Inside PBS Blog

Dr. Sacks, has your research found that music has therapeutic benefits for all of us, or just in very specific ways for those with particular neurological disorders?

Dear Dr. Sacks,

I read a great deal of your work while in college. Fascinating stuff. In your opinion, do people who are born without hearing abilities still process music on an "interior" or cognitive level? Do the deaf also have "inner soundtracks" to their lives?
Thank You.

Whenever I talk about music's effect on the brain, people inevitably bring up the so-called "Mozart Effect." Can you enlighten us about what researchers discovered after the initial reports that the idea that children (and adults) can learn more quickly if they listen to Mozart? I recall hearing that it had been thoroughly debunked.

Dr. Sacks,
I am a medical student and am regularly bored by my lectures, but you keep biology endlessly interesting for me. Why are many of us more in love with music as youths than at any other time in our lives?

Hi Dr. Sacks!

First: you rock! I love your books!

As a person living with schizophrenia myself, I was wondering if you have any insights about how music might interact with a schizophrenic person's mind? Do you think music therapy would be beneficial to schizophrenic people (in addition to meds of course) and if so, how could it benefit us?

My last comment hung, so my apologies if this is a duplicate.

My question is whether tyrosine improves ones ability to write music because I seemed to have a burst of musical creativity after I started taking it as a supplement. I then googled it and noticed that some people on the internet do take it to enhance creativity, as well as some other amino acid supplements.

If so, what are the best supplements for improving ones ability to create music?

Greetings. I was wondering if you had any thoughts as to the effects/benefits of musical therapy on people with brain tumors/cysts/damage.

I have heard that new cells are created every 3 months, and I was wondering if Music has an effect on that and could positive stimulus such as music increase the healing process?

Dr. Sacks,

I was wondering about music in terms of human evolution. It seems to play such a big part in our lives as humans...we also seem to be the only species who listens to and creates musical pieces. Obviously we have highly complex brains. Perhaps music evolved for some reason? Perhaps it provided some benefit to our human ancestors? I'm wondering if you could speak to this a bit.

When I was in college 20 years ago I had an interest in Music Therapy. I couldn't understand very well how to get into it, if there was a demand, and if it would be a viable means of income.

Although I'm not sure how knowledgeable you are about the whole industry, I'd love to hear your perspective, noticed trends in the field, and how you think a person who is interested should proceed. I'd love to know how you got into it, how you developed your niche, and what continues your interest.

--> I also am interested in the effect of music on Schizophrenia as Kristen Bell mentioned above. (I have two Schizophrenic parents)

When it was 'discovered' I had chromasynthesia, I talked with a few other chromasynthetes to compare notes, as it were. I further discovered we had no consensus regarding color and key, ie, I see D Major as yellow, and another colleague sees it as green. Is there any research to reveal why amongst us chromasynthetes our perceptions aren't unified? (Or, perhaps, the question is: Why do we expect each other to share the same view, as we would when seeing an object?)

Thanks!

Dr. Sacks,
Where is the music actually processed? Through what particular region of the brain is it processed? What are your thoughts on the mind-body principle?
Sincerely,
Sandy S.

dr. sacks

i have recently read your wonderful book on migraine. i was especially interested in the emotional connection you mention. i have a friend who has epilepsy (not gran mal, she just "steps out" for a few minutes) and it seem, from my personal observance, that there is a strong emotional stress trigger, even though her neurologist dismisses this. have you done work with this, or will you in the future?

thanks
mollie staffa

Dr. Sacks,

What can you tell us about the minds of people who make music? Why do songs suddenly occur in my head sometimes? Is writing music my brain's way of letting off some sort of stress? Is it related to how often I listen to music? What effect does playing and creating music have on the brain?

Thank you,
Jordan Hirsch

Dear Dr. Sacks,
My husband & son both have Tourettes Syndrome. My 13 year old son has a severe case of Tourettes. Anything new on the horizon that will give us hope? He is musical, into inventions, computers, but has very little concentration.

