Browsing by Author "LaGasse, Blythe, committee member"
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Item Open Access Active music making for patients with unilateral spatial neglect in the subacute stage of stroke(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Leeman, Kirsten, author; Knight, Andrew, advisor; LaGasse, Blythe, committee member; Witt, Jessica, committee memberUnilateral neglect is the decreased awareness of events or items in the contralesional side of space, on the opposite side of the brain affected by a stroke. This study examined the effect of a music therapy procedure on the severity of unilateral spatial neglect in patients in the subacute stage of stroke. Three individuals were recruited from a large Midwestern hospital to participate in this study, all with a presentation of left neglect. One functional assessment (Kessler Foundation Neglect Assessment Process) was completed at admission and discharge to measure severity of neglect during activities of daily living. Two written assessments (Line Bisection Test and Line Cancellation Test) were administered at the start and end of each music therapy session to examine any immediate effects. During each session, patients were asked to hit a paddle drum gradually moved from the non-neglected side of space (right) toward the neglected side of space (left) over the course of every four beats. Patients then completed musical sequences on resonator bells following a descending pattern, also directed right to left. Results showed inconsistent performance between and within sessions for all participants on the Line Bisection Test. Written performance varied for two participants on the Line Cancellation Test, while one participant showed no change from the second treatment session through hospital discharge. These preliminary findings support further exploration into the use of musical instruments as a possible intervention for neglect, though future research involving larger sample sizes or a control group is needed.Item Open Access Assessing the impact of a music therapy program on attention in children with autism using behavioral and neurophysiological measures(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Coates, Carolyn, author; Davies, Patricia L., advisor; Merz, Emily, committee member; Stephens, Jaclyn, committee member; LaGasse, Blythe, committee memberChildren with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are known to have difficulty with auditory sensory processing. Music therapy is a common intervention approach for children with autism to address numerous behavioral and sensory challenges using auditory stimuli. Auditory processing capabilities have also been linked with attention skills and with attentional challenges often observed in children with ASD. This study seeks to understand the differences between children with ASD and their typically developing peers in auditory processing and attention. An additional study goal is to evaluate impacts of a music therapy protocol on those constructs. Baseline measurements were collected for 10 children with ASD using the Test of Everyday Attention in Children (TEA-Ch) and EEG under a sensory registration paradigm. These data were compared to those of age- and sex-matched typically developing peers (n = 10). The children with ASD participated in biweekly music therapy over 5 weeks for a total of 10 sessions and then completed the same assessments during a post-test. The sensory registration paradigm measured passive responses to four auditory tones at two different intensities (50 and 70 dB) and two different frequencies (1 and 3 kHz). The resultant event related potentials (ERPs) were averaged into a waveform for each child at each tone and amplitudes and latencies were calculated for N1, P2, N2 and P3 components. The TEA-Ch resulted in an overall attention score and a score for each of three subdomains of attention: sustained, selective and switching. Results indicated that children with ASD performed more poorly on the TEA-Ch with significantly poorer scores in overall attention, selective attention, and sustained attention. A series of independent sample t-tests on ERP components revealed few significant differences but a trend of increased latency at N1, P2, and N2 in children with ASD for each of the four tones. Children with ASD had lower amplitude of N1 components and greater amplitude P2 components compared with the typically developing children. Following the music therapy intervention, children with ASD improved significantly in selective attention and showed a trend of improvement in switching and total attention compared to pre-testing scores. The music therapy did not result in statistically significant changes in EEG results, but a trend of increased latency was noted for N1, P2, and N2. Amplitude of the P3 component decreased following the music therapy intervention in response to the high and loud tone when age was used as a covariate. Some significant associations were found between the latency of N1, P2, and N2 and sustained and selective attention in response to the 1kHz 70dB tone across all participants at baseline (TD children and children with ASD before music therapy). In conclusion, this study shows that children with ASD have different neural processing of simple auditory tones and reduced performance in multiple domains of attention. The music therapy intervention is a promising approach to improving attention skills. The intervention did not appear to alter neural processing in the expected way of children with ASD performing more like their typically developing peers. Further research at this foundational level of neural processing may help clarify the differences in processing between children with ASD and their typically developing peers and may provide a way of monitoring interventions