Advancement in singing ability using The YUBA Method in patients with cochlear implants

Music Therapy Using Singing Training Improves Psychomotor Speed in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease: A Neuropsychological and fMRI Study

Background/Aims

To investigate the effect of singing training on the cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

Methods

Ten AD patients (mean age 78.1 years) participated in music therapy using singing training once a week for 6 months (music therapy group). Each session was performed with professional musicians using karaoke and a unique voice training method (the YUBA Method). Before and after the intervention period, each patient was assessed by neuropsychological batteries, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed while the patients sang familiar songs with a karaoke device. As the control group, another 10 AD patients were recruited (mean age 77.0 years), and neuropsychological assessments were performed twice with an interval of 6 months.

Results

In the music therapy group, the time for completion of the Japanese Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices was significantly reduced (p = 0.026), and the results obtained from interviewing the patients' caregivers revealed a significant decrease in the Neuropsychiatric Inventory score (p = 0.042) and a prolongation of the patients' sleep time (p = 0.039). The fMRI study revealed increased activity in the right angular gyrus and the left lingual gyrus in the before-minus-after subtraction analysis of the music therapy intervention.

Conclusion

Music therapy intervention using singing training may be useful for dementia patients by improving the neural efficacy of cognitive processing.

Music Perception in Children With Cochlear Implants

As a result of the widespread use of cochlear implants, individuals with profound hearing loss now are able to hear sounds ranging from a syllable to a symphony. This form of “electric hearing” has been remarkably successful in providing sound to the deaf population and at least 100,000 implantation procedures have been performed worldwide in more than 80 countries (Clark, 2008). Today, it is routine for post-lingual deafened individuals (one who lost their hearing after normal childhood language acquisition) to achieve high performance on language tests following implantation (Lalwani, Larky, Wareing, Kwast, & Schindler, 1998). Deaf children implanted at an early age with a CI usually develop excellent spoken language skills, with placement into mainstream educational schooling (Francis, Koch, Wyatt, & Niparko, 1999). The overwhelming emphasis on language perception in CI users has led to relative neglect of non-linguistic sound perception. Yet, the auditory world consists of many other sounds besides those of spoken language. Of all non-linguistic sounds, perception of music—particularly pitch and timbre—represents the greatest challenge for implant-mediated listening (Limb, 2006). High-level perception of music rarely is attained through conventional speech processing technology in adults or children. Recent technological advances, however, have increased the processing capabilities of modern CIs and hold great promise for music perception and quality of life for children with cochlear implants (Lassaletta et al., 2007).