Could listening to music help treat epilepsy?
By Honor Whiteman
Recently presented at the American Psychological Association's 123rd Annual Convention, the findings reveal that the brains of individuals with epilepsy respond differently to music than those of people without the condition.
As such, study co-author Christine Charyton, of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and colleagues believe music could be used in combination with existing treatments for epilepsy.
Approximately 2.9 million children and adults in the US have epilepsy - a neurological condition characterized by the occurrence of seizures.
According to Charyton, around 80% of epilepsy cases are temporal lobe epilepsy, where seizures begin in the temporal lobe of the brain. The temporal lobe is home to the auditory cortex - the part of the brain that processes sound.
With this in mind, the team set out to investigate how music impacts the brains of individuals with epilepsy.
Music triggered greater synchronization in patients with epilepsy
The researchers analyzed data from 21 individuals who were admitted to the epilepsy monitoring unit at the Wexner Medical Center between September 2012 and May 2014, alongside data from individuals without epilepsy.
Subjects' brainwave patterns were measured via electroencephalogram (EEG) as they took part in a listening exercise.
All participants were required to listen to silence for 10 minutes, before listening to one of three songs - Mozart's Sonata in D Major, Andante Movement II (K448) or John Coltrane's rendition of My Favorite Things - followed by another 10-minute silence. They then listened to the remaining two songs, before listening to another 10-minute silence...
Read the full story at Medical News Today.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/297864.php
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