which seek to alter neural processing to target attentional skills and behaviors.Item Open Access Auditory sensory processing in children with sensory processing disorder and autism spectrum disorder(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Pott, Christine Elizabeth, author; Davies, Patricia L., advisor; Gavin, William J., committee member; LaGasse, Blythe, committee memberSensory processing has long been a topic of interest in the field of occupational therapy. This study sought to replicate the results of Davies and Gavin (2007) which examined differences in auditory sensory processing between children with sensory processing disorder (SPD) and typically developing (TD) children as well as expand the results to a sample of children with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Additionally, this study sought to relate the neurophysiological measures of sensory processing to a behavioral assessment measuring sensory processing. We hypothesized that the results of Davies and Gavin (2007) would be replicated and expanded to include children with ASD and measures from the Sensory Profile (SP) would relate to the participants' neurological measures of sensory processing. 62 TD children, and 21 children each with SPD and ASD were recruited as part of a convenience sample. Participants’ brainwaves were recorded through electroencephalography (EEG) while they watched a silent movie and listened to a sensory gating paradigm consisting of two paired clicks and a sensory registration paradigm consisting of 4 tones of varied intensity and frequency. From the sensory gating paradigm P50 amplitudes were obtained. From the sensory registration paradigm amplitudes and latencies for N100, P200, N200, and P300 were obtained. Analyses revealed that while the results of Davies and Gavin (2007) were partially replicated, in that sensory gating was able to be significantly predicted from sensory registration the same pattern of sensory hyper and hypo-responsivity was not observed. Results indicate that the Sensory Profile does in part relate to the neurophysiological measures of sensory processing. This study confirmed that auditory sensory processing does differ between children with SPD, children ASD, and TD children. It contributes to occupational therapy's understanding of sensory processing in children and also towards increased understanding of how the SP relates to underlying neurological mechanisms.Item Open Access Examining sensory gating and processing speed in adults with autism using EEG(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Jacoby, Erica C., author; Davies, Patricia, advisor; Stephens, Jaclyn, committee member; LaGasse, Blythe, committee memberObjectives. Most individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience sensory deficits in their auditory processing (Tomchek & Dunn, 2007). These deficits can further impact their ability to participate in their physical and social environments. One way to increase understanding of these deficits is through use of electroencephalography (EEG), which measures brain activity in real-time and is able to distinguish brain processes such as sensory processing and the deficits that might be occurring during this process (Davies & Gavin, 2007). This study's purpose is to understand how processing speed and ability to filter out irrelevant stimuli impacts adults with ASD compared to their neurotypical (NT) peers through measurements of latency of prominent brain activity following presentation of an auditory stimulus and sensory gating. This study also analyzed how active and passive attention states impact sensory gating and latency. Methods. 24 adults with autism (M = 23.3 years, SD = 3.8) and 24 neurotypical adults (M = 23.7 years, SD = 3.5) participated in this study. They completed a sensory gating paradigm in both an active and a passive listening condition. In the active condition they were asked to press a button when they heard a single click, and in the passive condition they simply stared at a static image on a screen while the auditory stimuli were presented to them. Results. The results showed that there are no significantly different sensory gating responses between the ASD and NT groups. Individuals with ASD had delayed processing speed as measured through latency as early as 100 milliseconds following an auditory stimulus. Both groups experienced slower processing in the passive condition starting at approximately 200 milliseconds post-stimulus onset. As expected, more gating was observed for both groups in the passive condition at early components, where-as the active condition - which required attention to the stimulus that is usually suppressed in this task - resulted in less gating. In the latest component analyzed, approximately 200 milliseconds post-stimulus, both groups showed more gating in the active attention state, which was the opposite of the expected results, and the possible reason for this unexpected result needs further exploration. Conclusions. These findings suggest that individuals with autism do not have deficits in the ability to filter out irrelevant stimuli, however, they are likely more impacted by delayed processing speeds. Implications for practice include allowing more time to process auditory information for individuals with autism, and using compensatory strategies to influence neural processing speeds and amount of gating in response to auditory stimuli through the use of activity demands to create either passive or active attention states.Item Embargo Investigating the neural mechanisms of rhythmic entrainment and auditory priming using EEG(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Mingils, Susan, author; Davies, Patricia, advisor; Stephens, Jaclyn, advisor; Atler, Karen, committee member; LaGasse, Blythe, committee memberA body