The healing effect of music has been discussed and proven for a long time. Nowadays, research conducted in the field of music therapy shows the benefits obtained with the help of new measurement tools or new discoveries in neuroscience. Researchers primarily focus on quantifying changes in individual behaviors, providing evidence that music therapy is an influential intervention for a variety of clients and a variety of disorders. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay According to Professor Elisabeth Stegemuller, neuroplasticity is “the brain's ability to change over the course of a person's life as a result of sensory input, motor actions, reward, or awareness.”[1] It occurs in the human brain at many levels, from a single neuron to a network of neurons or an entire brain region. Thus, neuroplasticity encompasses changes from individual synapses to entire cortical networks. It is known that the relative weight of connections between neurons in the network could be changed (e.g., some connections are stronger than others). It is also known that an entire region of networks in the brain could be reorganized to respond to a completely new set of stimuli. However, neuroplasticity does not only refer to the emergence of new neuronal connections, but also the pruning of existing ones. It is similar to music where the relative relationship between sound and its absence (complete silence) determines the overall perception and response to music. Therefore, in neuroplasticity, both the connectivity and the lack of connectivity of neurons, networks and regions determine the perception and response to stimuli. Human behavior is not controlled by a single neuron, but rather by networks of neurons that often serve the same function. The strength of connections between a network of neurons, as well as the level of excitability and inhibition, can also change. Information about what is happening at the level of a single neuron is provided through synaptic plasticity. Synaptic plasticity is the process by which synapses are strengthened or weakened over time. It depends on the level of activity existing in the synapse. A synapse is a point where a neuronal signal is transmitted from one neuron to another neuron. Neuroplasticity is not the same throughout life. There is a time when changes in the brain are mainly due to the formation of new connections. From birth to about age 2 or 3, millions of new connections are established between neurons. There is little or no pruning. It is important to note that during this period the number of connections increases, but not the number of neurons. It is during this period that children "absorb" the environment, the world around them. It is crucial that children are exposed to appropriate stimuli during this period (called the "critical period" to underline its importance), as these experiences create the neural structure for future plasticity. Research has shown that abnormal experiences of any kind in humans can lead to abnormal patterns of brain circuitry that cannot be overcome later in life. Likewise, persistent auditory and visual deprivation during the critical period can lead to language deficits or visual problems that are not overcome later in life. Although the changes described in the research are extreme, similar mechanisms are assumed to occur in other neural systems as well. From about age 3 to 6, the brain continues to make new connections, but now there is increased pruning. However, there are still substantially more new connections than thepruning. Around the teen years, the rates between making new connections and pruning level out, and only in the early 20s is the brain fully “wired” for lifespan. In fact, until the early 20s, different regions of the brain develop into different domes; motor and sensory areas are among the first regions to develop, and the frontal cortex is the last area to develop. Fortunately, even though the brain is “wired” by age 20, neuroplasticity at all levels continues until death. Therefore, it is of great importance for music therapists to understand that the brain is constantly evolving and we possess unique tools to create a positive brain. changes throughout life, from birth to death. Brain reward circuitry. The goal of music therapy is to bring about changes in a patient, both behavioral and emotional. These changes are supported by changes in the brain. According to Professor Stegemuller, there are three principles of neuroplasticity that could explain how music therapy works. The first is the brain's reward circuitry. Numerous studies based on neurological research have demonstrated that dopamine is a primary neurotransmitter involved in neuroplasticity. It has been shown to be involved in motivation and reward-seeking behavior, working memory, and reinforcement learning. If it was previously known that dopamine was induced by a certain food or drug, recent neuroimaging studies have shown that pleasant music also activates these reward networks. [1,2] This suggests that listening to music stimulates the same neural network involved in reinforcement learning and reward. Furthermore, a strong link has been demonstrated between these regions and cognitive subsystems, including the orbitofrontal cortex, the area responsible for encoding temporal aspects