Cortechstra: Orchestrating Cortical Resilience
- Pre-Seed
Active musicality improves brain health. Our app allows everyone to expand both their cortical and global social networks through creating and sharing their own musical compositions. No past music training required!
Active musicality (composing and playing music) leads to functional changes in cortical areas related to empathy, self-efficacy, and social coherence: brain areas collectively associated with resilience.
Emerging data also suggests that active musicality may have a role in modulating behaviors associated with mental health disorders ranging from addictions, depression and chronic pain.
However, music lessons are not ubiquitously available, and though Western music is now a globally enjoyed phenomena, its traditional rules can make learning an instrument intimidating, time consuming and difficult to master.
Our app bypasses the often onerous amount of preparation that active musicality requires, and allows anyone to instantaneously begin composing their own songs. This allows immediate access to not just passive listening, but the active creation of music: it is this specific aspect of music that holds significant promise for improving overall brain health.
A user is prompted to select their proficiency level, current mood and choice of 3 major (or relative minor) keys. Then, the user is walked through the fundamentals of song writing and composing in 4 simple steps (calibrated by difficulty based on the chosen level of musical proficiency) within the structure of harmonic Western music. The app will record and create musical notation for the sequences played. Following the creation of their composition, a user may post between 4-8 bars of music onto a selected social network interface, with the opportunity to duet with another user, add to another’s composition, or write a musical answer to a question posed.
The app simultaneously taps into two fundamental aspects associated with resilience: encouraging both active musicality as well as increasing social coherence through ongoing communication. This allows the universal language of music to be instantaneously accessed, expanded upon, and enjoyed by anyone through the power of social and digital media.
Our solution strives to empower anyone to tap into his or her own creative potential for making music and thereby reduces the barriers to accessing the cognitive benefits that result from formal musical training. In addition to facilitating resilience, a growing body of literature suggests that active musicality may allow for functional changes in cortical oscillation patterns modulating behaviors associated with a range of mental illnesses. Our app has been developed by a team that includes clinicians interested in not only augmenting resilience but also finding novel approaches to improving clinical outcomes for a range of mental illnesses.
Our solution:
Based on published neuroscientific evidence demonstrating cognitive and clinical benefits of active musicality.
Crosses all cultures and demographics.
Reduces access barriers: in 4 steps anyone can begin composing.
Harnesses the power of social media: encourages communication and musical collaboration; exponentially increases the reach of an initial orchestration.
Works microscopically and macroscopically: activates neuronal-networks as well as global social-networks to facilitate individual as well as social resilience.
Has the potential to change stigma associated with mental illness and increase social awareness of, and advocacy for, the effect of music on mental health.
Our solution strives to utilize active musicality to not only improve clinical outcomes in certain illnesses (depression, chronic pain) by fostering cognitive resilience but to also increase social empathy and advocacy in promoting the power of music to improve mental health.
The solution will be deployed in an app-based format compatible with various smart phones and tablets. Anyone with access to a social media platform, smart phone, and interest in music stands to benefit: both individuals looking to improve overall brain health as well as specific patient populations.
Brief Resilience Scale [Smith et al] - improved resilience scores in general users
1. Pilot study following 1 month of use amongst general population in 1 city[target 500 users]
2. Pilot study with Nepali school system; [target 300 children].
HAM-D scale - Decreased depressive symptoms with statistically significant results in patients after 3 months of use. Pilot study of 100 patients
The American Chronic Pain Association Quality of Life Scale - Improved quality of life scores in patients with chronic pain. Pilot study of 100 patients
- Child
- Adult
- Low-income economies (< $1005 GNI)
- Primary
- US and Canada
- Consumer-facing software (mobile applications, cloud services)
- Digital systems (machine learning, control systems, big data)
To the best of our knowledge, there is no other app that provides immediate accessibility of active musicality for everyone, regardless of previous musical experience, while also specifically aims to increase cortical resilience of both the individual user as well as their social media connections. Music benefits more than the individual who composes it: the app utilizes technology to create a repertoire of compositions that can be shared across social media and encourages ongoing communications to stimulate creativity and the development of new ideas vital for sustaining brain health through all stages of life.
Our solutions taps into two basic human instincts: the desire to create, and the desire to connect. By encouraging users to connect and co-create music, the app activates cortical areas of resilience and empathy across all ages and social groups. It also strives to reduce stigma associated with mental illness. For, if more people can experience the emotional and cognitive benefits of active musicality, a better understanding of the link between mental illness, wellness, and the power of music to improve both shall ensue. We plan to pilot in two distinct sites: a hospital-based clinic and school system in Nepal.
App based platform available for download on IOS and Android operating systems; provided free or at limited cost for download following preliminary pilot studies. UWP platform support would be necessary to support compatibility with Microsoft tablets in our Nepal school pilot.
- 0 (Concept)
- United States
Academic support for research time, grants for preliminary study and then investors for early scaling after establishing proof of concept through pilot studies that will look at increasing resilience to improve brain health in both the general population as well as certain patient populations.
Target consumers will be individuals as well as larger hospital corporations, insurance companies and stand alone health centers (to be determined dependent upon the app's efficacy in treating clinical conditions).
Our team is also partnered with several elementary-age schools in Western Nepal where digital tablets have been issued to classrooms, providing a pilot platform for promoting and testing the app's features and cross-cultural usability. Select US private middle schools will be approached as potential sponsor schools for these pilot programs, providing further opportunity to students in both countries to exchange musical ideas, and may provide an additional funding source.
Clinical work demands that lead to current constraints on research time
Limited availability of grant monies to fund additional research time
Currently interested in seeking mentorship on how to develop the technology and then grow and scale the solution.
Access and speed of Internet connections in remote rural areas may provide a challenge to the social media component of our Nepali classroom pilot program
- Less than 1 year
- 1-3 months
- 6-12 months
https://www.bridgetonepal.org/
- Brain Augmentation
- Chronic Diseases
- Behavioral / Mental Health
- General Wellness
- Digital Health
We would like to obtain greater access to like minded individuals with innovative ideas that leverage the power of technology to find solutions that promote the use of creativity and the arts in improving brain health. In particular, seeking mentorship on how to take our solution from its concept stage to implementation of pilot studies to demonstrate proof of concept before ultimately scaling it to the general population to create an ongoing social network that consistently and creatively uses music as medicine: to bolster resilience in both the general population as well in medically ill populations.
Jessica Harder, MD: Neuropsychiatrist
Sariah El-Haddad, MD: Addiction Medicine/Psychiatry
Dan Noronha: Composer
Jesse Tripathi: Public policy researcher
No known competitors at this stage of concept development
