Music therapy in stroke rehabilitation

Abstract

Music therapy is currently used in the rehabilitation of many diseases. It is worth mentioning the possibility of using it in the rehabilitation of stroke-related. Music is a multimodal stimulus that activates many brain structures related to sensory processing, attention, and memory, and can stimulate complex cognition and multisensory integration. Stroke represents one of the most costly and long-term disabling conditions in adulthood worldwide and there is a need to determine the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs. The brain has a large capacity for automatic simultaneous processing and integration of sensory information. Musical training has extensive effects on the brain. One aspect that may be relevant for stroke rehabilitation is that musicians have enhanced subcortical auditory and audiovisual processing of speech and music. Listening to pleasant music activates an interconnected network of subcortical and cortical brain regions. Previous studies have shown rapid functional improvements associated with plastic brain changes due to musical performance, which involved the auditory and integrative a Music Supported Therapy and Melodic Intonation Therapy were proposed to induce plastic changes in the brain in terms of functional connectivity and neural reorganization in the sensorimotor cortex uditory-sensorimotor cortices instead of restricted motor cortical areas.