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Music and the Emotional Brain: How Music Interacts with the Amygdala
Have you ever gotten goosebumps while listening to a song? Maybe it was during a movie soundtrack, the climax of a symphony, or a song you’ve heard hundreds of times before. Your heart raced, you got chills, or you even felt emotional for reasons you couldn’t quite explain. This is a common experience known as…
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Music is Medicine | A Classical Playlist ⭐
As a musician, these are some of the classical pieces I find myself coming back to again and again. Some help me focus, others help me slow down, and many simply remind me why I love music. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I do!
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Music, Community & Psyche: Why Group Music-Making Is More Powerful Than You Think
Have you ever walked out of a rehearsal feeling better than when you walked in? Most musicians have experienced this feeling, but that isn’t a coincidence. Making music together doesn’t just improve musical ability; it can also have great effects on our physical health, emotional well-being, and sense of belonging. When people think about the…
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Playing an Instrument vs. Listening: How Active Music-Making Changes Your Brain
How does active music-making affect your brain? How can it act as an effective therapy for older adults, and even those with different types of neurodegenerative diseases? In this meta-analysis by Rogers et al., the effects of musical instrument training on executive functions (EF) and cognitive functions in healthy older adults were reviewed. Aging naturally…
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Music, Anxiety & Depression: How Musical Practice Can Support Mental Health
Pivoting from the cognitive side of brain health, how can music support mental health? How can it improve depression, anxiety, quality of life, and even the quality of your sleep? In this study from Feng et al., the effect of music therapy was explored on emotional resilience and well-being. It was an 8-week music therapy…
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Can Music Therapy Prevent Cognitive Decline? What the Evidence Shows
We’re all curious about how music can be a neurological intervention for those with cognitive decline. Many of us have heard of something called “music therapy.” How can music help prevent cognitive decline in those with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)? How can it help overall executive function? In this meta-analysis by Ito et…
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Music Training and Executive Function: What Studies Show About Focus, Memory & Attention
How can music training throughout various periods of your life help fight against cognitive decline? How does music training actually strengthen your brain and help executive function? In this study, Bottcher et al. investigate the association between playing a musical instrument across various periods of your life and the various multi-domain cognitive abilities that are…
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Singing and the Brain: Cognitive and Emotional Benefits of Using Your Voice – Part 2
In our last article, we talked about the ways in which singing can help improve cognitive function in older adults with dementia. But what about the healthy? Does singing act as a preventative “medicine” for the healthy aging brain? This is part two of this article. Please refer back to the previously published article if…
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Singing and the Brain: Cognitive and Emotional Benefits of Using Your Voice – Part 1
We all love to sing, in some way or form, whether you are a choral or a cappella musician, a musical theater actor/actress, or simply someone who loves to sing along with the radio. But how can any type of singing affect the way your brain works? How does it benefit us? This article is…
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How Music Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Stress and Anxiety are two very unavoidable things in our world today; there is always something that will cause those two things. Some amount of stress and anxiety can be healthy to have, but how can music help us manage an excess of those emotions? Listening to music can already have a very clear effect…
Music is Medicine
A student led knowledge hub exploring the science of music and the brain.
