Epilepsy Treatment: Music Therapy May Help Prevent Seizures, Study Says

A study has found that the brains of epileptic patients process music differently than people who do not have epilepsy or those who have non-epileptic seizures. Dr. Christine Charyton, adjunct assistant professor of Neurology at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center, has been studying the effects of mustic therapy on epileptic patients. 

Dr. Charyton and her colleagues presented their research findings to American Psychological Association's 123rd annual convention in Tornonto on Aug. 9.

"We believe that music could potentially be used as an intervention to help people with epilepsy," said Charyton. 

According to The Star, Charyton wanted to see if music could help treat or prevent epileptic seizures, since most cases of the disorder can be linked to the same part of the brain that processes sound and music. 

Science Daily clarifies that 80 percent of epileptic patients suffer from temporal lobe epilepsy, meaning most of their seizures start at the temporal lobe part of the brain. Coincidentally, the auditory cortex, the part that processes sound and music, is also found at the temporal lobe of the brain. As a result, Charyton wanted to see the effects of music on the brains of epileptic patients. 

For her study, Charyton observed and studied the effects of music in 21 participants for a period of two years, from 2012 to 2014, reports Health. Of the 21 participants, six were epileptic in-patients at the Wexner Medical Centre, while five were people who experienced seizures frequently, but were not diagnosed with epilepsy.

Meanwhile, the remaining nine participants were normal, meaning they did not have epilepsy or experience frequent bouts of seizures. Using an electronencephalogram, in which electrodes were attached to the patient's scalp, Charyton was able to analyze and record the brainwave patterns of the participants.

While the electrodes were attached, the particpants listened to 10 minutes of silence, followed by one song. Two songs were played for the participants. There were 10 minutes of silence before and after each song was played. The songs that the patients listened to were: John Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things" and Mozart's "Sonata in D Major, Andante Movement II (K448), states IB Times.

After studying the brain waves of the participants, Charyton saw a big difference in the way the brains of epileptic patients reacted to music compared to those who experienced non-related epileptic seizures and the people who were in the control group. 

In the non-epileptic participants, Charyton saw that music resulted in an increase of electrical impluses in the entire brain. Whereas, in the participants with epilepsy, the electrical impulses of the brain actually synchronized to the music while the song was playing. 

Charyton described the phenomenon: "Like two metronomes locked together and ticking in unison. Like two balls bouncing at the same rate." 

Charyton believed that due to her study's findings, music therapy could be a novel form of intervention to help prevent or treat seizures in people diagnosed with epilepsy. However she did stress that music therapy will not replace current forms of epileptic treatment.