Dr. Sachs, Please Sir respond to my e-mail mhonainternational@gmail.com
I've compounded health issues (8 disabilities)including being on dialysis.I suffer from nuropathic pain.Can music assist in any way for those of us suffering chronic pain? I also am unable to sleep but about 2 to 2 1/2hours an night. I do not want to depend on pain meds, but I do want to have more sleep time. Thank you for any assist possible Sir.
Sincerely,
Tatiana A. Kostanian

Dr. Sack --

I hate to be a killjoy but the pianist during the first segment of Nova did not repeat the jazz melody note for note despite your statement otherwise - any competent musician would tell you that. I admit that I am not familiar with your work and after those few minutes I was compelled to change the channel.

Our daughter was in a coma for five weeks this fall after a car accident. I had read "Musicophilia" and taken its message to heart. We played her classical music from the first full day she was in the hospital, where we were fortunate to have access to a music therapist. I am really convinced that music helped her recover faster. She was a musician before and is still playing music. She had brain shearing as a result of the accident: could music have helped her make new neural connections?

Dr Sacks,
It's amazing how many people had come up with similar questions in regards to how music might affect or "cure", so to speak, various mental health conditions. I was also interested in this as an Occupational Therapist who sees many psych conditions while mainly treating patient's physical disabilities. Has any solid research been done in this area? Music vs. drugs? How about the research center you visited for your FMRI?
Love your work. Very engaging.
Marla

Dr. Sacks,

As a musican and a person diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, I was fascinated by the NOVA special on the musical mind. I found myself at times relating to the different featured guests on the program. Like the composer, Ciconia, I'm aware of the sometimes addictive and voracious appetite I have for music, and how sometimes I drive my family up the wall with incessant playing of songbooks. The young man with Turrette's (spelling?), demonstrates some of the healing powers of music, adn becuase I had a friend from college with TS who was a fantastic, inspired bass player, so I really appreciate. And of course, Derek! And it's true he didn't repeat the melody note-for-note (I think that had more to do with the editor's splicing of the piece than the incompetence of Derek), he instentaneously absorbed rhythm, melodic contour, harmonic progression (down to the extensions and voicing of the chords!)! If I could only translate the rattlings in my brain so fluently on the piano! Thank you for your research into the "Musical Mind" and I look foreward to seeing further results and the significance music plays in our evolution, culture, and neurological development.

PS: I really loved the Bach selection in the MRT! Lovely!

Dear Dr. Sacks,
Having just watched "Musical Minds", I have been wondering about something i automatically do. It is not actual music, but rather a rhythm concern. When i wind a clock or open a tin can with a hand turned opener I automatically start counting silently. When I am aware of doing this I can stop and cause myself no distress. I have no other psychological concerns, but am curious why this occurs. I have worked in two institutions for disturbed children and teens and have never come across this in any of them. Any ideas? Regards, Diane

My son was born with diffuse brain damage (he has microcephaly) -- no one has ever been able to say when or why this happened, but from the CT scans the neurologist suspected that the assault on the brain occurred shortly before birth. As a result he has multiple disabilities: spastic quadraplegia CP, cortical blindness, epilepsy . . .
I have two questions:
1) Is there evidence that music can help in a case like this? Because he is non-verbal and has limited capacity for movement, we have never seen evidence that he either dislikes or gets enjoyment from music.
2) Is there evidence that one type of music (e.g., classical, piano) is more effective than another in affecting a positive response from someone who has a damage or malformed brain?

Thank you for a most interesting program, and for sharing your considerable knowledge with the general public. People like me are blessed to have people like you in the world.

Dr. Sacks,
My mother had a serious stroke two years ago, affecting 40-45% of the left frontal section of the brain. She was diagnosed with global aphasia and apraxia. She cannot walk or talk, but is completely present and engaged and aware of what's going on. Although unable to speak, we sang together every day for a year (she's a little rusty now). She plays and wins at canasta, a complicated card game; is able to make canastas on her own and devise strategies as to what to throw to prevent others from "picking up" the pile. She is able to write although not consistently. Are you aware of any research or services, musical or otherwise, that we could utilize to help her improve her speech and/or communication?
Thank you!

dr sachs,
i have parkinson's disease and was always musical from birth--raised in a pianist's home, played violin, piano, guitar, etc. has there been any research as to what instrument may be most helpful in possibly slowing the motor degeneration? maybe drums?

also, is there a link between the frequency of the tremors (4-6 cycles/sec)and the earth's natural vibrations? i think i heard that the earth also vibrates at about the same frequency...

