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. 

This week I introduced the Rhino UK website and business to the VIP Team, Amy, and the others. During the week, I managed to research more on the different approaches and methods when it comes to music therapy for a psychological issue regarding uses within the multisensory room. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301619435_The_impact_of_music_activities_in_a_multisensory_room_for_children_with_multiple_disabilities_on_developing_positive_emotions_a_case_study

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/TLDR-10-2019-0029/full/html

During the meeting, Amy introduced several potential options for research and further information regarding the music therapy major and educational paths. 

https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/programs/music-technology

https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/programs/music-therapy

In the next week, I plan to explore the potential options when it comes to specific methods using different genres of music within music therapy. One thing I found via a quick google search is that there are multiple types of music therapy from singing, playing instruments, and many other music-related activities.

This week during the meeting I discussed that I would be interested to research further about the business side of the industry of sensory rooms. Further research might be needed in order to understand the functions and machinery that are used within sensory rooms.

Amy talked about sensory rooms that were focused on using music and that it is not really seen within the market, therefore I would like to explore further into the use of music in multisensory rooms.  During the meeting, I pulled out several websites on different businesses and how they approach this issue. 

https://www.rhinouk.com/rooms/multisensory-room/

One example was Rhino UK, a company that provides a wide range of varied sensory rooms each focusing on different things and subjects.

For the next two weeks, I decided to indulge myself in learning more about how businesses advertise and learn how to use sensory rooms efficiently as a treatment for different psychological symptoms. 

For the past week, I decide to not heavily add to my research data but instead improve the aesthetics of my blog and posts. 

During the meeting, two new businesses within a similar field and industry of interaction rooms and centers were given to me.

Sensory Rooms: The Complete Guide

https://i3lab.polimi.it/

During the meeting, Amy also suggests that I have a paper review page or section within my blog that would give and record minor insights into each research paper that I find. This can include small summaries or bullet points on different topics and ideas that come up throughout the paper. This is also something that I plan to have completed or in progress by the next meeting.

For the next meeting on 3/26/21, since we have a spring break Friday off, I plan to explore the business side of interactive sensory rooms and how different businesses within the industry approach this problem/idea.

I did not attend Meeting 2, however, I did some research on several anxiety reduction techniques including music and more modern forms of technology such as robots and A.I. Amy helped introduced me to Slack and multiple other sources that were very knowledgeable and provided me further insight about the VIP project that I would be interested in. 

Throughout the week, I researched and read more articles about different projects involving anxiety while also continuing to work on my website (this blog), trying to improve the interface and quality of my pages. 

In the following week, I plan to do a little bit more research and look through the past VIP team’s Slack channels to gain valuable information about the skills and challenges that come with different VIP projects.