May 7th, 2015
The SMART Lab has teamed up with the Royal Conservatory of Music to offer a special choir for people with Parkinson’s disease this summer. Based on findings from the lab’s study on emotional communication in Parkinson’s disease last year, the choir has been developed specifically to target deficits in facial expressiveness, vocal quality and perception of emotion.
It is believed that by mimicking the choir director’s emotional expressions during singing, choir members will strengthen their vocal and facial muscles, all while aided by the known benefits of rhythmic auditory stimulation on muscle movement. This may in turn strengthen the brain circuitry required for perception of emotion in others’ vocal and facial expressions.
For more information about the choir, please visit www.parkinsonschoir.com.”