of literature on rhythmic entrainment, the synchronization of behaviors to rhythmic stimuli in the environment, shows auditory rhythmic cuing can improve motor performance in neurotypical and clinical populations. This is thought to be driven by underlying communication, i.e., functional connectivity, between auditory and motor brain regions. Surprisingly, some clinical research shows rhythmic entrainment interventions, designed to enhance motor performance, may improve cognitive performance as well. However, it is unclear if improved cognitive performance during rhythmic entrainment reflects changes in functional connectivity. Evidence from cognitive neuroscience suggests rhythmic auditory stimuli may direct attentional resources through the synchronization of certain neural oscillations with the rhythmic pulse. Neural oscillations are repetitive patterns of brain activity which can be measured noninvasively at the scalp using electroencephalography (EEG). Measuring how neural oscillations from spatially distinct brain regions synchronize with each other reflects changes functional connectivity. Before functional connectivity during rhythmic entrainment can be studied, research is first needed to establish connectivity patterns when processing auditory rhythmic stimuli (auditory condition) and during self-paced rhythmic motor performance (motor condition), which was the goal of Study 1. Overall, the results of Study 1 provide evidence that the auditory condition may promote more efficient functional connectivity with increased activation in localized brain regions, while the motor condition may utilize long-range low-frequency neural oscillations to suppress activity in task-irrelevant brain regions to sustain attention. A recent EEG study by our lab compared the neural oscillations of participants who listened to auditory rhythmic stimuli presented for a little over five minutes (auditory-first group) to participants who completed a self-paced rhythmic motor task for about minutes (motor-first group) prior to tapping along to auditory rhythmic cues (rhythmic entrainment condition). One important finding was a greater "priming effect" in the auditory-first group, who showed reduced neural resources needed during rhythmic entrainment compared to the motor-first group. Thus, auditory priming, compared to motor priming, may result in a more efficient use of neural resources during rhythmic entrainment. However, the optimal duration of auditory priming to promote efficient brain and behavior function is unknown. Therefore, the goal of Study 2 was to determine how different durations of auditory priming affect brain efficiency in neurotypical individuals, as measured using EEG. Overall, the results of Study 2 found that a duration of about two minutes may be optimal for auditory processing of rhythmic stimuli. However, more research is needed to confirm if auditory priming reduces neural resources needed during rhythmic entrainment compared to no priming and if auditory priming improves motor performance. Rhythmic entrainment and auditory priming are both important principles of rhythm-based interventions used in rehabilitation. A better understanding of their neural mechanisms in neurotypical individuals provides a necessary foundation for future research examining these processes in clinical populations and as a component of clinical interventions.Item Open Access Musical neglect training for unilateral visual neglect in right hemispheric stroke patients(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Kang, Kyurim, author; Thaut, Michael, advisor; LaGasse, Blythe, committee member; Fails, Anna, committee memberThe purpose of this study was to examine the immediate and longer-lasting effect of Musical Neglect Training (MNT) on unilateral visual neglect. A single-subject design was used, as participants served as their own control. Two individuals participated in this study. Participants underwent two weekly 30-minute individual sessions over a time period of three weeks, for a total of six MNT sessions for each participant. Two standardized assessments (Albert's and Line Bisection Test) were used. The assessments were administered immediately before and after each of the 6 MNT sessions to assess the immediate effect of MNT. During the training, participants played a set of horizontally arranged tone bars tuned to an ascending triads and scales. At the endpoint of each sequence a cymbal was positioned and played to give a strong audiovisual target in the left visual field for the participants. The experimenter provided a chordal accompaniment on the keyboard to provide harmonic-rhythmic pacing and to cue continuous playing to the end of the sequence. Follow-up testing was done one week after their 6th session to examine the longer-lasting effects of MNT. Paired t-tests were used to test for statistical improvement between pre- and post-test of interventions (immediate effects). Also, nonparametric statistics (Wilcoxon) was also calculated in parallel with the paired t-tests due to the small sample size and possible violations of normal distribution. For the longer-lasting effects, raw data were compared between the average of 6 sessions’ pre-test and follow-up test since there was only one follow-up test. Both participants showed statistical improvement with Albert's Test in the immediate effect (Participant 1: p=.02, Participant 2: p=.01). Results for the immediate effect of MNT on the Line Bisection Test were not significantly different, but means were lower for post-test (Participant 1: M=24.17%, Participant 2: M=9.16%) compared to pre-test (Participant 1: M=25.65%, Participant 2: M=10.39%), indicating positive improvement. Although not statistically significant for the longer-lasting effect, participant 2 had a lower score (score=7) compared to averaged