From Mozart to Monet

The Arts in Medicine by Colleen's Contributor Brenda Stockdale

As geneticist Bruce Lipton reports, DNA is not destiny! Since our body is engineered as a “conversation” the way our genes are expressed depends on the cues picked up from our environment. These include our thoughts, feelings, air, food and water quality, to name a few. Why, laughter alone has been shown to influence the expression of 23 different genes in Type 2 diabetes! This new understanding is changing not only the way we treat illness but the way we look at prevention and anti-aging strategies. Psychobiologist Ernest Rossi explains that the sense of mystery and majesty that accompanies an appreciation of beauty affects the very architecture of the brain and promotes healing on multiple levels.

The following are excerpts from a recent newsletter showcasing the science behind the arts in medicine. So whether your passion is painting or poetry–pick it up again if you’ve dropped it and if you’re regularly making it a part of your life–Bravo!

Speed Thinking

A collaborative study at the Universities of Harvard & Princeton indicates that accelerated mental processing results in enhanced feelings of self-esteem, power and creativity. In this study, participants brainstormed fund-raising ideas either by recording only what they deemed a viable idea or by listing every idea [regardless of what they thought of it] immediately. Only those that wrote all their ideas immediately reported a mood benefit. This may be one reason why non-judgmental and supportive brainstorming among friends can lift your spirits.

Creativity Matters

The National Center for Creative Aging in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art in New York found “strikingly positive” results in a study of older people [average age 80 years] who participated in the arts. Pet scans reveal neurogenesis–neuronal growth for memory reserves and new learning–along with an increase in T cells and NK cells which fight infection and cancer, resulting in better health overall. Improvement included less medication, fewer doctor visits, lower depression scores and higher morale with annual medical savings projected to be in the billions. The study concluded, “creativity is vital to healthy aging.” [www.creativeaging.com and The Society for the Arts in Healthcare: www.thesah.org/National Institute on Aging -- www.nia.nih.gov.]

Tunes as Treatment: Did you know…

· … sound waves stimulate the part of your brain that controls not only heart rate and respiration but the nerves in your stomach and skin as well?

· …that critically ill patients require fewer sedative drugs after listening to an hour of Mozart piano sonatas? They also enjoyed a 50 percent spike in pituitary growth hormone! [Harvard University]

· …that enjoyable music increases the diameter of blood vessels but steeling yourself against unpleasant tunes narrows them? Dr. Michael Miller, director of the center for preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center recommends “listening to joyful music as part of an overall prescription for maintaining good heart health.”

· …that The Cleveland Clinic plays classical music for patients during brain operations? Changes in neurons are documented which “can serve as a keystone for other studies of music’s potential in treating people with traumatic brain injuries, stroke, multiple sclerosis and severe depression.” [MSNBC.com]

· …that when neural pathways are damaged for a particular brain function, music helps find and create new pathways? [Dr. Wendy Magee, London's Institute of Neuropalliative Rehabilitation. CNN.com June 2, 2009]

Narrative Medicine

A typical 15-minute office visit doesn’t allow for much story telling. But increasing evidence points to the value of “narrative medicine.” So much so that a physician-sponsored course at Columbia University teaches physicians the importance of the story itself–what is happening in the patient’s life and the meaning they bring to it–as an essential ingredient in patient care. How you can benefit: Connect the dots of your own experience by journaling about what is happening in your life along with any symptoms you may have. Look for the metaphor and find a physician that is willing to listen.

The Power of Language

While the easiest way out of difficult emotions may be to distance or distract oneself, compelling evidence shows that pausing to pinpoint and label our feelings may provide the most relief of all. Labeling feelings has been shown to reduce stress hormones and signs of physiological distress. When unsure of a specific feeling, first sort it into one of these categories: Glad, Sad, Mad, Afraid. Then look for the nuance of that feeling state. Bringing these strategies into college classrooms are professors Davison, Gotti, Handley and Hough of New York State University. Their course, “Wellness: Mind, Body & Spirit” integrates writing, psychology, literature and biology, teaching students that “wellness means more than being disease free.”

