Scans show brainwaves of those with disorder appear to synchronize with music
According to research presented at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention, the brains of people with epilepsy appear to react to music differently from the brains of those who do not have the disorder.
“We believe that music could potentially be used as an intervention to help people with epilepsy,” said Christine Charyton, PhD, adjunct assistant professor and visiting assistant professor of neurology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, who presented the research.
Music is processed in the auditory cortex in this same region of the brain where 80 per cent of epilepsy cases originate. Charyton and her colleagues compared the musical processing abilities of the brains of people with and without epilepsy using an electroencephalogram. They collected data from 21 patients who were in the epilepsy monitoring unit at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center between September 2012 and May 2014.
The researchers recorded brainwave patterns while patients listened to 10 minutes of silence, followed by either Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, andante movement (K. 448), or John Coltrane’s rendition of “My Favorite Things,” a second 10-minute period of silence, the other of the two musical pieces and finally a third 10-minute period of silence. The order of the music was randomized.
Charyton says brainwave activity in people with epilepsy tended to synchronize more with the music, especially in the temporal lobe, than in people without epilepsy.
“We were surprised by the findings,” said Charyton. “We hypothesized that music would be processed in the brain differently than silence. We did not know if this would be the same or different for people with epilepsy.”
Charyton believes music might be used in conjunction with traditional treatment to help prevent seizures in people with epilepsy.