pretest scores of the 6 treatment sessions (M=9.5), indicating a positive outcome, while participant 1 was unchanged at follow-up score (score=14) compared to the pretest average (M=14.5) in the Albert’s Test. Moreover, participant 1 showed increased deviation percentages from the averaged pre-test (M=25.65%) to follow-up test (deviation =27.18%), indicating no positive effect for the longer-lasting effect in the Line Bisection Test. Participant 2 showed a decreased deviation in follow-up score (deviation=7.70%) compared to averaged pre-test score (M=10.39%). The study indicates MNT as a potentially positive intervention for clients with unilateral visual neglect. Future research should employ this music-based intervention with clients in subacute recovery stages post stroke. Furthermore, developing the intervention protocol with increased duration and a higher number of sessions may result in stronger results. Based on the results from this study and previous studies, research focusing on the underlying neural mechanism and tailoring the intervention protocol appropriately to the clinical situation is warranted.Item Open Access Predictors of membership in music therapy professional organizations(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Bevilacqua, Lauren F., author; Knight, Andrew, advisor; LaGasse, Blythe, committee member; Lopes, Tobin, committee memberA healthy professional membership organization is vital to the longevity and sustainability of a profession. The purpose of this survey study is to identify predictive variables that determine if a professional music therapist becomes a member, former member, or never a member of the professional membership organization. Within the context of social exchange theory and social identity theory, it was hypothesized that a strong sense of cost-to-benefit exchange and professional identity are predictors of professional membership. The Predictors of Membership in Music Therapy Organizations questionnaire consisted of satisfaction questions and the Professional Identity and Organizational Identity scales (Mael & Ashforth, 1992). Out of 7590 board certified music therapists, 948 responded (570 were current American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) members, 335 were former members and 43 had never been members). Members were more likely to recommend membership. Most music therapists who are former members or have never been members indicated that they would join the organization if financial assistance was available. Music therapists scored higher on the professional identity scale than on the organizational scale. There was no statistical significance between professional and organizational identity scores between those who were unlikely to recommend AMTA membership and those who were neutral or moderately unlikely to recommend membership. Results support the ideas of social exchange and professional identity with organizational identity predicting satisfaction ratings with AMTA. Considerations for future research and practical application of the data are discussed.Item Open Access Remote learning: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on music therapy students' perceived skills and concerns regarding internships(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Schmidt, Shealyn D., author; Knight, Andrew, advisor; LaGasse, Blythe, committee member; Graham, James, committee memberThe purpose of this study was to examine the self-perceived skills and concerns of music therapy (MT) undergraduate and graduate equivalency students, who studied in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study implemented a cross-sectional survey design, using Likert scale questions from Clements-Cortés's 2019 study about music therapy students' self-perceived skills and concerns regarding internship, published in the Journal of Music Therapy. The researcher used validation measures to condense the original survey from 53 to 25 questions. Participants were also asked to indicate the amount of remote learning (high, medium, or low), student level (graduate equivalency or undergrad) and their current internship status. A Qualtrics survey link was sent to students via music therapy student organizations' social media pages, and resulted in a sample of fifty-two student participants. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a Kruskal Wallis H test with Bonferroni correction was used to determine significant differences between perception of skill or concerns and the amount of remote learning or student level (grad or undergrad). The highest self-perceived skill of UG participants was Professional Relationships and the lowest was Piano Improvisation. The highest self-perceived skill of GE students was Creative MT Technique Knowledge and Use and the lowest was Handling Stress. The highest self-perceived concern of UG was Making Spontaneous Adaptations and the lowest was Handling Session Unpredictability. The highest self-perceived concern of GE was Finances and the lowest was Handling Session Unpredictability. Results indicated that participants perceived benefits and drawbacks of remote learning. The amount of remote learning (high, medium, low) showed significant differences were found for perception of skills among high-remote internship students, and for skills and concerns among students with high in person internship and high-remote practicum categories. The majority of significant results were found in the high-remote practicum category. There were no significant differences found within the in-person practicum category. As compared with pre-internship undergraduate MT students in Clements-Cortés (2019) study, pre-interns in the current study rated themselves as more skilled on 9 of 12 items. However, post-interns in the current study rated themselves as less skilled on all 