Dr Sacks your work is fascinating and I enjoyed Musical Minds. I'm wondering if any research has been done on Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) and music. My husband's sleep is disturbed because of it, therefore, he is always tired. It started about 20 yrs ago.

Dr. Sachs, how does music affect neuro-development in infants and toddlere?

My 20 month old grandson sometimes moves his head in a rythmic way during his "quiet play". It occurred to me that he might be imagining music. Wouldn't he have to learn music in a cognitive way first?
He does hear a lot of music in his home from electronic sources. Is he remembering voices or word patterns? Of course you cannot know for sure. I only know that his brain is growing madly and his vocabulary expands by the hour. Is this a "real" area of interest or ability? Or, is this part of ordinary language development?

Ten years ago I had a motorcycle accident. Though wearing a full helmet I was unconscious for 40 minutes. I was a trial lawyer and lost short term memory (What day of the week is it again?) I remembered as a high school student the boy next to me in mixed chorus had a debilitating stammer, but not when he sang music. I reasoned that music has special powers to heal my trauma. I took up classical guitar. My short term memeory loss dissipated rather quickly (six weeks from the start of guitar). Did learning to play music and a new instrument potentiate my recovery? I morphed into playing folk and polular acoustic guitar and fully believe that at age 66 I am much more mentaly vital than others of my age, but this is merely anecdotal and highly self-serving. Can an aging brain be more vital longer by performing and practicing music?

Dear Dr Sacks, I got a sense of relief when I saw your documentary on PBS. My son is 28 and was finally diagnosed as bipolar after three years and different Drs. The two things he does is chain smokes and listens to music. He refuses to acknowledge he is ill , fed up with Drs and meds. He is on Risperdal only . We live in a third world country, with no infrastructure .Just private Drs who say he must take additional meds.? Help !

My grandson had a stroke in utero affecting the left side of his brain causing seizures. He is now 3 yrs. old with verbal skills of a 15 mos. old. Since he was born I've been singing and doing rhythm exercises for just about everything from diaper changing, medicine taking, bathing, pajamas--everything has a song. My thinking is that maybe it will help wire his brain in other areas to compensate for his lack of the left side of his brain. What research if any have you found in music therapy for the brain especially in a child whose brain has not had "input" as in an older person suffering from stroke?

Thank you for your input

Hello Dr. Sacks, I have been a big fan of your work for years. My question is what role, if any, do you think lyrics play in the effect of music on the brain?

Dr. Sacks,
Thank you for the further enlightenment about music and neurological anomalies. Our son is 46, has been diagnosed with neurological impairment, autism, Tourette's Syndrome, intermittent explosive disorder, OSD and others. He has savant characteristics, including calendar counting, and has unusual musical awareness. He was taught piano classical music style, plays the piano in a stilted fashion, but seeme to need music to calm anxieties, wearing a walkman often tuned to music. He is on a medication regime which is helping , but recently his Dr., a psychiatrist wanted an OT exam to possibly identify a sensory modality which may be contributing to the intermittant explosive episodes. What part could music therapy play to help him?

Why don't they use music to treat depression?

Dr. Sachs,
I am excited about the musical possibilities discussed on your amazing show. It was so timely. My cousin is recovering from a traumatic brain injury on his left side. He is in another part of the country, so I cannot be near him to help him relearn language. But I am a musician and a teacher and I know that music could help him regain lost ground. What types of musical activities would you suggest to help him remember objects and rebuild his brain capacity? Thank you for this ground-breaking research.

