tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post4196144225171489138..comments2024-01-12T00:48:55.192-08:00Comments on Music and Brain Blog at University of Toronto: Music as MedicineLee Bartelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06727468225852676801noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post-34337360494473794872012-12-15T01:48:29.590-08:002012-12-15T01:48:29.590-08:00It sounds to me like music was used as a kind of d...It sounds to me like music was used as a kind of distraction when inserting needles into the arms of cancer patients. This makes me wonder if treatments of phobias can be done using music therapy. There is a saying that goes, "neurons that fire together, wire together." It might be possible that music can create novel connections that negatively reinforce anxiety towards particular stimuli.<br /><br />The fact that music actually decreased the need for anesthetics in cancer patients is interesting. Here too, the control over attentional pathways that music seems to facilitate may decrease the perception of pain. The same theory could apply to depression. Arguably, music can make a person feel more depressed if the music is embedded with negative emotional associations. Yet, musics ability to allow the attention to transcend the here now may also be indicated as a way that music moves focus away from negative stimulation.<br /><br />One of the primary reasons music still needs to be validated in modern medicine is because the technologies that can quantify the results of music therapy are new. As scientific methodologies improve and case studies are collected, I'm sure music therapy will become integrated into public health.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08205338293997304261noreply@blogger.com