New research has found that the brains of people with epilepsy react differently to music as compared to those without the disorder, suggesting music may hold a therapeutic value for those patients.
The research, which was presented at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention, was inspired by an observation: About 80% of epilepsy cases involve seizures that originate from the temporal lobe of the brain—the same area in which music is processed.
“We hypothesized that music would be processed in the brain differently than silence,” said Christine Charyton, PhD, adjunct assistant professor and visiting assistant professor of neurology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, in a press release. “We did not know if this would be the same or different for people with epilepsy.”
To test this, she and her colleagues collected data from 21 people and compared it to data from 15 controls without epilepsy at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center between September 2012 and May 2014.
Using an EEG, they recorded the brainwave patterns of the patients as they listened to 10 minutes of silence, then one of two musical pieces, a second 10-minute period of silence, the other musical piece, and a final 10-minute silent era. The two pieces were Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, andante movement (K. 448) and John Coltrane’s rendition of “My Favorite Things”; the order in which they were played was randomized.
Possible treatment?
The researchers found that the patients with epilepsy had significantly higher levels of brainwave activity while listening to music as compared to the control group. Further, their brainwave activity tended to actually synchronize with the music—especially in the temporal lobe, “Like two metronomes locked together and ticking in unison,” Charyton told the Toronto Star.
According to Charyton, the team was surprised by the findings. “We knew that musicians synchronize more with music but we were not sure how persons with epilepsy would respond,” she told Medical News Today. “Persons with epilepsy synchronize before a seizure. However, in our study, patients with epilepsy synchronized to the music without having a seizure.”
In theory, this means that music could alter the course of a seizure. “Persons with epilepsy synchronize with their brain pathologically before a seizure,” Charyton told redOrbit. “The music could act as a catalyst to change the synchronization dynamics so that the brain synchronizes with the music instead, to prevent the seizure from occurring.”
Charyton emphasized this research is only just beginning to be explored—the sample size is small, and she told redOrbit via email that the researchers are still working on their manuscript for publication.
Despite this, the findings are promising. “It could be helpful as a new treatment or therapy or prevention one day,” Charyton told the Star. “It could help give people with epilepsy some new hope.”
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Feature Image: Thinkstock
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