A study by the University of Helsinki found that,Singcan be enhancedstroke patientcommunication and language skills, making them more socially adept and reducing the burden on caregivers.
The study, published in the Dec. 27, 2022 issue of Brain Communications, included 54 peoplestroke patientthey received collective singing training every week for four months.
“Our study utilized a variety of singing elements, such as choral singing, melodic intonation therapy and tablet-assisted singing training,” said PhD researcher Anni Pitkäniemi.
Under the leadership of a trained music therapist and choir director, the subjects undergo melody and intonation therapy, which aims to help patients gradually produce speech through the use of melody and rhythm, fromSingto speak. About 40 percent of these subjects experienced aphasia, which is difficulty understanding or producing spoken or written language due to damage to specific brain regions. It is a highly debilitating condition that impairs communication, leads to social isolation and depressed mood.
After this treatment approach ended, patients were assessed for communication and speech production, mood, social functioning, and quality of life over the next 5 and 9 months, and caregivers were assessed according to their burden of care An assessment was made.
Singing improved patients’ daily communication and speech production, even in the chronic phase of stroke, compared with standard care, researchers found. Moreover, this treatment method also significantly reduces the burden on the nursing staff.
“Importantly, the positive effects on communication skills and responsive speech persisted 5 months after the intervention stopped, suggesting that the language benefits of the intervention were robust and durable,” the authors wrote.
“This is the first study to involve caregivers in recovery and assess their mental health,” said study lead author and postdoctoral researcher Sini-Tuuli Siponkoski. “In addition to speech training, group-based rehabilitation offers patients and their families an excellent opportunity for peer support.”
Choirs should not be banned during the pandemic
Meanwhile, policymakers around the world banned choral singing during the COVID-19 pandemic after misinterpreting a high-profile infection, a study found.(Click here to view)
The study says the government misinterpreted events in Washington state in March 2020, when 53 people in Washington’s Skagit County Choir were diagnosed with COVID-19 within weeks , and used this as an excuse to ban chorus singing and close churches, but many choir members were apparently infected before even attending practice.
“From the available data, it seems more consistent with the conclusion that there were multiple infected people in the rehearsal, and that they were infected elsewhere,” the researchers said. “The average incubation period is so short that it makes people It is believed that so many, if any, infections occurred during rehearsals.”
They concluded: “The outbreak in the Skagit County choir does not provide a scientific basis for people to limit singing, or mandate wearing masks or maintaining certain distance.”
original:Study of Stroke Patients Reveal Singing Boosts Communication and Quality of LifePublished in English “The Epoch Times”. ◇
Editor in charge: Li Fan