Preserved Singing in Aphasia

2006/09/01 by Sarah J. Wilson, Kate Parsons, David C. Reutens · 6 citations
Neuroscience · Psychology · #Neuroscience and Music Perception #Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism #Music Therapy and Health

paper · doi:10.1525/mp.2006.24.1.23

openalex publication_date 2006/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11

Abstract

This study examined the efficacy of Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) in a male singer (KL) with severe Broca’s aphasia. Thirty novel phrases were allocated to one of three experimental conditions: unrehearsed, rehearsed verbal production (repetition), and rehearsed verbal production with melody (MIT). The results showed superior production of MIT phrases during therapy. Comparison of performance at baseline, 1 week, and 5 weeks after therapy revealed an initial beneficial effect of both types of rehearsal; however, MIT was more durable, facilitating longer-term phrase production. Our findings suggest that MIT facilitated KL’s speech praxis, and that combining melody and speech through rehearsal promoted separate storage and/or access to the phrase representation.

Cited by

• Melodic Intonation Therapy
• Rhythm in disguise: why singing may not hold the key to recovery from aphasia
• Melodic Intonation Therapy: Back to Basics for Future Research
• How to engage the right brain hemisphere in aphasics without even singing: evidence for two paths of speech recovery
• FROM SINGING TO SPEAKING: WHY SINGING MAY LEAD TO RECOVERY OF EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH BROCA'S APHASIA
• Expressive aphasia [wikipedia]