Piano Lesson a Day can Keep the Epileptic Symptoms Away

Mozart came up with a management technique for epilepsy. Yes, you read it right. Music lessons can help one manage epileptic symptoms. But what is the psyche behind it? It is simply the psychological effect that music can have on an epileptic mind.

There was a time when epilepsy https://www.medindia.net/health_statistics/health_facts/facts-on-epilepsy.htm 15 Key Facts About Epilepsy was confused with psychiatric problems, but this mystery was unraveled by scientists years ago, who have now described this condition in a broader sense. Nonetheless, epileptic seizures, as well as serious depression, anxiety disorders, and psychoses, are brain malfunctions. While epilepsy is no longer classified as a psychiatric disorder, it does include a psychological component (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Epilepsy, mental health disorder, or both?

Go to source).

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Living Safely with Epilepsy: A Key Learning

Medical therapies aren't the only means of treating epilepsy and other illnesses that can induce seizures. You should also take precautions to protect yourself from injury if you have a seizure. It is critical to increasing the security of areas you visit, such as your house, office, and other settings.

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Story of Finding the Hidden Link Between Guitar and Epilepsy

A sensitive, guitar-playing youngster who despised the sight of blood became a patient advocate, neurosurgeon, and researcher exploring the association between music and epilepsy.

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Did Mozart have a Treatment for Epilepsy?

He is now studying the relationship between music and epilepsy, with astounding findings. His Krembil Brain Institute research team conducted a study a few years ago that suggested listening to a six-minute selection of Mozart's K448, Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major every day could reduce seizure frequency in persons with epilepsy by up to 35% .

Since then, the study has expanded to include thousands of compositions from diverse artists and civilizations.

"We're starting to expand this out broadly, and I have some collaborators now at the Max Planck Institute in Germany," says Valiante, an alumnus of U of T's Faculty of Arts & Science who earned his honors bachelor of science from the University College in 1988 as well as a Ph.D. in physiology in 1995 and his medical degree in 1997 from U of T.

"Music is a mathematical construct, and we think there are specific patterns in certain types of music that cause the brain to be less likely to go into a seizure," he says.

"Epilepsy has provided an incredible opportunity to study the brain, and a lot of credit goes to the patients who are willing to participate in studies to help us understand these things."

As Epilepsy Awareness Day approaches, Valiante reflects on a career that began with successfully campaigning for a provincial strategy to enhance care and recognition for those living with epilepsy, one of the world's most common yet stigmatized neurological conditions.

"In my house, we were raised to be social activists," he says. "For people living with epilepsy, raising awareness is important because the more people around them understand, the better their quality of life. And as a patient, you should hear the same thing whether it's Purple Day, visiting my office, or on the internet, because it reinforces the importance of managing epilepsy.

Management vs. Cure for Epilepsy

"People often talk about a cure—and we're all hoping and working for that—but in the absence of that, it's about, "How do you manage it well?"

Valiante, a neurosurgeon at Toronto Western Hospital, co-directs the Max Planck University of Toronto Center for Neural Research and Technology, as well as CRANIA (Center for Advancing Neurotechnological Innovation to Application). He is a member of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto.

He claims his mother instilled in him the value of "being good at what we enjoy." He frequently plays his bass guitar to unwind, and he recently shared recordings in an audio collaboration with a long-time musician patient.

"That was among the most formative periods of my life. It was my third year and I was taking his plant membrane physiology course, and it blew my mind that he could show you something physically exists just by using math and physics," he says.

"By the fourth year, I had submitted a proposal on how to use math and physics to study the brain. I got an award for it, and that money supported research during the summer after graduating with my bachelor of science."

Valiante says he encourages every student to be open to exploring new subjects and interests without always focusing on how it fits their career plans.

"None of us are smart enough to know how what we do today is going to impact us in the future," he says. "Don't always expect something back except the experience itself. From a purely human point of view, the one behavior that can immediately increase positive emotion and happiness is giving.

"It benefits you as much as the people you help."

With this, it can be said that psychological management can serve to be quite effective, and as the researchers focus on finding a cure, someone else should also take a step forward to find the right management technique for epilepsy.

Reference:

1. Epilepsy, mental health disorder, or both? - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22934158/)

Source-Medindia