Mood music

Listening to, or playing, the right song can soothe pain, lift depression and help treat conditions as diverse as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, PTSD and back pain. Neuroscientist and bestselling author Daniel Levitin gives his musical recommendations for better health, drawing on his experience of helping his friend, the legendary songwriter Joni Mitchell.

- David Shariatmadari

IN 2015, JONI MITCHELL SUFFERED A CATASTROPHIC STROKE. According to her friend, the musician and neuroscientist Daniel Levitin: "When she got back from the hospital, she couldn't walk and she couldn't talk, and the doctors were so pessimistic about her recovery, they hadn't scheduled any follow-ups." For a while it looked as though one of the most gifted songwriters of the 20th century would be permanently silenced.

One day, though, the nurses caring for her at her home found Levitin's number on a piece of paper in the kitchen, and called him.

They had noticed that Mitchell perked up when she heard music coming from their phones, and wondered if he had any suggestions for songs she might respond to. Remarkably, he'd helped her compile a CD of her favourite tracks for a series of albums called Artist's Choice back in the early 2000s (it was a short-lived project from Starbucks, which had bought a record label in order to pipe music into its coffee shops).

Their picks ranged from Debussy to Marvin Gaye and Leonard Cohen.

Here was the perfect solution, then: a tailor-made music therapy programme. The personalised aspect is something Levitin, whose new book is called Music As Medicine, knows to be all-important.