Music And Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disorder that causes brain cells to waste away and die. It is the most common cause of dementia, a term used to describe a group of symptoms that affect memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily function.
Memory loss is one of the most poignant symptom of Alzheimer's disease. Even in the early stages of the disease, people have difficulty remembering recent events or conversations. As the disease progresses, memory impairment persists and worsens, affecting the ability to function at work or at home.
However, research backed by the Mayo Clinic shows that Musical memories often are preserved in Alzheimer's disease because key brain areas linked to musical memory are relatively undamaged by the disease. Research suggests that listening to or singing songs can provide emotional and behavioral benefits for people with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.
Researchers from the University of Toronto ran a small study to find out what exactly happens when people with Alzheimer’s listened to their favorite songs. They asked fourteen people with early stage Alzheimer’s Disease to spend one hour per day listening to music they enjoyed and were very familiar with. Before and after the test period all participants also took a cognitive test, and had their brain activity measured by functional MRI (fMRI).
During these fMRI scans, the participants also listened to music. They got to hear songs from their own favorite playlist but also a selection of completely new music that they’d never heard before. If they heard new music, they mainly used brain areas required for listening to the music, but if they heard one of their old favorites, other parts of the brain were active, including those involved in cognition.
And indeed, when they were tested on their overall cognition skills, the research volunteers performed better after they had listened to their favorite music.
music and Alzheimer's is such an interesting topic and I intend to do some more research on it so drop me a line if there's anything specific you would like to hear about.
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