Why NIH’s Dr. Collins accompanies opera’s Renee Fleming in highlighting music & mind’s power

What happens when music therapists and neuroscientists team up? Patients win, says Dr. Francis Collins. From adults with Parkinson’s disease to children with autism, music has the power to help people walk, talk, ease pain and so much more.

Dr. Collins recently stepped down from his role as the longest-serving director of National Institutes of Health. As he faces a personal battle against prostate cancer, he’s exploring the promising impact that music and art therapy could hold for patients with health challenges.

Dr. Collins is hoping to develop a deeper understanding of music’s influence on brain circuitry. The goal? To help patients ease the symptoms of conditions like chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and dementia.

His interview with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter is a follow-up to a conversation with opera singer Renée Fleming about her new book “Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness,” for which Dr. Collins wrote the foreword.