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Kenny Rogers Music is a Boon to Stroke Patients

by Savitha C Muppala on Dec 22 2009 2:05 PM

Music can be therapeutic for stroke patients as can be seen from the uncanny experience of Mike Pensom.

Pensom, who has a stroke depleted vision, can apparently see better when he listens to his favorite singer Rogers, claim doctors.

His field of vision is affected but he insists Roger's music has been helpful in improving his eyesight.

"When they played Kenny Rogers for me I was able to spot things that I was not able to see before," the BBC News quoted him as saying.

Professor Glyn Humphreys, of Birmingham University's school of psychology, explained that close to 60 percent of people who have had a stroke, suffer from 'visual neglect'.

In such a medical condition, the right parietal lobe of the brain, which affects space and navigation, gets disturbed, and the patients behave as if the left side of sensory space were nonexistent.

However, Pemsom's case suggests that the condition changes when he gets to hear his favorite music.

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Pensom said: "They had me sitting in front of the computer and showed me images. Because of my vision some parts of the image were missing in the bottom left hand corner. But when they played the Kenny Rogers I saw more of the picture.

"I haven't got one of those new-fangled things with headphones to listen to my music, but I do like listening to my CDs. And now, knowing it helps, I do play even more music."

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Andrea Lane from The Stroke Association concluded: "This trial has shown some very interesting outcomes and have provided lots to think about in terms of rehabilitation and how music therapy may benefit stroke patients."

Source-ANI
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