Professor Teppo Särkämö from the University of Helsinki is currently studying the interpretation of singing by the human mind as it relates to aging. Singing may have important therapeutic potential.

Any choir participant will likely mention the “euphoric benefits” it has on their mental health if asked why they love singing with the choir, according to a SciTecDaily report.

In essence, a team of neuroscientists and general practitioners voiced optimism about such advantages that would include improving brain function as well as managing a language issue termed “aphasia.”

Professor Särkämö clarified that while there is a lot of knowledge about speech processing, there is little knowledge of singing. He continued by saying that they are currently investigating several singing-related capabilities that may still be present in many neurological conditions.

Therapy Using Melodic Intonation

According to linked Neuroscience research, communication could be practically impossible for patients with aphasia, a neurological disorder that significantly impairs verbal ability and is often brought on by a stroke.

But when people are encouraged to sing a line every day rather than speaking it, this method known as “melodic intonation therapy” remarkably often helps them find their voice.

As the PRIMUS project coordinator, Särkämö and his colleagues employed similar strategies, bringing in aphasia people, their relatives, and the general public via specially-run “senior choirs.”

Through the work with aphasics, they hope to eventually enable them to communicate without singing by using singing as a technique for training speech production.

Singing-related brain networks undergo minimal aging 

The researchers conducted extensive fMRI brain imaging of young, middle-aged, and elderly persons who participated in choirs in addition to an aphasia choir to better understand why singing is so crucial at various periods of life.

As a consequence, the team found that singing-related brain networks undergo less aging-related change than speech-related brain networks, indicating that singing is much more universal in the brain and more resistant to aging.

Additionally, according to their research, singing actively is important rather than just listening to vocal music, for example.