of memory and emotional prosodic processing. Although the results of these studies are primarily limited to listening to pleasant music, they also demonstrate the potential of music in general when applied therapeutically to facilitate neuroplasticity. The second principle of neuroplasticity is the Hebbian theory summarized by the neuroscientist S. Luwel in two sentences: “neurons that fire together, wire together”. [4] This means that, to establish a new connection or strengthen an existing one, two neurons must fire action potentials synchronously. Numerous studies have shown that rhythm links human behaviors to different external stimuli by inducing synchrony in neural networks. support behaviors Activities such as dancing, singing or simple deep breathing exercises make changes to the heart rate. In other words, the automatic nervous system of the brain is responsible for the regulatory processes that support human life, being dependent on a certain rhythm such as sleep, heart rate and breathing. Rhythm is an intrinsic property of music that often leads to entrainment, defined as “two oscillating agents adopting a common phase and period.[5] Research has shown that movement, vocalization, breathing and heart rate can be integrated into music. However, perhaps most importantly for music therapy is that neural populations can also be entrained by sensory stimulation. While the majority of the literature regarding entrainment and brain plasticity suggests that entrainment produces an effect on attention-related resources, the neural mechanism underlying this effect remains underexplored. The general opinion of specialists is that the Hebbian principle can indeed provide a reasonable theory for neuroplasticity with themusic therapy. . As stated above, music therapists associate non-musical tasks and behaviors with music. Often the non-musical function is combined with rhythm. Therefore, if a non-musical function is connected with music, then it can be inferred that music is synchronizing the neural populations involved not only in the areas of the brain involved in the perception of music but also in those areas involved in the control of non-musical functions. -musical behavior. The role of a music therapist should be to pay attention to increasing “the simultaneous activation of neurons in brain areas involved in the control of such behaviors, strengthening neuronal connectivity and leading to more rapid and permanent changes in patients”. The principle states that the structure of music is based on acoustic elements, so it could explain the differences in the impact of noise versus music on neuroplasticity. Music is considered the opposite of noise. It is calm and harmony versus disturbance. Music is seen as a large number of sounds arranged more or less harmoniously, the sounds are continuous and regular vibrations. What heals in music therapy is the resonance given by these vibrations. Noise is seen as belonging to a certain frequency spectrum (the energy or power per frequency range. Researchers have found evidence of the noise effect. They briefly describe the difference between pink and white noise as follows Pink noise (of frequency 1/f) is the frequency that carries an equal amount of sound energy. It is considered the most relaxing frequency, widely distributed in nature (for example the noise of the sea is created by a range of frequencies). evenly distributed, used to increase sensitivity to regular surrounding sounds or to drown out background noise. Recent studies have shown that noise can negatively affect neuroplasticity. Noise exposure can increase stress, which is mediated by the limbic system. the area of ​​the brain that controls emotions. As follows, increased stress affects both cognition and memory. Additionally, chronic noise exposure during development can have serious implications in the auditory system, hippocampus, and brain. limbic system after noise exposure in the prenatal period can lead to decreased memory function and anxiety in adulthood in animal models. In contrast, exposure to music revealed opposite effects. As demonstrated in music therapy, long-term exposure to music leads to improvements in spatial learning and better learning performance.[8] This would suggest that exposure to music promotes neuroplasticity while noise suppresses it. However, what type of musical signal is best for a developing brain? This is a difficult question to answer. Extending the results of studies on the complexity of music and its impact on music therapy, we say that less complex musical stimuli can be better than more complex musical stimuli given the fact that more complex musical stimuli carry more “noise” within its acoustic structure . The reason why music promotes neuroplasticity in the human brain may lie in the acoustic structure of the music itself. Research has suggested that the acoustic signal of a song is more consonant than that of speech and that professional musicians have less “noise” in both spoken and sung signals. Music therapists, also trained as musicians, may be able to minimize the amount of noise in the vocal signal by optimizing the resonance precision of the vocal and/or instrumental sound. It is suggested that music therapists possess a unique ability to promote neuroplasticity when working with.