2024
The BrainHealth Project | Lecture at University of Texas at Dallas
March 22, 2024
Dr. Thaut was invited by The BrainHealth Project at the University of Texas at Dallas to share his insight into how auditory neuroscience can advance neurological rehabilitation.
… Watch it here.
A Musical Way to Rewire the Brain | Dr. Praveen Kumar Kaudlay
NMT Benefits Motor Recovery of Movement in Stroke | The BC Stroke Network
January 15, 2024
The BC Stroke Network consists of researchers and clinicians (primarily physiotherapy, occupational therapy, physiatry from GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver) interested in furthering stroke research and care. Professor Thaut was invited to speak at their last meeting on how NMT can benefit motor recovery in people with stroke.
… Watch it here
2023
Interview | Jem Golden
December 6, 2023
Professor Thaut was interviewed by Jem Golden, a session lecturer, analyst/writer, and consultant. He discusses research on long-known music exposure effects on brain imaging, a project completed in collaboration with Dr. Corinne Fischer, St. Michael’s Hospital.
… Read the article here
Interview | Capital Current
November 21, 2023
Can listening to your favourite song decrease pain? If so, how this achieved? In this article, Professor Thaut and others share their insight on the complex topic of music and pain.
… Read the article here
Interview | World Congress of Neurorehabilitation (WCNR), Vienna
August 22, 2023
Professor Thaut shared insights into his participation in prior World Congresses on Neurorehabilitation and his perspective on the events, and also delved into the overarching theme of the 2022 Congress. This theme underscored a diverse array of topics and highlighted WFNR’s mission to enhance neurorehabilitation on a global scale. Moreover, Prof. Michael Thaut emphasized the crucial role of hybrid multidisciplinary events in ensuring universal access to information.
Professor Thaut also delved into the profound impact of neurological music therapy (NMT) on the restoration of neurological functions, with specific attention to its effects on motor control in cases of stroke and Parkinson’s disease. Within this context, he emphasized the guiding influence of the Academy for Neurologic Music Therapy in shaping training and certification processes in this domain.
Furthermore, he shared his perspective on the awareness level among specialists concerning NMT. While acknowledging the substantial growth of this field, he highlighted the necessity for heightened visibility to further its impact.
… Watch the episode here
Improving Cognitive Performance with Your Favorite Music (March 2023) | Dementia Untangled
March 1, 2023
Time and time again, we’ve heard how much of an impact music can have on our brains. Dr. Thaut was featured on a podcast episode where he speaks about improving brain plasticity and cognitive performance by listening to our favorite music. Dr. Thaut untangles the science behind this method and shares his experience as a professional musician and how it crossed with his passion for brain processes that are connected to music to help people with dementia and their quality of life. In this episode, listeners learn how music-based interventions can retrain some brain function and support neurodevelopmental brain function.
… Listen to the episode here
2022
Rotary Magazine (May 2022) | Music Mends Minds
May 2, 2022
Dr. Thaut was interviewed by Dr. Carol Rosenstein, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Music Mends Minds, on the MaHRC and St. Michael’s Hospital study on music and dementia.
… Read the article here
What Music Reveals About Our Minds | CNN Health
Apr 7, 2022
A music and dementia study in collaboration with MaHRC and St. Michael’s Hospital was featured by CNN Health.
… Read the article here
2021
Sound Health Network & UC San Fransisco | Music & Rhythm Webinar
Sept 8, 2021
Dr. Michael Thaut and Dr. Jessica Grahn discuss rhythm and music in the treatment of movement disorders.
… Watch the video here
The Potential for Music to Enhance Wellness During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Jan 13, 2021
How do you use music in your daily life to help you feel better? Our graduate students used their expertise to study the potential for music to enhance wellness in students and to help them cope with the challenges of these difficult times.
… Watch the video here
2020
CNN Heroes | The Language of the Brain
Oct 15, 2020
Dr. Michael Thaut was featured on a segment on CNN Heroes. Here, he discusses the benefits of music on the minds of seniors facing cognitive decline during the pandemic.
… Watch the video here
iHeart Radio | Interview: Advancing Music Therapy and its Psychological Aspects
Sept 26, 2020
Dr. Michael Thaut discusses his personal experiences, his path toward his scientific career, music therapy, and much more.
… Listen to the full podcast here
… Read the transcript of the podcast here
Toronto Sun | Jazz event raising money for Alzheimer’s and dementia research
Feb 29, 2020
Remember the Music — an afternoon filled with great jazz talent playing the classics with the goal of raising money for research into Alzheimer’s and other dementia that takes place April 5 at 2 p.m. at the Isabel Bader Theatre. The organizers specifically chose an earlier time because that is when the patients are at their most responsive. […] Dr. Michael Thaut and his colleague Dr. Fischer pioneered the idea that there was a connection between music and dementia. “We were the first group that actually looked at this at St. Michael’s Hospital. We conducted brain scanning tests while the patients listened to music. The music creates a huge network of many different regions, some of the deeper regions which are not affected by Alzheimer’s,” says Thaut.
…Read the full article here
2019
CBC News | Why studying music and the brain is so fascinating, and so difficult
Nov 9, 2019
New research is shedding light on how the brain interacts with music. It also highlights how challenging it is to study the issue effectively due to the highly personalized nature of how we interpret it […] “If you grow up in a different musical language environment, so to speak, your brain responds to other genres other music cultures very, very differently,” says Michael Thaut, a professor of music and neuroscience at the University of Toronto […]
…Read the full article here
2018
CBC News | Familiar music could give Alzheimer’s patients a cognitive boost, study suggests
Nov 7, 2018
It’s long been known that Alzheimer’s patients often retain musical memories, even when recall of names, faces and places has been lost as the disease relentlessly destroys key areas of the brain […] Michael Thaut, the study’s lead author and a professor of music and neuroscience at the University of Toronto, said it’s common for people in even relatively advanced stages of Alzheimer’s to call to mind the melodies and lyrics of songs from their past, as well as the autobiographical memories attached to the music […]
…Read the full article here
CBC Radio | How music helps rehab patients learn how to move again
May 25, 2018
Lynn Lewis has a neurological disorder and uses music to help her regain the use of her arms. She’s not alone. Research on patients who’ve suffered some injury to the brain that affects movement — like stroke or Parkinson’s disease — have suggested that using music with the right tempo “can improve their walking ability.” “Music is part of the most complex auditory language the brain ever invented,” said Professor Michael Thaut, who’s at the forefront of research on how music can alter the brain networks to heal the body […]
…Listen to the interview here