The Therapeutic Power of Music
Dan Lewis Foundation | Summer 2023

From ancient times to modern times, making music has been a quintessential human capacity—a powerful channel for communication, expression, and communality. The ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, wrote, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” The modern composer, Leonard Bernstein, said, “Music can name the unnamable and communicate the unknowable.” What benefits might music have for persons recovering from brain injury?


Kimberly Sena Moore, a boardcertified music therapist and neurologic music therapist in private practice, has written, “When used properly, music can be an incredibly powerful treatment tool. And not just because it’s fun, relaxing, and motivating, but because music has a profound impact on our brains and our bodies.” Moore lists her top brainbased reasons why music works in therapy .


» Music is a core function of our brain.

» We physiologically match (entrain to) to rhythmic beats.

» Children (even infants) respond readily to music.

» Music taps into our emotions. »Music helps improve our attention skills.

» Music uses shared neural circuits with speech.

» Music enhances learning.

» Music taps into our memories.

» Music is predictable, structured, and organized.

» Music is a social experience.

» Music is non-invasive, safe, and motivating.


Several years ago, Kristi Staniszewski, The Therapeutic Power of Music RPT, along with a neurologic music therapist, Sarah Thompson, initiated music and movement groups through the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado.


Kristi notes, “There is something magical about music and how it influences our thoughts and feelings. Music can find its way into parts of the brain that may not be accessible via other experiences. For instance, a person who cannot speak due to aphasia may hear a familiar song and be able to sing the words.”


Kristi adds, “Music is fun. It can make exercising or remembering or any of the ‘tasks’ we are asking members of the group to work on…fun. It doesn’t feel like work; it feels like fun.” Her comments raised a thought: there must be a reason we call it “playing music” rather than “working music.” Music is a wonderful vehicle for bringing people together; people from different classes and cultures can enjoy a musical experience together. In this group, the facilitators put a lot of emphasis on the group members communicating with each other. In Kristi’s words, “Whether it’s through a song or a memory or about something they learn about each other, the communication among the group members is very important. I think people with brain injuries can tend to get isolated and feel they are alone with their issues. So, when we bring people together, whether their injuries are seen or unseen, it unites us as people, and that’s an important connection to have.”


Movement, rhythm, and tempo are important aspects of music that can support cognitive, physical, and behavioral flexibility. Movement pairs well with music, particularly with the rhythmic element of music. Kristi explained, “A marching song may stimulate the movement without striking you that you are being influenced by the music. You may feel the marching rhythm and tempo in your bones even if you are not able to move to that rhythm, but you still feel that rhythm.” Kristi explained further that “… a faster tempo may be used for hand and arm movements because these movements require fewer muscles to move quickly. With the larger leg muscles, a slower regular beat may be preferable.”

Kristi explained that music might help people focus on a particular word or phrase in the lyrics or a musical phrase or motif that occurs repeatedly. In addition, fun games with music may facilitate attention or memory or even divided attention if participants are asked to listen for a certain cue versus a different cue.


BIAC’s music and movement group members are encouraged to share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences with music. One man described himself as a semiprofessional musician before his injury, able to play several instruments well and compose music. Even though his specific skills were diminished, he said he was working hard to regain as many skills as possible, and he continued to revel in his involvement with music. An older gentleman told of being in London on a business trip prior to his injury and attending a Beatles (his favorite group) concert. He encountered Paul McCartney outside of the concert hall and obtained his autograph. That autograph and listening to the Beatles’ music still lifts his spirits and is one of the purest joys of his life. A particularly poignant story was shared by a woman whose injury resulted in retrograde amnesia. Although she remembers very little of her pre-injury life, often when she hears a familiar song, she experiences emotions attached to that song. She is starting, at least sometimes, to remember events and experiences associated with the song and the feelings it has evoked. In a very real sense, music has the power to heal. 

