oliver sacks - Musicophilia - Music Therapy and Parkinson's

Oliver Sacks, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and An Anthropologist on Mars, discusses the effect of music therapy on Parkinson's disease patients. The story related in the video comes from Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Dr. Sacks's latest book. For more information, visit http://www.oliversacks.com or http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400033539

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• oliver
• sacks
• music
• therapy
• parkinson's
• musicophilia
• neurology
• neurologist
• brain
• amnesia
• science

[noey543]

I suspect you have not experienced music therapy from a well-trained MT, or you would think differently. There are many more aspects to music therapy than just listening for entrainment (which CAN be very effective and beneficial). Do not disrespect a profession if you do not have all your facts straight and have a knowledgeable base. It's so much more than just "listening". Thanks.

[noey543]

I have to disagree guyincognito, with you and Mr. Sacks. Oliver is speaking about rhythm being helpful for patients with Parkinson's. It is only helpful when that rhythm is at a tempo where the patient can keep up with it. If the song is too fast they may not be able to match their gait tot he music, if it is too slow, where is the challenge? Therefore live music would be incredibly more effective than an ipod where song tempo cannot be manipulated.

[missash70]

I would like to contact any music therapists who have treated patients with depression- particularly those who are adolescents.

Thanks!

[alanjknig]

@noey543 excellent

[alanjknig]

Well, thi is interesting to me because I am a professional musician, and I have Parkinson's. What I found helpful, both artistically and to get my brain thinking "motion" was the Johann Strauss waltzes.

[noey543]

@ LKJBFG I was not referring to internal rhythm but rather gait, as that was the impetus for the ipod conversation. To find a person's gait "tempo" you find the patient's cadence, which is the number of steps per minute. Then you play live music that matches this cadence. Next you increase the tempo by 5-10%. Research has shown that patients who train in this manner make quick gains.

[LKJBFG]

@araleas 'music is not therapeutic'? I have always believed that music can be extremely therapeutic to people with a certain mental disorder, like for instance depression. I understand that you can't generalize, but that is not what Sachs is doing. This particular patient loves Chopin and responds to this music. In stead of healing, Sachs is contributing to the development of knowledge about Parkinson disease which can be productive for possible treatment or understanding the human brain.

[LKJBFG]

@noey543 how do you know what tempo a patient can keep up with? don't we all, including patients, experience and love music with different tempo's and rhythm's? why wouldn't an ipod do the same trick? he just explained that the patient in question was very fond of a certain piece by Chopin, so why couldn't he just let her listen to it with an ipod if he wanted to get a reaction?

[hensleyscott]

Very impressive channel



[meccatotherescue]

@flyingcat99 yes!

[flyingcat99]

is he the author of the book "The man who mistook his wife for a hat"?

[museman91]

i love this book. its a great source for my research paper on the benefits music education :)