.
As the rats ran along the track, the nerve cells fired in a very specific
sequence. This is not surprising, because certain cells in this region are
known to be triggered when an animal passes through a particular spot in
a space.
But the researchers were taken aback by what they saw when the rats
were resting.

Then, the same brain cells replayed the sequence of electrical firing over
and over, but in reverse and speeded up.
"It's absolutely original; no one has ever seen this before at all," says
Edvard Moser, who studies memory at the Norwegian University of Sci-
ence and Technology in Trondheim.
This instant replay could help the animals to learn about a recent place
and what parts of it are most important, the investigators propose.
The rerun could coincide with a burst of the reward chemical dopamine,
which is released in the brain when the animal finds food.
By playing the pattern of activity backwards, those brain cells nearest the
food fire first and at the same time as the dopamine signal. The idea is
that this might etch the position of the food into the rats' brains.
"It's saying, 'this is the place I want to be'," says Foster.
Time out
If this idea proves true in people, it could have many implications for
human learning.
It suggests that those idle times, perhaps spent gazing into space, are
actually crucial for our brains to replay, and learn from, recent experi-
ences.
The discovery could also help to explain why people tend to learn a new
task quicker when they take short rests between each practice round. It
suggests that eliminating such breaks could actually interfere with learn-

ing, and perhaps even explain why hyperactive children often have learn-
ing difficulties.
Wilson and his colleagues showed in earlier experiments that rats also
replay firing patterns in their sleep, but in the same, forward-running
order in which they were experienced.
This process could help to firm up memories after the fact, Foster says.
The result is also of keen interest to those who study artificial intelligence
and try to teach computer systems or robots to learn through reward and
punishment. Some such systems already work by playing back a
sequence of moves so that the computer can identify at which point it
made the trial or error.
"It's remarkable how it squares up with what we expected," says compu-

tational neuroscientist Read Montague at Baylor College of Medicine in
Houston, Texas.
OUTDOORLINKS: David Foster's Homepage
http://stuff.mit.edu/people/djfoster/
Matthew Wilson
http://web.mit.edu/picower/faculty/wilson.html
Edvard Moser
http://fens.mdc-berlin.de/people/moser.html
Read

Electrocortical effects of MDMA are potentiated by acoustic stimulation in rats
http://www.hnl.bcm.tmc.edu/faculty.html
Electrocortical effects of MDMA are potentiated by

acoustic stimulation in rats
By Michelangelo Iannone, Stefania Bulotta, Donatella Paolino, Maria

Cristina Zito, Santo Gratteri, Francesco Saverio Costanzo and Domeni-
cantonio Rotiroti
Source: www.biomedcentral.com/16 February 2006
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/7/13/abstract
BMC Neuroscience 2006, 7:13 doi:10.1186/1471-2202-7-13
ABSTRACT Background
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) is known for

its toxicological, psychopathological and abuse potential.
Some environmental conditions, e.g. acoustic stimulation typical of the

"rave scene" can influence the toxicity of this drug.
Results
We investigated the effects of low doses of MDMA in vivo using Wistar

rats in the absence of acoustic stimulation (white noise; 95 Db) demon-
strating that ecstasy is able to induce a significant activation (reduction of
Electrocortical total power) of the telencephalic cortex that spontane-
ously reverts in the absence of sensorial stimuli, whereas it persists for

several days if, in addition to MDMA, the animals are exposed to acous-
tic stimulation.
Conclusions
Our data demonstrate that low doses of MDMA are able to reduce elec-
trocortical total power, and that this effect is potentiated by sensorial
stimuli commonly present in certain environments, such as rave parties.
OUTDOORLINKS: Michelangelo Iannone Catanzaro
http://www.cs.cnr.it/isn/catanzaro.html
17th - 19th July 2006, University of Sheffield, UK
Source: http://www.shef.ac.uk/music/staff/academic/eric-clarke/escom
The last 10 years or so have seen the emergence of consciousness studies

as a multi-disciplinary field of inquiry, partly driven by rapid develop-
ments in the neurosciences, but also stimulated by renewed interest
within philosophy and the arts and humanities more generally.
There is a long history of thought about the relationship between music

and consciousness, and this conference is intended as a forum to bring
together the diverse fields within which that thinking has gone on.
The aim of the conference is therefore to approach the subject in as broad

and inclusive a manner as possible, to provide an opportunity to discover
different ways in which the relationship has been theorised and

