Study Explains Why Music Can Help Stroke Victims Regain Language Capabilities

–Scientific Study First To Provide Insight For Future Research–

A dramatic new study from the University of Texas at San Antonio has uncovered a link between the music right side of the brain function and the left side of the brain that is used in language processing. The study also shows that music activates the cerebellum, challenging the 150-year-old hypothesis that this part of the brain (containing 70 percent of all brain cells) only controlled motor function.

Both of these findings are significant because they could aid in the rehabilitation of stroke and other brain trauma patients who have lost speech capabilities. Melodic Intonation Therapy, where people sing what they want to say to improve fluency of speech, is a primary method of language rehabilitation. This new research provides insight into the function of the right brain areas, or music areas, which are recruited by the left side of the brain during therapy. Understanding the relationship between the two will give researchers the tools to develop other music-based speech rehabilitation therapies.

It is estimated that 80,000 people develop a speech aphasic condition, or speech delivery problem, from strokes or other brain trauma each year.