Unbelievable facts
The coma becomes an ordeal for the patient and his entire family, who are willing to do anything to get their loved one out of life and death. Perhaps music can help them do that.
An example of this is the recent story of Charlotte Neve, a 7-year-old girl from the UK, who woke up from a coma after hearing her favorite song.
A recent study by French scientists has shown that familiar music can increase CNS arousal in some comatose patients.
Fabien Perrin and colleagues used electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor brain activity in four patients in a coma and 10 healthy participants control group, playing them a sequence of names, including their own. The names were preceded either by a passage of a familiar piece of music chosen by the patient's relatives or by the participants themselves, or by ordinary musical noise.
In 2000, scientists found that some patients who fell into a coma responded to their own name. This response was reflected by a brain wave called P300. The appearance of this wave indicates the recognition of a significant stimulus and is so called because it begins 300 milliseconds after the stimulus is presented. The study also showed that such a response may indicate an imminent awakening from a coma and was found in almost all patients who later recovered.
In a recent study, French scientists have confirmed that patients in a coma respond to their name with a small, slow P300 wave. Moreover, playing familiar music in front of the name improved the patient's response, and the waves became faster and more similar to those seen in healthy patients.
The positive effect of music has been observed in all patients in a coma, but the study is at an early stage and further study is needed.
Scientists explain that familiar music evokes positive emotions and has a good effect on mental functions. This may be because it reactivates memories of life events and improves awareness.
Interestingly, one of the patients who had the greatest effect has already come out of a coma and is now at a minimally conscious level.