Music Therapy: It's All About the Brain

As a music therapy student at Marylhurst, I was introduced to the work of Dr. Dale Taylor, an MT-BC,  researcher and expert in the field of biomedical music therapy.  Dr. Taylor says that the work of music therapy takes place in the human brain, and is targeted at changing how the brain functions.

An example of this is the use of music in a hospital setting.  Music therapy is widely used to decrease pain perception in patients by raising the threshold of pain stimuli that travel to the somatosensory areas of the patient's brain.

Dr Taylor's book, Biomedical Foundations of Music as Therapy says the theory of biomedical music therapy is based on the following assumptions:

1 - The brain is the center of control for the human organism
2 - Music is processed by and through the brain after which it affects us in a number of ways
3 - Music can have a positive effect on the body's hormonal and neural functioning, and can have a positive impact on the regenerative and immune functioning of the body. 

More on this fascinating topic to come!