Music Therapy: An Alternative Treatment for Tourette's Syndrome

Abstract

Around 1.4 million people in the U.S. have Tourette’s Syndrome (TS), also referred as Tourette Disorder (TD), which is a condition that affects the nervous system. It typically presents with sudden, repeated motor and vocal movements known as tics. Additional symptoms are diverse, with people often retaining other conditions such as attention deficits, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and depression, learning disabilities, etc. The symptoms of TS and its associated conditions often lower one’s quality of life. Unfortunately, the exact pathophysiology processes behind TS are largely unknown, although it is likely a cause of various complex genetic factors. As a result, a curative measure for this condition has yet to be found. Due to the lack of definitive treatment, part of the effort of studying TS is to find means to alleviate its symptoms. Medications and behavioral therapy have been applied in the past decades. Music therapy, while not thoroughly explored as an alternative to improving symptoms of TS, has shown to be a promising alternative treatment. It has been used to treat similar conditions to TS before, such as Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, etc. During music therapy, the patient listens or plays various types of instruments and genres, or discusses the meanings of such with a music therapist. Scientists have been able to link the decrease of tics with activities incorporating a substantial amount of focus, such as with athletics or music. There is evidence showing that the areas of the brain affected by TS also had some changes associated with listening to music. These studies have shown that music therapy is a viable option for lessening TS symptoms, and potentially an alternative to medications with some unique superiorities as compared to the medications presently in use: no side-effects, non-invasiveness, be enjoyable, and improvement of overall health.