Houston Methodist Center for Performing Arts Medicine
This update is from the Center for Performing Arts Medicine (CPAM)’s Director, Todd Frazier, regarding a new grant that CPAM has received to use the arts to educate the Houston community about COVID-19 and seasonal flu vaccine safety and efficacy:
The Centers for Disease Control Foundation, in an effort to “Support Arts and Cultural Organizations to Build Confidence in COVID-19 and Seasonal Influenza Vaccines” has awarded a grant to a unique collaboration between the University of Houston’s College of the Arts, Houston Methodist’s Department of Patient Engagement, Diversity, and Education and Houston Methodist’s Center for Performing Arts Medicine.
The project is entitled: “Activating Digital Storytelling and Mobile Arts to Reduce Misinformation and Vaccine Hesitancy in the Greater Houston Area of Texas”. Through this unique Houston arts in community health collaboration the project will commission new art projects and digital stories, host culturally tailored public events and social media dissemination to key communities with higher rates of vaccine hesitancy.
Look for detailed schedules and further information will in upcoming newsletter installments. For more information on the CDC grant:
The CDC Foundation is collaborating with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support organizations using the arts and culture to educate local communities about vaccine safety and efficacy.
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Importance of Regulating Stress, Social Support, and Sleep during COVID-19
A collection of news articles featuring Project CHROMA Principle Investigator, Dr. Christopher Fagundes, on the importance of regulating stress, social support, and sleep to make you less prone to COVID-19.
We hope everyone is regulating their stress, social support and sleep this weekend! Check out this piece from Discover Magazine and Dr. Fagundes about how these factors can affect the immune system.https://t.co/c8CXSVbbw4
Additionally, he was featured in the Houston Chronicle, where he continued to offer tips for people to follow. We’re thankful for the opportunity to spread awareness in the Houston community during this time. Read his article here: https://t.co/9Jq5v1hqsN
As we continue to adjust to the ongoing COV-19 situation and the new Stay Home – Work Safe order, Dr. Fagundes shares some tips to mitigate the risk factors for COV-19 on Forbes.
Dr. Fagundes shares how stress and loneliness can impact your risk of getting COV-19 & some ways we can mitigate the harmful effects of loneliness and stress during this critical time – an extremely important topic as we adjust to the current pandemic. https://t.co/TRd8sR8QoTpic.twitter.com/TK3L5R0vJq
Playing unfamiliar music to patients could improve music therapy outcomes.
Music can promote brain healing, but scientists are still trying to understand which types of music work best for each patient.
Ajwad Creative/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images
When Melia Bonomo wants to kick back and relax, she turns to music and the gentle melodies of pop star Ed Sheeran. Like many people, the physicist feels her mood lift with certain tunes, a change doctors exploit to improve the health of patients with cognitive impairments. But some patients are unresponsive to music therapy. And it remains unclear exactly what restorative changes music actually induces in the brain. New results from Bonomo, a graduate student at Rice University, Texas, and her colleagues suggest that clues to both of these problems lie in how the brain responds to a listener’s favorite tune. Bonomo was set to share her findings in a session on the physics of the brain at the March Meeting of the American Physical Society earlier last month. (The meeting was canceled due to concerns about the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, but Physics is reporting on some of the results that would have been presented.)
“Music therapy doesn’t work for everybody,” says Bonomo, who collaborated with researchers at Houston Methodist Hospital’s Center for Performing Arts Medicine. “We wanted to see if we could better understand why that is from how a person’s brain processes music.”
In the study, Bonomo and her colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor the neuronal activity of 25 people as they listened to six audio excerpts. Each person’s set list included their favorite song, a Bach concerto, and an old newscast by Walter Cronkite. The team then translated the resulting fMRI images into network-like maps, with one map for each excerpt per person. To make these maps, the researchers divided the brain into 84 regions and drew a connecting line between two regions if they had similar patterns of activity during an audio excerpt.
Bonomo looked first at the brain maps of participants listening to their favorite songs. Within these networks, she noticed that some regions were more strongly connected with each other than others, forming a “community.” She then found that the networks fell into two categories: those where there were many connections between different communities and those where there were fewer. And interestingly, the category for a participant’s map was predictive of how they would respond to the other five sound clips.
She and her colleagues found that when a participant’s “favorite-song” network had many intercommunity connections but few intracommunity ones, the distribution of connections changed significantly for each of the other excerpts. But when the opposite was true, these connections tended to stay in place, unless the participant was listening to the most unfamiliar sound clips. (For the people in the study, the least known excerpts were a melody from a Japanese opera and a passage of foreign language speech.)
Bonomo and colleagues made network-like representations of brain activity in response to music. The maps indicate that the brain’s response to a favorite song (left)—specifically, the types of connections between regions of activity—predicts how it will respond to other music (center and right).
