Music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke
Teppo Särkämö1, Mari Tervaniemi, Sari Laitinen, Anita Forsblom, Seppo Soinila, Mikko Mikkonen1, Taina Autti, Heli M. Silvennoinen, Jaakko Erkkilä, Matti Laine, Isabelle Peretz and Marja Hietanen

Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, and Helsinki Brain Research Centre, Helsinki, Department of Music, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Department of Neurology and Department of Radiology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, 5Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland and 6Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada

Correspondence to: Teppo Särkämö, MA, Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology, PO Box 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 20 C), FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We know from animal studies that a stimulating and enriched environment can enhance recovery after stroke, but little is known about the effects of an enriched sound environment on recovery from neural damage in humans. In humans, music listening activates a wide-spread bilateral network of brain regions related to attention, semantic processing, memory, motor functions, and emotional processing.