A gold trophy with a laurel wreath around it.
By Dan Lewis Foundation April 2, 2025
For the third consecutive year, the Dan Lewis Foundation for Brain Regeneration is proud to announce the DLF Prize competition. The 2025 DLF Prize, a $20,000 award, will recognize an outstanding early career scientist (2 to 5 years post-doc) conducting innovative research in neuroscience, pharmacology, or biotechnology. This prestigious prize honors researchers whose work aligns with the DLF mission to drive breakthroughs in neural regeneration and repair. The current research priorities of the DLF are: Pharmacological Reactivation of Neural Repair: Research into pharmacological methods of reactivating or augmenting synaptogenesis, neurogenesis or axonal repair. Cell-Based Cortical Repair: Investigating the potential of derived cortical neurons to restore function in damaged cortical regions. Transcriptomics of Neural Recovery: Characterizing transcriptomic profiles of cortical neurons in the recovery phase following brain injury to identify pathways that drive repair. Molecular Inhibitor Targeting: Advancing anti-sense oligonucleotides (ASO’s) or small-molecule therapeutics designed to downregulate inhibitors of neural regeneration in the cortex or spinal cord. Application for the 2025 DLF Prize can be made by going to our website— danlewisfoundation.org —and clicking on the Tab “ 2025 DLF Prize ”. This will bring you into the application portal. The application portal opened in March, 2025 and will remain open through May 31st. Once in the portal, you will find complete information about the DLF prize, eligibility requirements, and an application form which can be filled in and submitted online. The winner of the 2023 DLF Prize, Dr. Roy Maimon, continues his research indicating that downregulation of PTBP1, an RNA-binding protein, can convert glial cells into neurons in the adult brain (Maimon et al. 2024) .* Dr. Maimon, currently a post-doc at the University of California, San Diego is currently interviewing for a faculty position at several prominent neuroscience departments. The winner of the 2024 DLF Prize, Dr. William Zeiger is a physician-scientist in the Department of Neurology, Movement Disorders Division, at UCLA. Dr. Zeiger has expertise in interrogating neural circuits using a classic “lesional neurology” approach. He states, “Our lab remains focused on understanding how neural circuits become dysfunctional after lesions to the cortex and on investigating novel circuit-based approaches to reactivate and restore damaged cortex”. * Maimon, Roy, Carlos Chillon-Marinas, Sonia Vazquez-Sanchez, Colin Kern, Kresna Jenie, Kseniya Malukhina, Stephen Moore, et al. 2024. “Re-Activation of Neurogenic Niches in Aging Brain.” BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.27.575940.
By Dan Lewis Foundation April 2, 2025
Alan was injured in 2021, at age 42. An art teacher in Lakewood, Colorado, Alan was riding his bicycle after school and was crossing at an intersection when a truck turned into the crosswalk area and hit him. Alan reports no memory of the event but has been told this is what happened. Alan says “My frontal lobe took the brunt of the impact, particularly the left frontal lobe”. Alan had a 2 ½ week stay at a nearby hospital where he, “re-learned to talk, to walk, and drink”-- although again he reports no memory of his stay there. Alan was then transferred to Craig Rehabilitation Hospital, in Englewood, Colorado. Alan says, “The only reason I knew I was at Craig is that I rolled over in bed and saw “Welcome to Craig” on the dry erase board.” During this stage of recovering, Alan repeatedly denied that he had been in an accident. Twice he tried to leave Craig on his own accord despite his wife’s and his therapists’ assurances that it was important for him to stay to recuperate from his injuries. Alan’s wife was 8 months pregnant at the time of his accident and gave birth to their son while Alan was an inpatient at Craig. Alan’s wife brought his newborn son to visit him days after the birth and Alan held him while sitting in his wheelchair, but Alan wistfully reports this is another thing he can’t remember. Alan reports that he still has significant difficulties with memory. Alan has also experienced several other neuropsychological difficulties. He states that for months after his injury, he could not experience emotion. “I could not laugh, I couldn’t cry.” Even after three years, his emotional experience is constricted. However, an emotion that is sometimes elevated is irritation and anger. Sometimes, dealing with people can be difficult because he may have temper flare-ups with little reason. This is something that Alan regrets and he is working hard with his neuropsychologist to improve the regulation of his emotions. Alan also has difficulty with organization, motivation, and distractibility. Earlier in his recovery, he had trouble sequencing and had difficulty carrying out personal and household routines. Alan has benefited greatly from therapy and his own hard work to make improvements in these areas. A chief reason that Alan works so hard in his recovery is so that he can be a good father to his son who is now almost 3 years old. He recognizes that it is important not to get frustrated when it seems that he can’t provide what his son wants or needs at a given moment. “I’m trying to raise my son the best I can…he’s at such a pivotal time in his life.” Alan’s financial situation was helped for a time by Social Security Disability Insurance payments but these payments ended. He is trying to get SSDI reinstated but the process of doing so is confusing and is taking a lot of time. Alan returned to work about 11 months ago at a liquor store (after about 2 years of not being able to work), the same store where he previously worked part time while teaching. He works in the wine department. “I sell wine and make recommendations.” When asked for advice to other brain injury survivors, Alan’s words were: “No matter how confused or upset you are or how frustrated you get, keep pressing on and moving forward because there is light at the end of the tunnel even though it may seem long. Keep moving forward and don’t give up no matter what anyone says to you”. Alan added that supports for individuals with brain injury are very important. He has found support groups, retreats, and seminars/events where brain injury survivors can share their experience to be very helpful. The volunteer work he does at Craig Hospital has been valuable for him. Alan is an inspiring individual. Despite having scarce memory of his accident and some confusion about the functional losses he has experienced, Alan has worked hard to make his recovery as complete as possible. He continues to work hard to progress and to express gratitude for those who have assisted him along the way.