Brain Controls Pain
described, and to propose some of the ways in which future research and
practice might develop.
The conference will consist entirely of plenary sessions so as to enable

the most inclusive and wide-ranging participation, and significant
amounts of time will be allocated for discussion.
Following a large and very diverse response to the call for papers, the
successful proposals have now been selected, and the schedule of papers
and posters, together with registration and accommodation details, will
soon be posted on the website.
The change of date is to accommodate a larger number of presentations

than we had anticipated, and to make it possible for the conference to be
residential allowing for a greater degree of interaction between delegates.
OUTDOORLINKS: Conference - Music and Consciousness
http://www.shef.ac.uk/music/staff/academic/eric-clarke/escom
Brain Controls Pain
by Jack Penland
Source: www.sciencentral.com/17. February 2006
Scientists are finding that it truly is the brain that decides what is or is not
painful. As this ScienCentral News video explains, scientists are also

Brain Controls Pain
finding that there may be a way to teach people to train their brain to bet-
ter handle pain.
Brain Over Pain
Sean Mackey, associate Director for the Pain Management Division of

Stanford University School of Medicine, found that if people could
watch a certain part of their brains in action in real time, they could use
that feedback to learn how to manage pain.
He calls it a case of, "Brain over pain."
"What's unique about this specific experiment," says Mackey, "is that this
experiment, for the first time, studied a group of people and taught them
to learn how to control their own brain, a specific region in their own
brain. And by doing so, it changed their behavior that's never been
done before."
The specific part of the brain that is involved in pain perception and reg-
ulation is deep inside the brain. It's called the Rostral Anterior Cingulate
Cortex (rACC). It was that part Mackey and his team wanted people to
watch.
People were put in an MRI scanner similar to those used to scan parts of
the body for injuries. However this was a functional real-time MRI scan-
ner, which allowed people, according to Mackey, "To then see their own
brain activity on a moment by moment basis."
Some of the people Mackey observed were patients who suffered chronic
pain. Others were volunteers who agreed to endure a moderately painful
hot probe touching them. While the volunteers were watching their own

Brain Controls Pain
brains in action, the team then gave them various strategies on how to
manage the pain.
"When people would focus their attention on the pain," says Mackey,
"the activity in that part of the brain [the rACC] would go up. And when
they would focus their attention away, they would see that the brain
activity would go down." Mackey says that when people saw the brain
activity change, "after a period of time they would learn to then take con-
trol of it themselves."
Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences he said "the

vast majority" of healthy volunteers either learned which strategy sug-
gested by the researchers worked best or sometimes they came up with
new strategies on their own.
"What's nice about this is that we demonstrated that not only people can
control the area of their brain, but that with time that control improved,
which means that there was learning involved. Which means, by defini-
tion, that there was neuroplasticity. In other words, that with repeated
sessions people were actually changing their own brain."
While the results were encouraging, Mackey wondered if, "We just
designed the world's most expensive placebo," referring to the phenome-
non where people report feeling better when they believe they are being
treated, even if the "treatment" is fake.
He added, "Let's face it, you've got an extraordinarily high-tech environ-

ment. You've got this big, expensive MRI system that's making all sorts
of noise. We're telling people to go into this scanner and to control their

Brain Controls Pain
brain activity and then with that we expected that there may be some
change in how they perceived pain."
Mackey's team re-ran the experiments taking parts of the feedback chain
away. One group got pain control instructions, but without the MRI scan-
ner. A second got instructions and were inside the MRI scanner, but got
no real time feedback. A third were told to observe in real time a part of
the brain not involved in pain processing. A fourth, control group, under-
went the process while watching someone else's brain activity.
Mackey says of all those groups, "The only session where they were
able to learn how to control their own brain activity and see a change in
their pain was with that real-time moment-by-moment information."
Not everyone was successful. Mackey says there were people who "were
not significantly able to change their brain activity. And what we found is
that they were also the people who tended not to be able to have signifi-
cant control over their pain."
Those who suffer from chronic pain should not expect to see this method
used for pain control anytime soon. In addition to being very expensive,
Mackey says that right now the technology is, "not ready for prime time
as a clinical treatment."
For one thing, they need to study the mechanism of exactly what went on
for this control to happen. Mackey says, "People were just able to learn
how to do it and that's what we're actually studying right now, is to figure
out how they were able to do what they do."
In addition, they need to study the long-term benefits of this technique.

