These two weeks I mainly focused on exploring the field of music therapy and finding out exactly how things work. I primarily referred to a couple of research papers on the effect music has on biological, psychological, and its role in nonverbal communication. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31812993/

This is one of the papers that really interested me. 

The study focuses on patients in the older age group who has dementia, a condition in which patients experiences episodes of memory, communication, and thinking impairment. Current solutions include these patients taking medication known as Cholinesterase inhibitors, which increases the level of chemical messengers during thinking or communication. 

The results of the study weren’t exactly the cure for dementia but rather a daily treatment that in a way suppresses the symptoms of dementia. In conclusion, they came to the realization that music could be one of the ways for communication in patients who are experiencing dementia. 

I think one of the areas that could potentially be researched further is the question of “Is it possible to make music in a way that would completely treat a patient?” Further research is needed for what type of music and instruments trigger hormones and chemical signals in the brain and body, however, it could be a possible addition to the multisensory environment field. 

In the weeks following, I plan to try to research on PubMed and other scientific research sites about any possible current research on the different types of music inhibiting or activating chemical signals within the brain.