Personally, my own family is affected with the tragedy of Parkinson’s disease, as my uncle suffers from this disease, although it is in an early stage. However, as we all know there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, just drugs that can slow down the development of this disease, much like HIV. Parkinson’s is a scary disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain, causing the patient to experience shaky hands, difficulty walking, bad posture, and decreased energy. My uncle has been diagnosed with this illness for a few years now, and, since the drugs are slowing the process of the development of the disease, he only experiences slight symptoms so far, such as shaky hands and decreased energy.

Although this disease is incurable, recent studies by researcher Oliver Sacks have discovered that the influence of music can positively encourage movement in Parkinson’s patients with severe progression of the disease. Sacks has observed in patients with severe cases of Parkinson’s who are completely unable to move, talk, and even think, once music is played, they are amazingly able to act almost normal again. The presence of music, any type of music with a good beat, allows these patients to dance, move, think, sing and talk again (Sacks). However, readers may be wondering how this can be?

Scientists have found that there are strong connections between the parts of the brain that allow movement and the listening parts of the brain. This allows us the move to the beat of a song (Sacks). These studies conducted using the simple act of playing music to Parkinson’s patients could be a great step forward in discovering the cure after all. Although drugs can slow down the disease greatly, this discovery of the effect of music in severely ill Parkinson’s patients could restore life back into them with the simple press of a button.

Sacks, Oliver. “Music and the Brain: Parkinsonsism and Music’s Ability to Heal.” PBS. WNET, n.d.

Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/musicinstinct/video/music-and-the-brain/

parkinsonsism-and-musics-ability-to-heal/51/>.

“Parkinson’s Disease Health Center.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.webmd.com/

parkinsons-disease/default.htm>.