A new Finnish study has revealed that listening to music can
help stroke patients recover faster, according to the journal Brain
as quoted by media reports Wednesday.
Researchers said that stroke patients who listened to music for
a couple of hours each day were able to recover faster than those
who did not listen to music.
Music therapy is something that has been believed in for quite
some time, and it has been found to help the stroke patients
improve their verbal memory much faster. It also keeps them in
higher spirits during recovery.
Researchers stated in their report that "These findings
demonstrate for the fist time that music listening during the early
post-stroke stage can enhance cognitive recovery and prevent
negative mood."
The study looked at over 60 recent stroke patients. The stroke
had a major impact on their motor controls, cognitive function
range and speech.
There were two groups set up, one group which listened to music,
and one which did not.
The stroke patients who listened to music showed a 60 percent
better improvement in verbal memory.
"This could be considered a pilot study," said Teppo Sarkamo, a
psychologist at the Cognitive Brain Research Unit at the University
of Helsinki, who led the study. "It is a promising start."
(Agencies via Xinhua News Agency February 20, 2008)