The Literary Arts Program at Duke University

In what began in 1986 as a pilot project serving fourth stage oncology patients and their families has become a 20-plus year tradition. Initially hired to offer writing sessions in the patient lounge one afternoon a week and visit patients in their rooms to read and discuss poetry, poet Grey Brown’s program soon expanded onto an additional oncology unit. A year later when an advisory board member wondered aloud if employees could have access to the poetry groups, the Osler Literary Roundtable [OLR] was born. Meeting every Friday from noon to one o’clock since 1987, participants discuss, hear and enjoy poetry and literature together. Then in 1999, Write for You was created–a program that distributes journals free of charge to patients receiving long-term care at Duke. You can benefit at home by keeping a gratitude journal. Grey explains, “Gratitude can give us energy during stressful times and freshen our perspective.”

Bridging the Distance

Luciano L’Abate, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Georgia State University, has authored more than 200 papers in his long career and pioneered cost-effective methods that promote both physical and mental health. Working with inmates at a distance his methods improve psychological function as well as depression scores–documenting that behavioral change is possible without seeing people face-to-face. His publication: “Low-cost approaches to promote physical and mental health,” recommends keeping a chart of how your time is spent–particularly noticing the positive activities and the relationship between feelings, patterns of thought and behaviors not typically acknowledged. To learn more about Dr. L’Abate and his work visit his website at www.mentalhealthhelp.com.

Prescription for Healing

The upsurge of research has led to a new view of wellness in traditional health care settings. Harbor View Medical Center in Seattle and the Presbyterian Inter-Community Hospital in Whittier, CA, are two hospitals on the west coast that have incorporated “Writing for Wellness” into patient care. College writing professor and two-time cancer survivor, Julie Davey, outlines the specifics in Writing for Wellness: A Prescription for Healing, which follows patients on their journeys through major illness and their subsequent recoveries. For more about the positive effects of writing therapy, go to www.writingforwellness.net. To meet Julie in person and hear her speak, see The Writing Cure below.

The Writing Cure

The sheer volume of studies connecting wellness and writing prompted the American Psychological Association to publish a reference entitled, The Writing Cure. And now, poets, writers, scholars, professors, psychotherapists and lovers of the written word can come together to explore the healing potential of writing at the annual Wellness & Writing Connections Conference in Atlanta, October 24 at Georgia Tech’s Learning Center. [Read about the keynote speaker, Julie Davey, above.] Among the many interesting topics, Brenda Stockdale will present, “How Writing Heals: The Biological Underpinnings of Writing for Health.” To read more about the conference or sign up for their informative newsletter please visit www.wellnessandwritingconnections.com.

Can Art Make Better Doctors?

A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine indicates that it does. After completing an art class at Harvard Medical School, students’ ability to make accurate observations increased 38 percent. This is just one of a growing number of art courses offered to medical students nationwide aimed at improving observation and diagnostic skills. “When shown artwork and photos of patients, students were more likely to notice features such as a patient’s eyes being asymmetrical or a tiny, healed sore on an index finger. Observations by a control group of students who did not take the class did not change.” [Liz Kowalczyk at the Boston Globe]

Seeing is Believing

“A growing body of research shows that the artwork in hospitals can speed a patient’s healing process, while gloomy walls or the wrong kind of art can cause physical distress. Upali Nanda, vice president and director of research for American Art Resources, a health-care art-consulting firm in Houston, undertook a recent research project with two university professors at Houston’s St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital to see what types of paintings were most soothing to patients…[and found that] vivid paintings of landscapes, friendly faces and familiar objects can lower blood pressure and heart rate, while abstract pictures can have the opposite effect…Nanda says one theory is that abstract art allows patients to project their own anxieties onto the image. Thus, pictures that clearly portray pleasant images are more soothing.” [Society for the Arts in Healthcare, September 2009] How you can benefit: Scrutinize the artwork and other memorabilia in your home and office for feeling and effect.

Hearing is Believing

Over the last decade listening to classical music has been reported to enhance cognition. But according to the Neurosciences and Music II of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences a recent study found that listening to any music one finds personally enjoyable to have a positive effect. But more than cognition could be at stake. A study in the UK suggests that listening to enjoyable music could help restore vision in stroke patients. According to BBC News up to 60% of stroke patients develop visual impairment that could potentially be modulated with music. In part, the effect may lie in music’s ability to stimulate a positive emotional response. Lead researcher Dr. David Soto, of London’s Imperial College said, “Music appears to improve awareness because of its positive emotional effect on the patient, so similar beneficial effects may also be gained by making the patient happy in other ways.”

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net