I would be interested to know if any of the neurology investigations currently underway are considering the people who have music playing in their minds every waking moment. Both my mother and my husband experience this (my husband calls it "the DJ in his head). If you ask "what's playing now?"? they'll tell you the musical piece they're hearing. It's a largely harmless condition, although if my husband's DJ insists on playing the same some over and over and OVER again, my husband gets kind of testy after awhile.

Some questions: If studies are being done, how common a condition is this? Do MRIs (if available) show similar effects to passive listening vs. emotionally engaged listening (e.g., your Bach brain vs. your Beethoven brain)?

Thank you for your time and your body of work.

Dear Dr. Sachs
I am a psychotherapist and have a patient who goes through periods when he hears music in his head which he is unable to shut off. While music is important to him and he is an instrumentalist. this is unwanted as it interferes with his ability to focus on his job.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be most appreciated.

Dr. Sachs-your research is so amazing. As my family goes through the mid stages of Alzheimer with our mother, I am wondering if music can actually heal the brain, or just distract it?

I have always wondered why I get what I call musical goosebumps whenever I hear certain songs. These goosebumps are usually accompanied by intense positive feelings, including tears of joy at times. Can you tell me if this is common?
Thanks

Just want to say that I have been reading your books for decades and you are one of the most facinating people on the planet. Thank you a million times for your wonderful books that help us all understand this amazing brain of ours!

After a significant brain injury my then teenage daughter reported that the saddest result of the injury for her was the loss of the music she heard in her brain fairly continuously, which in her case manifested itself in such behaviors as playing a bit as playing a familiar piece of Mozart, etc., on her desk before an exam and even correcting the errors she made on the desk surface. That led me, as an educator to ask groups of professional educators as I would present to them how many of them heard music fairly continuously in their heads. About 40% said "Of course I do." in some form or other. The other 60% mostly looked at them strangely. The music in their heads gives new understanding to teachers who are irritated by young children rapping rhythmically on their desks, to the irritation of their teachers who then diagnose them as "hyperactive" when they are actually just keeping the beat. It also throws into ridiculous the music teachers play for students who love music in their classes which is generally viewed by the students as an intrusion the music they are really hearing. What I need to know is more about this. Any resources?

How might music be used to assist in recovery from a stroke? Similarly, do you have any thoughts on how music/music therapy could be used in the treatment of mood disorders (depression, panic disorder, etc.)?

Dear Dr. Sacks,
I am a pianist and piano teacher. About 18 years ago I had a young student about 8 years old who had Tourette's. He was constantly clearing his throat and had involuntary tics. I noticed then that the only time his body was quiet was when he played the piano. He was a good student, not an extraordinary musician, but even then I wondered about the connection between music and Tourette's. Thank you for validating my instincts! On another note, have you done any research on focal dystonia in musicians?

Dear Dr. Sacks- I appreciate your fine dedicated work, particularly since I am a piano teacher. I have a question regarding magnetism and the brain. I have one student that stood out among hundreds of others in my 20 plus years in teaching piano. She could memorize vast amounts of music in a week, and even today continues to win competition after competition because of her abilities. Her family is average intelligence, but she seems the exception. I asked her mother one day where she got a mark on her forehead, and she told me that as a baby they left the magnetic device for hearing on her forehead too long and it burned her forehead causing a birthmark-like scar. Do you think this has something to do with her extreme gift?

Thank You-
Lisa

Sir, your work is an inspiration because we are the same "creature" -- on the level of personality constructs, one sees all kinds of interesting distinctions: I am male, she is female, you are older, I am younger, etc.

But we are the brain. That is yet to be realized, en masse, one is the brain. Everything else is just a dream called "I" in an extension called the body. And it's wonderful, indeed, but once a "brain" remembers itself, as itself, then the miracles begin.

Best wishes, Sir, in communicating your discoveries,

Eric Y.

I get them, along with an electric thrill, from listening to my favorite music -- and from playing it back in my head. Is this a function of the amygdala, which is engaged when you listen to Bach but not to Beethoven, or is somer other part of the brain involved?

Incidentally, there's a passage in Cordwainer Smith's story "No, No, Not Rogov" (1959) that really gets to me: "Take me back to the music, I want to be with the music, I really am the music... that me is a true me."