He says, "We're running the studies right now."

Brain activity before an event predicts later recollection
But, what the study does show is what role the brain plays in determining
what is or isn't painful. As Mackey puts it, "It's not pain until it hits your
brain."
This research was published in the December 13, 2005 issue of Proceed-
ings of the National Academy of Sciences and was funded by the
National Institutes of Health, the Oxnard Foundation, the Dodie and John
Rosekrans Pain Research Fund, and the Stanford University Department
of Anesthesia.
OUTDOORLINKS: Sean Mackey
http://paincenter.stanford.edu/faculty/mackey.html
Pain Management Center at Stanford University
http://paincenter.stanford.edu/
December 13, 2005 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/102/51/18626
Brain activity before an event predicts later

recollection
By Leun J Otten, Angela H Quayle, Sarah Akram, Thomas A Ditewig &

Michael D Rugg
Source: www.nature.com/26 February 2006;

Scientists find brain function most important to maths ability
http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nn1663.html
doi:10.1038/nn1663
Neural activity elicited by an event can predict whether the event is suc-
cessfully encoded into memory.
Here we assessed whether memory encoding relies not only on neural

activity that follows an event, but also on activity that precedes it.
In two experiments we found that human brain activity elicited by a cue

presented just before a word could predict whether the word would be
recollected in a later memory test.
Correspondence should be addressed to Leun J Otten, Email:

l.otten@ucl.ac.uk
OUTDOORLINKS: Leun Otten
http://www.icn.ucl.ac.uk/Research-Groups/Cogni-
tive%20Electrophysiology%20Group/group-members/MemberDe-
tails.php?Title=Dr&FirstName=Leun&LastName=Otten
Scientists find brain function most important to maths

ability
Source: www.alphagalileo.org/06 March 2006

Scientists at UCL (University College London) have discovered the area

of the brain linked to dyscalculia, a maths learning disability.
The finding shows that there is a separate part of the brain used for count-
ing that is essential for diagnosis and an understanding of why many peo-
ple struggle with maths.
The paper, published online today in the Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences (PNAS), explains that an area of the brain widely
thought to be involved in processing number information generally, in
fact has two very separate, specific functions.
One function is responsible for counting how many things are present
and the other is responsible for knowing how much.
It is the discovery of the part responsible for counting or numerosity that

is a major finding for Professor Brian Butterworth, who also published
The Mathematical Brain and is an authority on dyscalculia.
He believes his finding is the key to diagnosis of dyscalculia.
Professor Butterworth, of the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience,

said: Now that we know where to look for the differences in brain acti-
vation between those who suffer from dyscalculia and those who dont
have the learning disorder, we will be able to come up with better diagno-
sis and insights.
Some years ago, my colleague, Professor Uta Frith, found the part of the
brain responsible for dyslexia. That discovery has led to a much better
understanding of the condition, promising better diagnosis and treatment.

We hope our discovery will lead to similar insights into dyscalculia a

similar learning disability but one that is still relatively unknown to the
general public.
There were two experiments that looked at brain activity in the intrapari-
etal sulcus (IPS) the area known to be involved in processing number
information - using an fMRI scan.
The first analysed brain activity when subjects were counting and the
second looked at activity when they were assessing quantities.
Professor Butterworth said: There are two ways of counting things.

Imagine assessing how many men versus women are in a room by count-
ing them at the door as they enter the room, lets say three women and
four men, and then try assessing the difference by looking at the room
when everyone is present.
Both methods of assessing the number of people should produce the

same result.
Instead of assessing numbers of men and women, subjects saw blue and
green squares shown in a sequence or blue and green squares shown on
screen at the same time.
We found that both methods activated the same brain region.
But when we showed subjects the colours merged and appearing either
as a continuously changing square or as one cloudy coloured rectangle
different results were produced and a different brain network lit up.

