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The brain does not process music in a centralized cortical structure, but instead simultaneously uses multiple regions on both hemispheres of the brain to achieve this aim. It is hypothesized that because different elements of music such as pitch, tempo, melody, dynamics, patterns, and repetition are processed in and across different neural networks, music may promote interactions between disparate regions of the brain that strengthens the connections between them. Tapping into this phenomenon offers a unique opportunity to activate neuroplasticity (the brain's ability to rewire itself) in regions that would benefit from improved neural connectivity.

Additionally, the brain’s complex neural network for processing music is increasingly stimulated the more one is engaged in the active process of creating music (composing, singing, dancing), as opposed to sole reliance on passive music listening. The act of creating music is therefore believed to optimize the neurological benefits of music. For example, the heightened use of disparate neural networks utilized to create music is considered to be key to helping some individuals unlock “lost” information via alternative neural routes, if/when typical neural pathways have been compromised by neuropathological changes that dysregulate neuroplasticity (e.g. beta amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s patients). The neurorehabilitative benefit of music may also be enhanced by motion-based musical activities, as physical exercise or movement programs combined with musical elements are known to augment cortical plasticity via glutaminergic transmission.

Scientists also believe that when people practice musical movement (movement performed in synch with rhythmic music), the rhythmic musical structures provide auditory feedback on timing that supplement existing kinesthetic and visual feedback. With this added sensory reference in the brain for making real-time corrections to movement, motor coordination may be enhanced. Specifically, rhythm activates motor neurons in recticula spinal tracts that regulate spatial organization and motor sequencing, so synchronizing movement with music pulls - with the help of these neurons - visual, auditory, somatosensory, and motor areas of the brain together in a coordinated manner to strengthen the perception-action cycle. Furthermore, the patterns of musical rhythms can be used by the brain as a feed-forward factor to predict motor outputs, and these predictions can be utilized to smoothen movements and subsequently leverage neuroplasticity to rewire the smoother motions across neural networks. In particular, when autistic individuals practice musical movement, their motor proficiencies, including balance, bi-lateral and upper limb coordination, improve markedly. These gained motor improvements are generally greater and faster than the gains obtained from non-musical movement programs. 

The neuroscience of music (ie., how specific characteristics of music induce neural activity/changes) shows promise of revolutionizing the treatment of neurological disorders and atypical neurological presentations. Outlier Technology aims to leverage the brain’s unique response to music to design individualized, music-based therapeutic interventions that stimulate and optimize neuroplasticity to facilitate targeted neurological health benefits in the patient (e.g. improvements in memory, cognition and executive functions; fine and gross motor skills; verbal communication; emotional self-regulation; and behavior and depression management).