The fact that networks with more isolated communities are harder to disrupt is well known in network theory, explains Bonomo. Seeing this effect in the brain’s response to music tells us that, for some, forming new neuronal connections—something the brain needs to do to compensate for an injury, for example—may require a bigger auditory stimulus. That could have implications for music therapy, where clinicians select music to foster neuronal connections and help the brain heal. Typically, therapists select popular melodies, such as the classical music of Bach or Beethoven, to stimulate a recovery. But the new study suggests that those pieces might not be the right ones to play for everyone, says Bonomo. Instead, unfamiliar music might be the best bet. Bonomo and her colleagues are currently testing this hypothesis in a study of people with mild cognitive impairment.
Although Bonomo’s work went unpresented at the March Meeting, she did share it on Twitter. Inspired by fellow physicist Douglas Holmes of Boston University, she condensed her planned talk into ten slides that she tweeted out under the hashtag #APS10slides10tweets. She hopes that the tweets will scroll across the screens of others studying how music impacts the brain. While she doesn’t know yet if that has happened, she said that sending the tweets “was a cool way to publicly share a snapshot of my research.”
What do stress, loneliness and lack of sleep have in common? They are all factors that can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to COVID-19, according to Rice University’s Christopher Fagundes, an associate professor in the department of psychological sciences who studies the link between mental and immune health.
Chris Fagundes. Photo by Jeff Fitlow.
“In my field, we have conducted a lot of work to look at what predicts who gets colds and different forms of respiratory illnesses, and who is more susceptible to getting sick,” Fagundes said. “We’ve found that stress, loneliness and lack of sleep are three factors that can seriously compromise aspects of the immune system that make people more susceptible to viruses if exposed. Also, stress, loneliness and disrupted sleep promote other aspects of the immune system responsible for the production of proinflammatory cytokines to over-respond. Elevated proinflammatory cytokine production can generate sustained upper respiratory infection symptoms.”
And while this previous research has centered on different cold and upper respiratory viruses, he said “there is no doubt” that these effects would be the same for COVID-19.
Previous studies have indicated that healthy, nonimmunocompromised people who spend less time around others and are exposed to the cold virus are significantly more likely to get sick and experience worse symptoms than those people who get out and socialize.
Fagundes said this can be explained by the way positive emotions buffer against stressors and evoke a favorable immune response, even while extroverted individuals are more likely to be around more people, possibly those who are carrying germs that could make them sick.
It’s an interesting paradox during the global COVID-19 pandemic, Fagundes said, when people are strongly encouraged and in some places required to stay at home to prevent the further spread of the virus.
Another major factor that impacts immune health is sleep deprivation, Fagundes said, which he noted has been demonstrated over and over in previous study of the topic.
“The overwhelming consensus in the field is that people who do not consistently get a good night’s sleep — 7-9 hours for adults, with variation on what is optimal — makes a person more likely to get sick,” he said.
Fagundes said that although alcohol use, certain jobs and other factors make some people more likely to have poor sleep, psychological stress has a tremendous impact on a person’s quality of sleep.
“It’s important also to note that when we talk about stress, we mean chronic stress taking place over several weeks, not a single stressful incident or a few days of stress,” Fagundes said. “An isolated stressful incident does not seem to make a person more susceptible to a cold or the flu.”
However, even absent of poor sleep, chronic stress alone is disruptive enough to the immune system to make people more likely to get sick, Fagundes said.
“Without question, previous work on this topic clearly demonstrates that chronic stress affects our immune system in a way that makes us more susceptible to viruses and colds,” he said. “Just think about college students who get sick after weeks of stress while studying for a big exam.”
Fagundes said the best ways to mitigate the harmful health effects of loneliness and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic are to stay connected with others through communication, particularly video calls.
“There is some evidence that it may be better to video conference versus having a regular phone call to reduce feelings of isolation,” he said. “There’s something about chatting with people and having them visually ‘with’ you that seems to be more of a buffer against loneliness.”
Fagundes also noted that it is important to keep a routine during stressful times.
“This will regulate your sleep and allow you to focus on immediate goals and plans,” he said. “In turn, you will overthink things less and feel more accomplished.”
And if you find yourself worrying nonstop about the situation, it can be helpful to set aside specific “worry times,” Fagundes said.
“People often worry and overthink things because their brain is telling them there is something to solve,” he said. “However, it can be counterproductive after a while. A good technique is to set aside 15 minutes a day where you allow yourself to worry, preferably with a pen and paper. After that, you aren’t allowed to think about the issue for the rest of the day.”
Fagundes said it is also sometimes helpful for people to identify inaccurate thoughts that reinforce negative thinking and emotions.
“People often convince themselves that a situation is much worse than it is by telling themselves things that are not true,” he said. “We call these cognitive distortions. For example, it is common to catastrophize a situation by convincing themselves that the worst-case scenario is the most likely scenario. When people learn to identify and then refute these thoughts, they often feel much better.”
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Houston, TX – Can music therapy slow the progression of degenerative brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia while promoting well-being? A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will fund a new lab at Rice University that will explore this possible new inroad in the fight against such disorders.
