Music Therapy Improves Stroke Outcomes

HealthDay, February, 2008 by Robert Preidt

Listening to music for a few hours a day can help boost a stroke patient's early recovery, according to Finnish researchers.

Their study of 54 patients who'd suffered a stroke of the right or left hemisphere middle cerebral artery found that those who listened to music for a few hours a day showed better improvements in verbal memory and focused attention, and had a more positive mood than those who listened to audio books or listened to nothing at all.

The study, published in the Feb. 20 issue of Brain , is the first to show this link between music listening and stroke recovery, and the findings may prove useful in clinical practice, the researchers said.

especially if other active forms of rehabilitation are not yet feasible at this stage -- by providing an individually targeted, easy-to-conduct and inexpensive means to facilitate cognitive and emotional recovery," study first author ...