Neurorehabilitation in aging through neurologic music therapy

Abstract In the past 25 years, research in the basic and clinical neuroscience of music has begun to discover how music- and rhythm-based therapeutic exercises can effectively assist in brain rehabilitation. New music-based treatment avenues have been researched, especially in diseases associated with aging, such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke, and directed toward music-based rehabilitation of cognitive functions (memory, attention, and executive abilities) and motor functions (gait and mobility). Research has also been directed toward maintaining health during aging and the prevention of aging-related diseases. Music is now recognized as a core treatment modality in neurorehabilitation through neurologic music therapy (NMT). NMT has been developed over the past 15 years as a standardized, evidence-based, and internationally medically recognized treatment methodology. The chapter will provide a comprehensive survey of translational clinical studies, studies exploring neural mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of music and rhythm in the aging brain, and investigations into neuroplasticity associated with biomedical applications of music in aging.