Dr. Sacks,

Thank you for all you have done to further the research into the connection between music, the brain and behavior. I am a professional musician, a drummer for 42 years. A decade or so ago I was a graduate student at UCLA in the Systematic Musicology program. My focus of study and research was on the connection between AfroCuban folkloric rhythms and trance states. After my first two scholarly papers were published, my faculty advisor gave me the choice to "be a scientist (remain as a researcher at UCLA) or be a musician (leave UCLA). I chose the latter.

There is a deep reason why Cuban music, be it folkoric or secular, moves an entire country (Cuba) and is so infections, globally.

I know that there is much research to be done re: the connection between basic AfroCuban rhythms (i.e. the clave, AfroCuban music's lack of emphasis on downbeats, etc.) and behavior. I feel strongly that this research can shed light on the way humans process rhythm and, more importantly to me, the reasons why Cuban music and rhythms are so effective in their powers to make people move.

Might you have any ideas as to how I might continue this, I feel and know, important research.

Immense thanks.

Chuck Silverman

Thank you for the AWESOME and informative program! In the future I hope PBS will sponsor similar shows in regards music and its effect on the brain.
If music is proven to help relieve the symptoms of mental disorders and encourage proper brain function, why do so many musicians develop schizophrania and other disorders?
A great example is Josef Hassid, a brilliant Polish violinist, who was plagued by the effects of schizophrania and eventually turned against music. He died as the result of a lobotomy. Another example is Christian Ferras,another violinist, who suffering severely from depression tragically ended his life by committing suicide.
Thank you!

Dr. Sacks,

I have had PTSD for about 8 years now. I am recovering with the help of meditation and Cognitive behavioral training. Do you have any experience with music helping people with an anxiety disorder? Thank you,

Sue

I'm fond of the notion that there are things that are not only beyond human knowledge, but beyond human comprehension. Our own brain might be such a thing.
What do you think?

Dr Sacks, I was born consciously blind on my right side as well as unable to understand language in my right ear. I taught myself to play the piano as a child and became adapt at spontaneous Bach-like composition before receiving any formal training. I've long believed that I would be much more impaired if it had not been for my mother's passion for reading aloud and being allowed to play -at a very young age- with her classical record collection. Now, saying "what" a lot at parties or "excuse me" to my own reflection in a full-length mirror, a lack of depth perception and an inability to think/learn in any particular linear fashion (greatly improved by the advent of computer-aided thought) are now my only bothersome disabilities. Are there many others in my situation, or could I be of use to some study? Steff

Dear Dr. Sacks, I have a son who has Williams Syndrome. Have you studied the connection between the WS brain and music? My son has a low IQ which is typical for WS, but he shows unusual ability musically. Can you explain why people who have WS have such a strong affinity toward music?
Thanks, Mom to a wonderful 11 year old boy with WS

Great show. As an electrical engineer I was struck by how similar the ticks & other disorders were to computers with broken clocks. Music seemed to provide a clock for the brain. All living things have a bio-clock that regulates us just like a computer. An out of sink computer puts out conflicting orders that are just like mental ticks. A possible solution I propose is to place electrodes on the skull and have small electrical pulses transmitted. I think at the right frequency, power levels and locations, the brain will rewire to sink-up to these pulses: thus regulating the brains messages properly. What do you think?

i have no musical training and was an attorney. then i retired and suddenly melodies came to me in my 60's. i have written 20 songs in 1 year, and they are not too bad, mainly standards type songs

