Music Therapy and Communication Disabilities: Singing, Speech, and the Brain

Music therapy interventions, especially singing, can aid those with communication disorders to attain and develop verbal and non-verbal communication and language skills, as well as functional social skills. Throughout my own interactions with those with communication impairments, I have witnessed many individuals who struggle with typical speech, but are better able to communicate when music is involved. For instance, a young boy with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) who does not typically speak independently or when prompted is able to sing every word to familiar songs on the radio that he enjoys. Such evidence of the positive effect that music can have on one’s communication skills has motivated me to further research the field of music therapy, with a concentration in singing. Research and observations reveal the relationships among music, communication, and the brain, and the ways in which related pathways within the brain can modify themselves, in response to therapeutic interventions, to accommodate one’s communication disabilities. Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of research within the field of music therapy involving interventions for specific communication disorders, as well as limited findings related to the effectiveness of existing music therapy interventions. However, the field of music therapy has made significant contributions towards helping people with communication disabilities. This paper will discuss existing research and include an overview of the field of music therapy, a discussion of the concept of neuroplasticity, and notes on personal experiences and my observations of a professional music therapist

Tools That Measure Caring: A Systematic Literature Review of the Impact of Caring

Technology and the complexity of the patient care can take the nurse\u27s attention away from caring for the patient to caring for the technology. The purpose of this systematic review was to gather evidence from the literature on tools for measuring caring and the outcomes in order to make that body of knowledge easily accessible to the direct care nurse for implementation. Jean Watson\u27s theory of human caring \u27the theoretical framework that guided and informed this DNP project\u27 focuses on human caring processes and experiences. It assumes that effective caring promotes health and outcomes of the nurse and patient. By using such a theory, a systematic review of caring behaviors can illustrate how using caring behaviors with intention can improve patient outcomes as well as nurse satisfaction outcomes. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were identified and articles were appraised using the Johns Hopkins Evidence-based Practice Model and process that nurses at all levels have used to appraise research and non-research for practice changes. Articles were narrowed to10 that met criteria and caring behaviors were recognized. The chosen articles used 5 different tools to measure caring behaviors. Although the individual caring behaviors were identified, the diversity of the tools used to measure and assess caring behaviors did not provide an easy way to assess for commonalities. This review identified areas for future research including, how one tool can be used to measure caring at different levels of care, in an acute care setting, an whether there exists an opportunity to develop common terminology for describing caring behaviors? Future research on using caring behaviors with intention could change nursing practice by changing how nurses perceive their skills and tasks

Evaluation of a Coping Kit of Items to Support Children with Developmental Disorders in the Hospital Setting

This study attempted to answer the question, Do nurses perceive coping kits to be effective at meeting the needs of hospitalized children with developmental disabilities who are at increased risk for challenging behaviors? A cross-sectional post-test survey study design was used, with a convenience sample of 24 registered nurses at a Midwestern free-standing children\u27s hospital. A coping kit with simple communication cards, social script book, and distraction items (toys) was developed to enhance communication and distract children with developmental disabilities (including autism spectrum disorder) undergoing procedures in the hospital. A modified version of Hudson\u27s (2006) intervention effectiveness survey was used to measure the nurse\u27s perception of the effectiveness of the coping kit. Nurses perceived the coping kits to be effective for decreasing their patient\u27s anxiety, calming the child\u27s behavior, and increasing cooperation during procedures. The nurse can develop a plan of care that includes a coping kit to help gain cooperation with the hospitalized child with challenging behaviors

Gene expression in the right ventricle during development of pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease of the lung vessels that causes severe effects on the right ventricle of the heart; ultimately, most patients with severe PAH die as a result of right heart failure. However, little is known about the causes of right heart failure. Here, we describe a pattern of gene expression that differs between the normal rat left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV). These genes are known to be involved in the development of the heart as well as adaptations to the heart during stress. This gene expression pattern is used as a baseline to describe changes in gene expression the occur in the RV as a result of adaptive hypertrophy, stimulated by chronic hypoxia, or right ventricular failure (RVF), caused by administration of Su5416 and hypoxia. The genes differing between RVF and hypertrophy encode glycolytic enzymes, mitochondrial electron transport chain complexes, cell-growth promoting proteins, and angiogenic capillary maintenance proteins. Additionally, we show that RVF is associated with an increase in the serum cytokine production of IL-1 beta, IL-10, TNF-alpha, and VEGF. Finally, we show that treatment with the beta-adrenergic receptor blocker carvedilol partially changed the gene expression pattern seen with RVF. The most profound effects were on the genes encoding glycolytic enzymes and mitochondrial electron transport chain complexes. Together, these results show that the normal LV and RV have a distinct pattern of expression and that the failing RV is characterized by changes in cell growth, angiogenesis, and energy utilization. Treatment with carvedilol can partially reverse these gene expression changes in the failing RV

Artists have superior local and global processing abilities but show a preference for initially drawing globally

