Singing can improve speech function in aphasics

(January, 2015). Singing can improve speech function in aphasics associate with intact right basal ganglia and preserved right temporal glucose metabolism: Implications for singing therapy indication. The International Journal of Neuroscience,7,1-16.

Authors

Akanuma, K. – Division of Geriatric Behavioral Neurology, CYRIC, Tohoku University

Meguro, K., Satoh, M., Tashiro, M., Itoh, M.

Abstract
This study reports on 10 patients with non-fluent aphasia, of which half of the patients improved their speech function after singing training. All participants had difficulty with words and had lesions in the left basal ganglia or temporal lobe. They selected the melodies they knew well, but which they could not sing. New lyrics were written for these familiar melodies using words they could not name. The singing training was done for 30 minutes a week for 10 weeks. Before and after the training, their speech functions were assessed by language tests. At baseline,6 of them received positron emission tomography to evaluate glucose metabolism. Five patients exhibited improvements after intervention; all but one exhibited intact right basal ganglia and left temporal lobes, but all exhibited left basal ganglia lesions. Among them, three subjects exhibited preserved glucose metabolism in the right temporal lobe. Therefore, patients who exhibit intact right basal ganglia and left temporal lobes, together with preserved right hemispheric glucose metabolism, might be an indication of the effectiveness of singing therapy.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25567372