My daughter is 6 years old and at the age of 3 was diagnose by The Children's Hospital Of King's Daughter's neurologist; with this rare neurological disorder called Gratificational Behavioral Phenomenon. This is a neurological disorder that the doctor said should decrease by the age of 5 and be gone by the age of 10. She is 6 now and the ticks have not reduced at all. Basically her symptom are a cross between tourets and autism. They say she doesn't have torets because she doesn't have out bursts but she has ticks like tourets patients would have. Yet it isn't autism because she develops socially along with and sometimes in advance of her fellow peers. From what I am told this is a very under-studied neurological disorder. They did a 6 hour Video EEG while they had all kinds of wires glued to her head and they showed no difference in the brain pattern vs. when she would be talking or doing everyday activities and when she is doing her spasm. They also did an MRI as well. Nothing was found there because they put her to sleep and she doesn't do the tick in her sleep. It is mostly brought on by under-stimulation of the brain or severe excitement, yet she doesn't know she is doing it when she comes out of it. I can usually call her name and tell her to calm down and her spasms subsided. There is no defined time frame that she does it nor amount of times she can have a spasm in 1 day. I am wondering if something musical of maybe an F.M.R.I. would help her? Or if you could give me any pointers on what to do or if you have heard of this? Maybe if you had any cases like this before? Please contact me.

My daughter is 6 years old and at the age of 3 was diagnose by The Children's Hospital Of King's Daughter's neurologist; with this rare neurological disorder called Gratificational Behavioral Phenomenon. This is a neurological disorder that the doctor said should decrease by the age of 5 and be gone by the age of 10. She is 6 now and the ticks have not reduced at all. Basically her symptom are a cross between tourets and autism. They say she doesn't have torets because she doesn't have out bursts but she has ticks like tourets patients would have. Yet it isn't autism because she develops socially along with and sometimes in advance of her fellow peers. From what I am told this is a very under-studied neurological disorder. They did a 6 hour Video EEG while they had all kinds of wires glued to her head and they showed no difference in the brain pattern vs. when she would be talking or doing everyday activities and when she is doing her spasm. They also did an MRI as well. Nothing was found there because they put her to sleep and she doesn't do the tick in her sleep. It is mostly brought on by under-stimulation of the brain or severe excitement, yet she doesn't know she is doing it when she comes out of it. I can usually call her name and tell her to calm down and her spasms subsided. There is no defined time frame that she does it nor amount of times she can have a spasm in 1 day. I am wondering if something musical of maybe an F.M.R.I. would help her? Or if you could give me any pointers on what to do or if you have heard of this? Maybe if you had any cases like this before? Please contact me.

In 1963 I met our esteemed collegue Sir John Eccles lecturing at Einstein Medical College on inhibitory spinal interneuron, for which he got the Nobel Prize. He was quite a wise-ass then. In the 1980s I took a course with him visiting at NYU. Now he was the most humble man on earth, arguing that the soul is watching the CNS on TV. We discussed my work since 1962 with Taub and Berman on deafferentation of the forelimbs, showing that animals can learn to use their deafferented hands open-loop with knowledge of results through reward. In my later work Berman and I had found that a dorsal column nuclei lesion would disable the precision grip in monkeys but a superimposed whole limb deafferentation months later by total bilat C2 to T8 dorsal rhizotomy would return the precision grip. Now however, the proximal limb was grossly osscilatory, but once the arm was stabilized the hand would do wonders in wrist and digital movements blindfolded. I concluded that partial sensory lesion make sensory areas like listening to a radio mistunned between two stations, causing a basal ganglia block of motor coordination machinery, possibly in the cerebellum. Complete removal of the sensory machinery to the limb returned the digital capacity, now open loop. This is a common enough visomotor closed vs. open loop phenomenon. But, recalling Sir John, I keep thinking that we need inhibitory focus to selectively "carve" the ubiquitous motor activation that arousal produces. Now I am retired and trying to fit molecular/genetic biology to metabolic disorders; but your wonderful PBS show on music made me want to ask you about music focusing inhibition rather than selective arousal, much like your patients hypersensitized by L-DOPA. Could music be a booster to inhibitory sculpting? How we all have aged. You don't look like the hyperactive neurologist I had met in the Bronx-- but you sure seem as enthusiastic about life, beautiful! I couldn't remeber your first name. Yet, memory loss does not interfere with relearning today the wonderful things I learned yesterday. As the old joke goes: Alzheimer's is not so bad, you meet new people every day. Be well and thanks for the boost with beauty, intellect and enthusiasm, the last something Americans never learned to appreciate.

