The Neuroscience behind Art and Music Therapy

by Iris Wang

Introduction

Art therapy is defined as a type of treatment that uses art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork as a therapeutic and healing process (Art Therapy Credentials Board). Music therapy is defined as the clinical use of music interventions for individualized goals (American Music Therapy Association). Both practices are gaining attention in therapy circles, hospitals, and research labs, as advances in neuroscience offer insight into their benefits on the brain.

Emotional Communication and Regulation

Art and music predate language in emotional communication. They can be used as tools for emotional expression when words fail, and to help process subconscious emotions. Engaging in creative arts may help with emotion regulation - both the active creation and the passive viewing/listening of creative arts consistently activates brain regions tied to emotional regulation, especially the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala. These pathways overlap with those used in intentional emotion-management strategies. Additionally, music increases dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin - modulating reward and bonding circuits. Music stimulates the same neural circuits as social connection, and depression and mood disorders show improvement with music therapy.

Brain Development and Neuroplasticity

Music helps with neonatal brain development: early exposure to music improves sleep, heart rate, and future inhibitory control, and structured, familiar music helps develop brain regions like the hippocampus and amygdala. Additionally, music training changes brain structure - neuroimaging reveals a larger corpus callosum, motor cortex, cerebellum, and auditory areas in musicians, as well as stronger auditory-motor integration. Long-term music playing is linked to more gray matter and enhanced connectivity, and early exposure (before age 7) shows greatest brain adaptation.

Clinical and Therapeutic Benefits

Art and music therapy helps with pain management, improves cognitive skills and memory, and reduces stress. In dementia patients, it reduces agitation, improves communication, and boosts quality of life. In fact, Alzheimer’s patients retain music-related memory longer than other types, and familiar music stimulates autobiographical memory even in later disease stages. Additionally, music therapy aids movement recovery in stroke, Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, and Traumatic Brain Injury patients, as music bypasses damaged brain areas and reactivates speech and movement through alternative circuits. Piano training post-TBI enhances synaptic connections in memory networks, and goal-oriented music tasks stimulate dopamine release and orbitofrontal cortex activity. Children with epilepsy show reduced seizure activity with music, and rhythmic auditory stimulation improves gait and coordination.

Incorporating Art and Music Therapy into Your Daily Life

There are many ways that you can experience the beneficial effects of art and music in your daily life. Here are three ways to get started:

1. Create a personal playlist with calming or emotionally meaningful music to listen to during difficult or stressful times.

2. Keep a small sketchbook for drawing during times where you struggle to express your thoughts verbally, or as a fun way to relax and decompress.

3. Attend live music events or visit art museums to enjoy the creative displays of your local community.

Conclusion

From early development to late-stage neurological conditions, art and music therapies benefit the brain in many different ways. They simultaneously activate emotional, sensory, motor, and memory networks, creating a uniquely effective method of supporting emotional regulation, neurological development, and physical rehabilitation, among other aspects. While additional research is still needed, it’s become clear that creative expression is not only enjoyable, but can also serve as a beneficial therapeutic pathway to growth and recovery for patients. Ultimately, as our understanding of art and music therapy continues to evolve, so does their potential to reshape how we approach our health.

Sources used:

• https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/neurosciencecdn3/chapter/neuroscience-and-music/#:~:text=Music%2Dsupported%20therapy%20can%20improve,et%20al.%2C%202020).

• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5618809/

• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10765015/

• https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/02/19/1081263873/mental-health-art-therapy

• https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/blog/alzheimers-disease/music-and-art-therapies-may-help-alzheimers-patients/

• https://www.levinemusic.org/about/news/the-neuroscience-of-music/

• https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1422361/full

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