12 items. Pre-interns in the current study rated themselves as less concerned than pre-interns in Clements-Cortés (2019) study on 9 of 13 items. However, post-interns in the current study rated themselves as less concerned on all 13 items. In MT students' written responses about the impact of remote learning, the most frequently reported disadvantages included fewer in-person experiences and technological difficulties. The most frequent advantages reported included learning (specifically an increase in knowledge) and convenience. Individual perspectives appeared to impact whether certain elements of remote learning were seen as positive or negative thing. At present, the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing and remote learning technology will likely continue to be used. Further research about the use of remote technology in music therapy education can help to gain insight on how to make the internship and profession more accessible for students.Item Open Access Sensory registration in children with high functioning autism(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Crasta, Jewel Elias, author; Davies, Patricia L., advisor; Gavin, William J., committee member; LaGasse, Blythe, committee memberAuditory processing is one of the most commonly reported sensory processing impairments in autism spectrum disorders. This study sought to determine whether children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFA) differ from typically developing children on neurophysiological measures of auditory information processing. We hypothesized that children with HFA would have significant different brain activity when listening to auditory stimuli compared to typically developing children. A cross-sectional quasi-experimental quantitative study design with convenience sampling procedures was employed to compare two groups. Nineteen children with HFA and 19 age- and gender-matched typically developing children, ages 5 to 12 years, participated in this study. Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings were made while participants watched a silent movie and heard random presentations of four auditory stimuli at two different frequencies (1 and 3 kHz) and at two different intensities (50 and 70 dB). The stimuli were presented in 4 blocks of 100 trials each, with 25 trials of each of the stimuli in random order with a 2-second inter-stimulus interval. Amplitude and latency measures were obtained for the P1, N1, P2, N2, and P3 components from the averaged event-related potentials (ERPs) for each of the four auditory stimuli. An analysis of variance for the ERP components, revealed that children with HFA had significantly smaller N2 amplitudes for the low frequency low intensity tone, and significantly smaller P3 amplitudes to the high intensity at both frequencies stimuli compared to typically developing children. This finding suggests that children with HFA have increased difficulty in automatic stimuli discrimination and reduced cognitive processing to these auditory stimuli. Children with HFA also had significantly longer P2 latencies for the high intensity high frequency tone compared to typically developing peers, suggesting delayed auditory processing. In conclusion, this study shows that children with HFA display different brain processing mechanisms to auditory sensory stimuli compared to typically developing children. These differences suggest that the auditory processing deficits observed in children with HFA may arise from atypical neurophysiological functioning related to stimuli discrimination and processing. These results can help practitioners understand the neurophysiological basis of behavioral manifestations of ASD, especially those atypical behaviors that occur in response to sensory experiences in everyday activities. Understanding the specific aspects of sensory processing that are a challenge for children with HFA may provide guidance to the types of treatment strategies that will be most effective.Item Open Access The subjective sense of familiarity with music(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) McNeely-White, Katherine L., author; Cleary, Anne M., advisor; Seger, Carol A., committee member; Henry, Kimberly, committee member; LaGasse, Blythe, committee memberThe process of familiarity—the mere sense or feeling of prior experience with something—remains poorly understood. Most theories assume that familiarity involves separable features held within memory traces, and some empirical evidence supports this notion. Familiarity appears to be at work in the metacognitive phenomenon known as déjà vu—the feeling of having experienced something before despite knowing that it is new—and its accompanying illusion of prediction. The present study examined the nature of musical features held within memory traces and their possible role in déjà entendu – the auditory version of déjà vu. Participants in Experiment 1 received studied songs in altered contexts at test. As in déjà vu research, the familiarity occurring in these altered auditory contexts related to reports of déjà entendu. In Experiment 2, repeated exposure to isolated musical features (rhythm or pitch) at study led to increased familiarity and déjà entendu reports with the full songs later. In Experiment 3, illusory feelings of prediction were shown to be associated with reports of déjà entendu. During déjà entendu, participants felt more able to predict the song's contour (Experiment 3a) and the sound location of the next note in the sequence (Experiment 3b). The full pattern of results suggest that separable features are a central component of the familiarity process with music, and that they play a role in déjà entendu. As shown in déjà vu research, both déjà entendu and feelings of familiarity are associated with illusory feelings of prediction.