I suffer from schizoaffective disorder, and was wondering if music can actually alter chemicals in the brain. I am drawn to music, and find it both calming and stimulating. My mom is beginning to suffer from dementia, and I was also wondering if music could actually "rewire" her neurons so that her short-term memory would improve. I was just wondering if this had been studied yet.

Did you do any research/have any findings with music and ADD/ADHD affected individuals?

I am now a 52 year old Family Physician. My undergraduate major was in Neurobiology.
At age 34 I had a brain hemmorhage, then surgery for a partial removal of a "Malignent" Astrocytoma in my medial Left Temporal Lobe. This was followed by external beam radiation.18 years later I am still alive. For the 2 years prior to my surgery, I was obessessed with learning guitar and self taught myself piano. I cannot read music at all, hence I end up composing my own "symphonies"
My left dominent hemisphere shows no evidence of the my original malignent lesion near the Uncus, and PET scan show a marked hypo intake of FDG. If I can be of help as a subject of study, please let me know. I also took up painting and photography to keep my right hemisphere busy.
Thanks for your great work.

I just watched the Nova special and found it absolutely fascinating. You may cover this in your book, but it seems that of the patients you discussed in the special, they all played piano, have you seen this accelerated musical ability with other instruments? Also the approach seems to be Western-based, do those in Eastern cultures, such an China, have an affinity for their cultural style of music or for Western style? Thanks!!

My mother, who had bipolar disorder, experienced neuroleptic malignant syndrome due to Haldol injections. Afterwards, she could only talk in rhyme. Once transferred from psych to a medical unit, where she finally got iv fluids, she woke singing "Catch a Falling Star." She was the falling star. I took her out of the hospital once she was strong enough to be transferred back to the psych unit. She regained the capacity to walk. On her birthday, a friend brought a Frank Sinatra cassette tape as a present. We danced to "Always" which she sung to me. It was amazing. When the money ran out, she went to a nursing home and died within 6 weeks of aspiration pneumonia. For her funeral, I chose the same music she selected for her wedding and for my dad's funeral. A neighbor, who's a tenor, sang and I hired a violinist to accompany him because my dad played the violin. "Panis Angelicus" was her favorite. It was beautiful to hear the Irish neighbor's tenor voice mirrored by the voice of the violin. I've no doubt that music heals.

I'm fascinated that music can be helpful neurologically and psychologically.

What different kinds of music might be beneficial in the following situations?

-- a child or adult with ADHD
-- during surgery or childbirth
-- recovering in the hospital
-- for a person with Alzheimers
-- recovering from a traumatic brain injury
-- recovering left brain function after a stroke
-- when feeling stressed or "hyper"
-- wanting to get to sleep
-- heightening sex and orgasm [beyond Bolero from "10"]
-- experiencing depression or grief

Thanks for your wonderful work!

Dear Dr. Sacks
May I ask you about Instant Comprehension and learning music?
What could be happening in the brain to facilitate learning and comprehending a piece of music instantaneously?
I was a graduate student studying Indonesian music in Java. It was a particularly frustrating lesson on an instrument that is played in the Indonesian Gamelan. I just couldn't seem to comprehend the piece being played for me. After hearing it several times I felt myself moving outside of my body and behind my head for a brief moment. When I was back inside my body, I picked up my mallets and played the piece flawlessly. I don't and have never done drugs and have had no stroke or psychological problems. I was at the time a student of meditation.
Is there anyone studying such a phenomenon? I would like to do a PhD in accelerated learning and music psychology.
Sincerely
Madhuri Peterson

Abdullah Ibn Buhaina (better known as Art Blakey) said, "music only washes away the dust of everyday life."
i was his road manager, confidant, sound-man, driver, and so many others things for many years. He was a musical genius.
i'd just like to know, your take on his profound statement. Tkx! m.j.romero

I read all the comments on here and could not find one that best fits my fiance. She has PTSD, Huntinton Chorea, Epilepsy, and in Sept of 07 she had a Type II Astrocytoma removed from her right front temporal lobe. She has always wanted to learn to play the guitar. I'm sorry to say I never got to see the Nova special. How does music help the brain???