This is because the brain was no longer able to try to count the objects.
Instead it had to assess how much colour was in the block and guess
whether there was more of one colour or another.
By comparing these two types of stimulus, we identified the brain activ-

ity specific to estimating numbers of things. We think this is a brain net-
work that underlies arithmetic and may be abnormal in dyscalculics.
The project was supported by the European Union Research Training

Network Grant and the Medical Research Council Centre Grant.
OUTDOORLINKS: Brian Butterworth
http://www.mathematicalbrain.com/
Professor Uta Frith
http://www.icn.ucl.ac.uk/Staff-Lists/MemberDe-
tails.php?Title=Prof&FirstName=Uta&LastName=Frith
UCL (University College London)
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
http://www.pnas.org/
UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience
http://www.icn.ucl.ac.uk/

Cochlea's Graded Curvature Effect on Low Frequency Waves
Cochlea's Graded Curvature Effect on Low

Frequency Waves
By D. Manoussaki, E. K. Dimitriadis, R. S. Chadwick
Source: http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=nor-
mal&id=PRLTAO000096000008088701000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=Ye
s
2006 The American Physical Society
In the ear, sound waves are processed by a membrane of graded mechan-

ical properties that resides in the fluid-filled spiral cochlea.
The role of stiffness grading as a Fourier analyzer is well known, but the
role of the curvature has remained elusive.
Here, we report that increasing curvature redistributes wave energy den-

sity towards the cochlea's outer wall, affecting the shape of waves propa-
gating on the membrane, particularly in the region where low frequency
sounds are processed.
OUTDOORLINKS: Daphne Manoussaki
http://www.math.vanderbilt.edu/~daphne/

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Music Therapy Today

a quarterly journal of studies in music and

Volume VII, Issue 1 (March 2006)

David Aldridge & Jrg Fachner (eds.)

Translation and editorial assistance

Book review editor and dissertations archive

Odds and Ends, Themes and Trends

Scientific Advisory Board

Save as .txt or even better as .rtf

Abstract (less then 500 words)

How to cite an article from

APA (2001, P. 272)

Articles in an Internet-only journal

Fredrickson, B. L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive emo-

Articles in an Internet-only journal, retrieved via file transfer proto-

Crow, T. J. (2000). Did Homo sapiens speciate on the y chromo-

Transferred onto MusicTherapyToday for articles until end of 2004

Erkkil, J., Lartillot, O., Luck, G., Riikkil, K., Toiviainen, P.

or you might like to type

Aldridge, D. (2003 February) Music therapy and spirituality; A

or you might like to type

PDF articles can be cited with pages.

Ala-Ruona, E. (2005, January 28). Non-structured initial assess-

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Music Therapy Today i

Table of contents vii

Effects of music therapy and counselling: A case of state anxiety of

Ethics in music therapy: the role of the patient 30

The revival of Traditional Oriental Music Therapy discussed by

Performative Health a commentary on Traditional Oriental Music

Music, perception and altered states of consciousness 70

Maintaining dialogue - active music therapy for people living with

Connecting and learning through music: music therapy for young

Therapeutical usefulness of music 106

Sumathy Sundar 106

Ryo Takahashi 119

Book review: Silke Jochims (Ed.): Musiktherapie in der Neuroreha-

Odds and ends - themes and trends 157

Aldridge, D. & Fachner, J.

Some comments on the magazine

Peer review is an important issue because it helps music therapy to be

Some comments on the magazine

While I am commenting on the journal, I would like to remind readers

A central feature of our strategy is to present material in a way compati-

If readers have recordings of lectures that are they regard as important to

Alessandra Padula is an Italian musician and music therapist. She has

place and purpose. As music therapists know, we all need a particular

Conference proceedings and compilations

Petra Kern demonstrates this possibility further by sending us another

Conference proceedings and compilations

In the previous issue, we presented the conference proceedings of the

Book Review and Odds and Ends

Book Review and Odds and Ends

Until we read again

David Aldridge and Joerg Fachner

Effects of music therapy

Keywords: Head & Neck Cancer, Carcinoma Hypopharynx, music

Indian music is predominantly melodic in nature and the unique Raga

Devotional music or Bhakti music is a vast repertoire in India which

cal procedures and treatments such as radio or chemo therapy

In this context, there is a growing body of literature regarding music ther-