Neurobiological foundations of neurologic music therapy: rhythmic entrainment and the motor system

Abstract

Entrainment is defined by a temporal locking process in which one system’s motion or signal frequency entrains the frequency of another system. This process is a universal phenomenon that can be observed in physical (e.g., pendulum clocks) and biological systems (e.g., fire flies). However, entrainment can also be observed between human sensory and motor systems. The function of rhythmic entrainment in rehabilitative training and learning was established for the first time by Thaut and colleagues in several research studies in the early 1990s. It was shown that the inherent periodicity of auditory rhythmic patterns could entrain movement patterns in patients with movement disorders (see for a review: Thaut et al., 1999). Physiological, kinematic, and behavioral movement analysis showed very quickly that entrainment cues not only changed the timing of movement but also improved spatial and force parameters. Mathematical models have shown that anticipatory rhythmic templates as critical time constraints can result in the complete specification of the dynamics of a movement over the entire movement cycle, thereby optimizing motor planning and execution. Furthermore, temporal rhythmic entrainment has been successfully extended into applications in cognitive rehabilitation and speech and language rehabilitation, and thus become one of the major neurological mechanisms linking music and rhythm to brain rehabilitation. These findings provided a scientific basis for the development of neurologic music therapy.

Müzi̇ği̇n Beyni̇mi̇zdeki̇ Yolculuğu / the Journey of Music in Our Brains

“…Günümüzde özellikle insan sinir sistemini etkileyen edinilmiş ya da gelişimsel işlev bozukluklarının rehabilitasyonunda bilimsel bir yaklaşımla kullanılan müziksel uygulamaların en gelişmiş örneği Nörolojik Müzik Terapi (NMT) dir. NMT çalışmalarında ezgisel, uyumsal ve ölçümsel tüm müzik bileşenlerinin beyinde oluşturduğu etkiler çerçevesinde hareket, duygudurum, yaratıcılık, uyum ve sosyal katılımcılık alanlarını destekleyen uygulamalardan yararlanılmaktadır (13). Nöropsikolojik işlevleri düzenlemeyi, düzeltmeyi ve sürdürmeyi amaçlayan NMT uygulamaların, kanıta dayalı olarak etkinliği ortaya konulmuş, sistemleştirilmiş ve standardize edilmiş bulunan yöntemlere dayanmaktadır.…”

Rhythmic Haptic Cueing for Entrainment: Assisting Post-stroke Gait Rehabilitation

“…Firstly, and most obviously the external rhythm gives a recurring reference for the period of the desired swing. Perhaps less obviously, it can also make the motion smoother, with less variability of movement trajectory and can lead to more even muscle recruitment (Thaut et al 2015). These effects are caused by changes in muscle activation patterns, with the associated brain plasticity making it possible to re-program movement.…”

Neurologic Music Therapy to Facilitate Recovery from Complications of Neurologic Diseases

“…The more rapid system slows and the slower system accelerates until they lock into a common movement period. The function of rhythmic entrainment in rehabilitative training and learning was established by Thaut and colleagues in the early 1990s [1]. The firing rates of auditory neurons, triggered by auditory rhythm and music, entrain the firing patterns of motor neurons, thus driving the motor system into different frequency levels [1].…”

“…stimulation primes the motor system to a state of readiness to move which facilitates the motor response quality [1].…”