National Academy of Sciences Workshop: Panel 2

Workshop on Research Gaps and Opportunities for Exploring the Relationship of the Arts to Health and Well-Being in Older Adults: Panel 2 Topic: Comparative benefits or weaknesses of arts therapies over other behavioral and/or pharmacological interventions for older adults experiencing declines in cognitive, sensory, and/or motor ability. Moderator: Becca Levy, Yale University. Speakers: "An Overview of Pharmacological and Non-pharmacological Interventions for Older Adults with Cognitive Decline: Situating the Arts in Research" by Anne Basting, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Kate de Medeiros, Miami University; "Music and the Brain in Health and Disease: What we learned from Correlational, Longitudinal, and Stroke Recovery Studies" by Gottfried Schlaug, Harvard University; "Using Music to Manage Symptoms of Dementia: What is the State of the Science?" by Julene Johnson, University of California San Francisco. The September 14, 2012 workshop focussed on research gaps and opportunities for exploring the relationship of arts participation and creativity to physical health and psychological well-being in older adults. The workshop was presented by the National Academy of Sciences, Committee on National Statistics, at the request of a consortium of the National Endowment for the Arts and three units within the National Institutes of Health: the National Institute on Aging, the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, and the National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine.