Bittman Drum Research Featured in Discover Magazine Music-Brain Article

“The Genetic Mystery of Music,” a six-page layout in the August issue of Discover, explores how science is finding musical keys deep in the roots of human experience, from the response of present-day infants to the instruments left behind by Neanderthals.

The recent study by Barry Bittman M.D. of the Mind-Body Wellness Center showing that a certain type of group drumming activity may help the body produce natural cancer-fighting cells received prominent mention in the article. As Bittman told writer Josie Glausiusz, “I’m not saying I have a cure for cancer, but what I am saying is that we have a very important step in understanding a delightful, enjoyable and fun way for people to reverse the stress response in a manner that leads to positive biological changes.”

As psychologist Sandra Terhub puts it, “When you have something that’s in every possible culture and in every historical period, you have to ask yourself: Why? If it’s an accident, why did this accident happen everywhere?”

In addition to the recent Discover article, the work of AMC has gotten ink in a number of prominent publications lately. To cite just a few examples, the Best 100 Communities for Music Education Survey was featured in the New York Times, the Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, Newsday (Long Island, NY) and the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. The study conducted by Dr. Barry Bittman on group drumming and cancer was also the subject of a recent article in the Orange County (CA) Register. The September issue of Readers Digest (readership: 16 million) also includes an article on “The Healing Power of Music.”