Principal investigator Christopher Fagundes, an assistant professor of psychology, and co-principal investigator Anthony Brandt, a professor of composition and theory, are recipients of a $150,000 grant to fund a NEA Research Lab, one of only four awarded this year. The grants are focused on generating new knowledge about the value and impact of the arts through transdisciplinary research.
The lab will assess the therapeutic effect of music on cognition and social and emotional well-being, with a specific focus on quantifying associated changes in the brain. A six-week course for older adults with mild cognitive impairment will combine musical exposure, creativity and performance. The investigators will look for changes in intelligence, neural flexibility, loneliness, social support and perceived psychological stress.
“We know that music, and other forms of art, have a powerful impact on people all around the world,” Fagundes said. “It is ubiquitous in every culture throughout history. Given the universal role music plays in the human experience, we surmised that it must promote positive changes in neurological, physiological and psychological health. We designed our research lab around this premise by intervening in a population of those with mild cognitive impairment, a growing population.”
“We’re going to image the subjects’ brains before and after the course to look for an increase in cross-talk between brain regions, and correlate that with their mental health and emotional well-being,” Brandt said. “Our hope is to show that creativity promotes brain plasticity and mental resilience as we age.”
The researchers will collaborate with Musiqa, an organization directed by Brandt that presents public and educational concerts throughout Houston and has won national awards for adventurous programming. It will oversee the curriculum of the six-week course, which will be taught by composer Karl Blench, a Shepherd School graduate.
To communicate their work to the public, the researchers will share their findings with the Houston Methodist Hospital’s Center for Performing Arts Medicine, Rice’s Office of STEM Engagement, the YMCA’s Active Older Adults program and the Houston Symphony. The researchers will also work closely with Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy to promote policies that support arts programs as therapies.
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Washington, DC — Through its NEA Research Labs, the National Endowment for the Arts is funding four new labs and extending the activities of an existing lab to support research into improving social and emotional well-being and enhancing cognition and learning through the arts. The Arts Endowment’s investment in this round of labs is almost $900,000. Each lab features transdisciplinary teams of university-based researchers partnering with arts and health organizations to investigate the value and impact of the arts.
Full descriptions of the 2019 NEA Research Labs are linked here.
University of California at San Diego
La Jolla, CA
$150,000
The University of California/San Diego, in partnership with San Diego Children’s Choir and Vista Unified School District, will establish a group of studies to trace the potential effects of various musical interventions on early childhood development. The goal is to identify and relate those effects to age, status of brain development, and genetic variation.
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
$146,923
A key study of the lab at Texas Tech’s Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts involves a team of artists, clinicians, and electronic media faculty in developing a visual arts-based app (using interactive virtual reality) as a rehabilitative tool for stroke survivors with aphasia or loss of speech.
University of Colorado Denver
Aurora, CO
$150,000
The University of Colorado Denver will develop and test a series of creative arts therapy programs designed to build resilience among critical care health professionals. Partners include Ponzio Creative Arts Therapy Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado and Lighthouse Writers Workshop. These organizations will help design experimental tasks suitable for each form of creative art therapy and will aid in recruiting participants.
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University)
Houston, TX
$150,000
In a partnership with Musiqa, a Houston-based contemporary music ensemble, Rice University will measure the effects of music-making and music engagement on cognitive and social-emotional well-being. The lab’s keystone study will examine older adults with mild cognitive impairments who undergo a six-week course combining musical exposure, creation, and performance.
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
Renewal: $300,000
Drexel University will extend the work of an Arts Research on Chronic Stress Lab (ARCS Lab) to include new projects: studying visual arts therapies in pediatric cancer care settings, music therapy’s effects on post-surgical pain management and opioid use, and studies on the outcomes of creative arts therapies for military service members with post-traumatic stress and/or traumatic brain injury
Updates to ongoing labs
This year marks the third year of the NEA Research Labs program. Labs funded in previous years that have ongoing activities are listed below with fuller descriptions of those activities are linked here.
• Drexel University: Concluding two studies examining the impact of creative arts therapies on health and social-emotional wellbeing.
• George Mason University: Planning a fall 2019 public conference to share and discuss its findings to date.
• Indiana University—Purdue University, Indianapolis: Launched a website for its Arts Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab. Called for papers for a 2020 symposium.
• University of Arkansas, Fayetteville: Continues collecting and analyzing data about arts-related field trips.
• University of California, San Francisco: Posted new content to its website, had a review article published.
• University of Iowa: Created and posted framework documents on Rural Wealth Creation and Distribution.
• Vanderbilt University: Analyzing survey data about the arts’ relationship to creative attitudes and behaviors in the general population.
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Conducting two studies on social-emotional development and community-building through music.
National Endowment for the Arts and the integration of arts and health
NEA Research Labs join with other National Endowment for the Arts activities that advance arts and health through research and practice. Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, for example, serves the unique and special needs of military patients who have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and psychological health conditions. Other areas of support are featured on this Arts and Health fact sheet.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.
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Houston, TX – Can music therapy slow the progression of degenerative brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia while promoting well-being? A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will fund a new lab at Rice University that will explore this possible new inroad in the fight against such disorders.
Washington, DC — Through its 