Music As Medicine? There’s an App for That. Of Course. Sort Of.
Who says that biomedical has to involved dissecting rats? Pure Tech is a company that’s look at ways to use music as medicine. From Fast Company:
In the scientific community, it is generally acknowledged that music has an impact on the body, but it is unclear exactly how this works. Music has been shown to activate the regions of the brain that control emotions, pleasure, excitement, and motivation, as well as the hypothalamus, which controls your stress levels. There has also been nascent research showing that music can have a moderate impact in the management of pain, depression, sleep disorders, and anxiety. But given how complex both music and the brain are, it is hard to know what exactly is happening in these cases, and most existing clinical trials have been small.
“There is this magical thing that music seems to do, but nobody understands exactly what it is,” says Alexis Kopikis, a cofounder and CEO of The Sync Project. “Is it the beat, the tempo, or the time of day you are listening to it? Is it your cultural background or songs you heard when you were in high school? There are a huge number of attributes that you need to track.”
Interesting, no? Keep reading.
Meanwhile, a company called Quiet Night claims to have invented a “baby iPod” which they say keeps them occupied. And if they’re occupied, they’re not crying. And they’re also apparently learning something by pulling that handle. Watch.
Read more at The Daily Mail.