The attentional demands of drawing require both local processing of an object’s details and global processing of its overall structure. In this study, we examined the extent to which artists have superior local and global processing skills, how these skills relate to artists’ ability to draw realistically and to autistic-related traits, and whether artists initially take a local or global approach to drawing. Forty first-year college art students and 41 nonart students completed two tasks assessing local processing and two tasks assessing global processing. Participants completed two drawing tasks that assessed their ability to draw realistically, two copying tasks that assessed whether they showed a preference for initially copying the local or global aspects of an object, and the Autism-Spectrum Quotient that assessed autistic-related traits. We found that art students outperformed nonart students on both the local and global processing tasks and that drawing ability was related to performance on these tasks. We also found that art students were more likely than nonart students to initially copy the global features in their drawings. Finally, we found that art students did not exhibit more autistic-related traits than nonart students and that the number of autistic-related traits was unrelated to performance on the local and global processing, drawing, or copying tasks. These results suggest that art students have an attentional flexibility that allows them to process information at a local and global level but that they have a preference for initially drawing globally

How Drawing to Distract Improves Mood in Children

Previous research has shown that drawing improves short-term mood in children when used to distract from rather than express negative thoughts and feelings. The current study sought to examine (a) how drawing might elevate mood in children ages 6–12 by examining the role played by absorption, enjoyment, and perceived competence as well as entering an imaginary world; and (b) whether children spontaneously use drawing to distract from a sad mood. Across three studies, children were asked to think of a disappointing event. After a sad mood induction, they drew for 5 min. Mood was measured before and after the mood induction and after drawing. Three main findings emerged. First, drawing to distract led to greater absorption and enjoyment than did drawing to express. Second, children’s mood improved equally when drawing imaginary and real scenes showing that the key ingredient is that the content of the drawings be distracting in nature. Third, drawing improved mood even when children were given no instructions on the content of their drawings and children were more likely to use drawing as a way to distract themselves from a sad mood. These studies help to define the characteristics of drawing activities that foster mood improvement in children and highlight the important role of the arts in emotion regulation

Taking a Leap of Faith: Redefining Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Through Project-Based Learning

This study examines two aspects of teaching with a project-based learning (PBL) model in higher education settings: faculty definitions of PBL and faculty PBL practices, as evidenced by their self-described successes and challenges in implementation. Faculty participants took “a leap of faith” in their teaching practices to redefine what it means to teach and learn using PBL as an instructional methodology. The findings provide insight into how faculty conceptualization of PBL drives implementation; how the PBL approach challenges college-level teachers; and how instructors’ perceptions of their own role in the PBL process impacts how they implement PBL

Extended and cumulative effects of experimentally induced intergroup conflict in a cooperatively breeding mammal

Conflict between rival groups is rife in nature. While recent work has begun exploring the behavioural consequences of this intergroup conflict, studies have primarily considered just the 1–2 h immediately after single interactions with rivals or their cues. Using a habituated population of wild dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula), we conducted week-long manipulations to investigate longer-term impacts of intergroup conflict. Compared to a single presentation of control herbivore faeces, one rival-group faecal presentation (simulating a territorial intrusion) resulted in more within-group grooming the following day, beyond the likely period of conflict-induced stress. Repeated presentations of outsider cues led to further changes in baseline behaviour by the end of the week: compared to control weeks, mongooses spent less time foraging and foraged closer to their groupmates, even when there had been no recent simulated intrusion. Moreover, there was more baseline territorial scent-marking and a higher likelihood of group fissioning in intrusion weeks. Consequently, individuals gained less body mass at the end of weeks with repeated simulated intrusions. Our experimental findings provide evidence for longer-term, extended and cumulative, effects of an elevated intergroup threat, which may lead to fitness consequences and underpin this powerful selective pressure

Health Researchers' Use of Social Media: Scoping Review.

BackgroundHealth researchers are increasingly using social media in a professional capacity, and the applications of social media for health researchers are vast. However, there is currently no published evidence synthesis of the ways in which health researchers use social media professionally, and uncertainty remains as to how best to harness its potential.ObjectiveThis scoping review aimed to explore how social media is used by health researchers professionally, as reported in the literature.MethodsThe scoping review methodology guided by Arksey and O'Malley and Levac et al was used. Comprehensive searches based on the concepts of health research and social media were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ERIC, and Web of Science databases, with no limitations applied. Articles were screened at the title and abstract level and at full text by two reviewers. One reviewer extracted data that were analyzed descriptively to map the available evidence.ResultsA total of 8359 articles were screened at the title and abstract level, of which 719 were also assessed at full text for eligibility. The 414 articles identified for inclusion were published in 278 different journals. Studies originated from 31 different countries, with the most prevalent being the United States (52.7% [218/414]). The health discipline of the first authors varied, with medicine (33.3% [138/414]) being the most common. A third of the articles covered health generally, with 61 health-specific topics. Papers used a range of social media platforms (mean 1.33 [SD 0.7]). A quarter of the articles screened reported on social media use for participant recruitment (25.1% [104/414]), followed by practical ways to use social media (15.5% [64/414]), and use of social media for content analysis research (13.3% [55/414]). Articles were categorized as celebratory (ie, opportunities for engagement, 72.2% [299/414]), contingent (ie, opportunities and possible limitations, 22.7% [94/414]) and concerned (ie, potentially harmful, 5.1% [21/414]).ConclusionsHealth researchers are increasingly publishing on their use of social media for a range of professional purposes. Although most of the sentiment around the use of social media in health research was celebratory, the uses of social media varied widely. Future research is needed to support health researchers to optimize their social media use