Music Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), caused by a stroke, accident, or fall, is a common diagnosis of patients who are referred to music therapy. TBI is a disruption to the normal function of the brain. People with TBI may experience changes in memory, attention, judgment, awareness, motor skills, balance, coordination, sensory processing, speech, sleep, motivation, mood, and functional living (like organizing chores or being in social situations). Patients have to adjust quickly to this sudden shift in their capacity to get through the day. This can be an emotionally jarring experience that takes time to process in the midst of trying to regain function. 

Neurologists and primary care physicians are the ones who typically refer people with brain injuries to music therapy. Music therapy is not an ‘alternative therapy’, it is integrative, so we work with occupational, speech, physical, and behavioral therapists to address similar goals of each person. 

Music is highly structured, made up of multiple elements all at once- rhythm, tempo, melody, harmony, timbre, genre. So to participate in even listening to music, we are using parts of our brain that deal with complex perception, motor control, emotional regulation, timing, hearing, language, memory, executive control. Music activates these areas and drives complex interaction between them. Using the simple form of music, like a 12 bar blues, we can retrain and reeducate an injured brain by making space for the brain to fill in notes and rhythm. Research has shown that learning music helps areas in the brain grow and reconnect. 

Patients do not have to have any musical training to benefit from music therapy. All humans are able to interact with music in many ways. Some people enjoy learning a new instrument during their recovery, others like to participate by listening and relaxing to music, moving to music, or jamming on an instrument that doesn’t require a lot of training. 

After a few months of music therapy sessions, patients demonstrate improved speech prosody, steadier gait, and more manageable symptoms - these results mean patients can work towards a return to work and families sooner. 

Want to learn more about music and the brain? Check out this great interactive map that shows how each area of the brain responds to music!