Recent studies suggest that real-time auditory feedback is an effective method to facilitate motor learning. The evaluation of the parameter mapping (sound-to-movement mapping) is a crucial, yet frequently neglected step in the development of audio feedback. We therefore conducted two experiments to evaluate audio parameters with target finding exercises designed for balance training. In the first experiment with ten participants, five different audio parameters were evaluated on the X-axis (mediolateral movement). Following that, in a larger experiment with twenty participants in a two-dimensional plane (mediolateral and anterior-posterior movement), a basic and synthetic audio model was compared to a more complex audio model with musical characteristics. Participants were able to orient themselves and find the targets with the audio models. In the one-dimensional condition of experiment one, percussion sounds and synthetic sound wavering were the overall most effective audio parameters. In experiment two, the synthetic model was more effective and better evaluated by the participants. In general, basic sounds were more helpful than complex (musical) sound models. Musical abilities and age were correlated with certain exercise scores. Audio feedback is a promising approach for balance training and should be evaluated with patients. Preliminary evaluation of the respective parameter mapping is highly advisable.

The sense of balance, which is usually barely noticeable in the background of each of our movements, only becomes manifest in its function during intense stimulation or in the event of illness, which may quite literally turn your world upside down. While it is true that balance is becoming a bigger issue, that is mainly because people are losing it more frequently. So why is balance not as commonly talked about in psychology, medicine or the arts as the other five traditional senses? This is partly due to its unusual multi-modal nature, whereby three sensory inputs are coordinated and integrated by the central nervous system. Without it, however, we might not have much use for the other senses. The sense of balance encompasses the bodily experience in its entirety. Not only do we act with the body, we may also think and feel through it and with it. Bodily states are not simply effects of cognition; they cause it as well. Equilibrioception is an essential sense and it is interconnected with a wide range of other areas, including cognition, perception, embodiment, the autonomic nervous system, aesthetics, the arts, and education.

Seven of fourteen elderly female patients (mean age 82.3 [75-89] years) with abnormalities of cognition, memory and affect of organic causation were randomly assigned to be given cognitive training, especially relating to memory, as part of rehabilitation measures for medical or orthopaedic diseases. The other seven served as controls. Training extended over 15 days, cognitive training given on 9 days for 45 min each. The control group had sessions of nonspecific attention. All patients were given psychological tests of memory and attention before and after cognitive training (or nonspecific attention). Behavioural changes were also assessed. The patients with cognitive training scored significantly higher than the controls, both in the individual exercises of the training programme and in the various tests of performance. The cognitive training also favourably influenced social behaviour, mood and level of volition. Maintaining and improving still present mental capacity in this type of patient is an essential task within a hospital setting, which otherwise provides little stimulus. Cognitive training is simple and effective, yet of great social importance.

Recent evidence shows that both music therapy and resonance breathing (breathing at about 0.1 Hz) may be effective in treating stress-related symptoms and promoting relaxation. However, no study has yet explored the potential of integrating the working mechanisms into a combined approach using live played music to guide respiration. Therefore, the objective of the present pilot study was to evaluate the psychophysiological effects of a combined intervention. A total of 60 healthy adults were randomized to either the experimental group or the control group (where participants listened to prerecorded relaxation music). Heart rate and heart rate variability were extracted for the following 5-minute segments: Resting baseline, stress task, intervention, resting post-intervention. Additionally, self-evaluation scores for relaxation and general well-being were assessed with visual analogue scales. Significant time × group interaction effects were found for general well-being (p = .028) and heart rate variability as measured by RMSSD (p < .001), indicative of increased parasympathetic outflow in the experimental group. In conclusion, the combination of music therapy and resonance breathing seems to be a well-received and effective way to induce relaxation and well-being in healthy adults.

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