Music speeds recovery from stroke: study

PARIS (AFP) — A daily dose of one's favourite pop melodies, classical music or jazz can speed recovery from debilitating strokes, according to a study published Wednesday.

When stroke patients in Finland listened to music for a couple of hours each day, verbal memory and attention span improved significantly compared to patients who received no musical stimulation, or who listened only to stories read aloud,the study reported.

Those exposed to music also experienced less depression than the other two control groups.

Three months after a stroke, verbal memory was boosted by 60 percent in music listeners, by 18 percent in audio book listeners, and by 29 percent in non-listeners, the lead author Teppo Sarkamo, a neuroscientist at Helsinki University, told AFP.

The differences held true after six months as well, said the study, published in the Oxford University Press journal Brain.

Sarkamo's findings bolster a growing body ...