After a stroke, this musician found his singing voice again with help from a special choir

In the 1980s and ’90s, Ron Spitzer played bass and drums in rock bands — Tot Rocket and the Twins, Western Eyes and Band of Susans. He sang and wrote songs, toured the country and recorded albums. When the bands broke up, he continued to make music with friends.

But a stroke in 2009 put Spitzer in a wheelchair, partially paralyzing his left arm and leg. He gave away his drum kit. His bass sat untouched. His voice was a whisper.

Now music is part of his healing. Spitzer sings each week in a choir for people recovering from stroke at the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

“I’ve found my voice, quite literally,” Spitzer said.

Scientists are studying the potential benefits of music for people with dementia, traumatic brain injuries, Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Music lights up multiple regions of the brain, strengthening neural connections between areas that govern language, memories, emotions and movement.

And music seems to increase levels of a specific protein in the brain that’s important for making new connections between neurons, said Dr. Preeti Raghavan, a stroke rehabilitation expert at Johns Hopkins Medicine and volunteer for the American Stroke Association.

“It increases the possibility that the brain will rewire,” Raghavan said.

Choirs like the one at Mount Sinai offer the hope of healing through music while also providing camaraderie, a place where stroke survivors don’t have to explain their limitations.

“We’re all part of the same tribe,” Spitzer said.

Strokes often damage cells in the brain's left-hemisphere language center, leaving survivors with difficulty retrieving words, a condition called aphasia. Yet the ability to sing fluently can remain, said Jessica Hariwijaya, a research fellow at Mount Sinai who is studying the stroke choir.

Singing can help stroke survivors improve their ability to speak. The National Aphasia Society maintains a list of music and arts programs, including choirs that meet online, for people with the condition.

Spitzer’s stroke damaged the right side of his brain, which some scientists identify as important for processing musical pitch patterns. He lost the ability to sing familiar music. Once, a Beatles song came on the radio and he tried to sing along but the tune was gone from his mind. He called it an “out-of-body experience."

“It was like, ‘This isn’t me,’” he said

Rigorous research is in its early days, with the National Institutes of Health supporting studies on how music works in the brain and how it might be used to treat symptoms of various conditions.

That level of research will be important for music therapy to be more widely reimbursed by health insurers, Raghavan said.

The Mount Sinai study will gauge how participation in the choir affects speech and mood, as researchers compare 20 patients randomly assigned to choir therapy with 20 patients receiving standard care. The study also will measure the effects on the patients’ caregivers who participate in the choir.

Now 68, Spitzer has completed other rehabilitation programs that helped him regain physical skills. He walks with a cane, can yell like any New Yorker and has recovered his singing voice.

“I attribute a good amount of this recovery to the stroke choir,” he said. “For me, just getting back to being able to sing a tune was very invigorating.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Ron Spitzer, stroke survivor, rests at home on Monday, July 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Ron Spitzer, stroke survivor, walks into his kitchen holding a cup of coffee, on Monday, July 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Ron Spitzer, stroke survivor, arrives home on Monday, July 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Ron Spitzer, stroke survivor, walks back home on Monday, July 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Ron Spitzer, a stroke survivor, right, shops, on Monday, July 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Ron Spitzer, a stroke survivor, right, listens to music therapist, Christopher Pizzute, left, during a music therapy session at Mount Sinai Hospital, on Monday, July 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Ron Spitzer, a stroke survivor, right, sings during a music therapy session together with music therapist, Christopher Pizzute, second left, and researcher fellow, Jessica Hariwijaya, left, at Mount Sinai Hospital, on Monday, July 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Ron Spitzer, a stroke survivor, walks to his music therapy session on Monday, July 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Ron Spitzer, stroke survivor, looks at the window as he rests at home, on Monday, July 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Ron Spitzer, stroke survivor, rests at home on Monday, July 15, 2024, in New York. In the 1980s and ’90s, h played bass and drums in rock bands, but a stroke in 2009 put Spitzer in a wheelchair, his voice a whisper. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — James Harden scored 39 points — making all 13 of his free throws — and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame Nikola Jokic’s triple-double to beat the Denver Nuggets 126-122 on Sunday night.

Jokic finished with 28 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his eighth triple-double of the season.

Harden narrowly missed a triple-double of his own, finishing with nine rebounds and 11 assists.

Norman Powell added 28 points for the Clippers in his return after missing six games because of an injury.

Harden made three 3-pointers in the first half, giving him 3,000 in his career.

The Clippers made three consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth to lead by seven. Jokic hit a 3-pointer and fed Aaron Gordon for a dunk to draw the Nuggets within one.

After the Clippers went up by seven, Harden turned the ball over under pressure by Gordon in his return from injury. The Nuggets missed their first shot, got the offensive rebound and Christian Braun scored, leaving them trailing 123-121 with 19 seconds remaining.

The Nuggets opened the third with a 21-11 run to put the Clippers down 10. But Los Angeles rallied behind six 3-pointers — three each by Harden and Powell — to lead 92-90 going into the fourth.

Nuggets: They've now lost twice to the Clippers.

Clippers: They twice owned leads of 11 points in the first two quarters only to watch Denver tie it at halftime. But they stayed steady down the stretch, making 8 of 9 free throws.

Jokic was 2 of 4 from the free-throw line, missing a crucial one with 9 seconds to go and the Nuggets down by three.

The Clippers made 17 3-pointers while the Nuggets only attempted 21 from long range.

Nuggets host Golden State and Los Angeles hosts Portland in NBA Cup games on Tuesday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell, right, shoots as Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook, center, soots as Los Angeles Clippers guard Terance Mann, left, and guard Amir Coffey defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, right, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers guard Terance Mann defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook, right, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden looks toward the scoreboard after making a three-point shot that put him at 2,998 points for three-point shots during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, ties up Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac as Zubac tries to shoot during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)