Have you found any correlation to musicians and the banking/finance industry? Since starting with my company that specializes in small business finance, I've discovered a good portion of our senior and executive level management team were or are in bands. We even created our own band internally. For an office of 40- 7 talented musicians in the bunch seems a bit top heavy.

Also, as I work more closely with some bankers I've met it seems some of them are the same. Is that just a coincidence or is there something in a musician's mind that leans them in this direction?

Thank you for the show! It really spoke to me! My son has autism and can play 4 musical instruments. I was told my son would never move up higher than elementary school, he would never talk, and may never live on his own. He is now going into the 12th grade, taking honor classes and is in the marching band. I am amazed! I don’t know how far in life he will go. He is having a hard time getting a job. He does still have some social issues - but doesn’t most of the world!?! Thank you a million times for sharing your brain of knowledge with others in such a public way! What a wonderful thing you are doing! I want to know more!
Music is such a universal language!
In the Lords hands,
Tina Merritt

I want to thank you for your hard work on such fascinating research.

I'll get right to my point. There seems to be a conspicuous absense of help for adults with ADD/ADHD.

I'm sure if I had an unlimited amount of time and money I could find what I am looking for, but as a single parent, I am consistently short on both.

My thirty year old son has had ADD/ADHD all his life, though it was slow in being diagnosed correctly. Academics have been excrutiatingly difficult for him in his entire school career and as an adult, over a ten year span he lost at least as many jobs.

There are always many factors involved in the loss, but generally it has to do with at least one of the symptoms of his ADD.

The only thing he can do without any difficulty is produce music. He produces beats and lyrics for hip hop artists. This is an infinite source of satisfaction for him, but of course, making a living at it is another story.

It is quite amazing to me that he can work non-stop on his music for 18 hours at a time, when just trying to have a conversation with him is a major marathon, running after him while I talk.

He has always been emotionally moved, calmed, and put to sleep by music. After hearing about your work on the brain and music I am heartened that perhaps something can be done in that realm for adults with this disorder.

Thank you,
Karen J Tracy

Dr. Sacks,
My ex-husband’s father, Roy (age 80), suffered minor head trauma in a car accident last summer. In the months following the accident, Roy began exhibiting difficulties in speech – mumbling, trailing off of sentences, including the occasional use of an odd, unrelated word in a sentence (Did he just say kangaroo?). Roy’s father had what they used to call “hardening of the arteries” with dementia, so Roy was tested by an Alzheimer’s clinic in San Diego. They found no lesions or alkyoid masses, but did diagnose him with aphasia, suggesting follow-up testing in a few months. It was also recommended that he listen to his favorite music…the problem is that Roy has no favorite music. He neither likes nor dislikes it. He is simply indifferent to it. I was wondering if perhaps listening to tapes of the old stand-up comics that he has greatly enjoyed over the years—Bill Cosby, Red Skeleton, Will Rodgers—might also stimulate his speech centers? It would certainly be more difficult, if not impossible, to privately recall these comic routines in a mental exercise, as one would conjure up a familiar tune, but perhaps in this case laughter can be Roy’s best medicine. Your thoughts?
Heidi Short

I am a bass player at play-bass.com and I love other musicians and other instruments. I think music is the most fluent language there is.

Fantastic research, at least we can understand the wonderful world of music even more

I've read on some health journal years a go, that music, especially classical music, can stimulate a fetus to become a genius...

He's my hero! I use music with retarded folks in NYC (not scientific) and EVERYONE just loves music! Difficulty adding 1+1 but can sing entire songs - brain 'wiring' ?(I'm not good with math...)

Answer: I too hear songs all day long, but they don't cause a problem - I have dreams where my band plays a tune and the dream corrects wrong lyrics I had when awake!! ps. I am typing sober - really!

I want to become a neurologist because it has fascinated me for a long time. I'm still in high school, but I don't know how to become a neurologist.

I know when I listen to music its an instant mood changer depending on the music. Its great that this is being researched. I would love to see the final outcome.

Great article.