When music therapist Christine Vaskas works with babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, the effect of her interventions are almost always immediately apparent. In 2013, a study led by Joanne Loewy, the Armstrong Center's director, found that certain live sounds, when provided in a music therapy context, could influence the respiratory and cardiac functions of premature infants. Those interventions could improve feeding behavior, enhance sleep and decrease stress, according to the randomized clinical trial, which spanned two years and 11 facilities in the Northeast.

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