In Conversation: Investigating the power of music for dementia
There is mounting evidence that music can improve mood, calm people down, and help them regain some aspects of their memory. But why does music have such a powerful effect on our brains, and does this effect last? You may have seen a video of an elderly person suffering from dementia swaying to a piece of music, recalling a plethora of memories, or even playing the notes to a song they used to know on the violin or piano, even though they cannot recall their family members.
Many people are perplexed by this phenomenon regarding dementia, a neurological disorder. One of the many questions we sought to address in our April podcast, In Conversation: Investigating the Power of Music for Dementia, was how someone could forget the names of their own children while remembering something as intricate as a classical piece of music. Beatie Wolfe, a singer, songwriter, and representative of the nonprofit organization Music for Dementia, and Dr. Kelly Jakubowski, an assistant professor of music psychology at Durham University, joined the discussion this month. This month’s episode is available to listen to below or on your favorite streaming service.
Whether instrumental or lyrical, music is a creative fusion of harmony, rhythm, and emotional expression. Its numerous health benefits have also been confirmed by numerous studies. For instance, a 2013 study discovered that music can help the nervous system recover more quickly and have a calming effect before stressful situations. According to a different study conducted that same year, music therapy helped hospitalized kids feel less anxious and in pain. In addition to its physiological advantages, studies have shown that music has a positive effect on cognitive function.
According to a recent study, individuals between the ages of 62 and 78 may experience a slower decline in cognitive function if they actively practice and listen to music. According to the researchers, playing music enhances the gray matter in certain parts of the brain, increasing neuroplasticity the brain’s capacity to rewire itself which is essential for memory formation and learning. Regarding actively practicing music, a 2023 study also revealed that sustained music training might help maintain the brain’s youth and offer possible functional advantages. According to these findings, music has the potential to be a very effective treatment for dementia, a condition marked by a variety of symptoms such as memory loss and issues with thinking, speaking, and solving problems.
Another way that music can support cognitive health is by serving as a communication tool. Loneliness and social isolation have been linked to accelerated dementia progression in numerous studies. Beatie stated, I think music is the most potent instant connector, almost of any experience and of the arts.. According to the singer/songwriter, the arts in general not just music can be medicinally potent, transcending its use as a kind of amusement. The ubiquitous nature of music does not necessitate one to get up and dance or draw. A person can simply take in the words, the frequencies, and the entire soundscape. Without a doubt, music has always been a strong tool that I use to feel good. You have a great deal of respect and admiration for music after seeing the reactions I’ve witnessed to it, she said.
But just as much, if not more, of an influence on our health, comes from the absence of silence than from sound and music. Silence can be therapeutic and calming, lowering blood pressure and brain wave frequency, according to a 2020 study. Indeed, studies have demonstrated the detrimental effects of excessive noise and loud noises on cognitive function. Chronic exposure to loud noises, like heavy traffic, maybe a particular risk factor for dementia, according to a 2022 study. Beatie, our guest, talked about how she was affected by total silence by sharing her experience recording her Raw Space album in the Bell Labs anechoic chamber, which is the quietest room in the world.
I think it was one of the most profound experiences I’ve ever had, and I keep thinking about it. Even now, it seems to have practically gained more relevance. As the world has become more noisy, both sonically and informationally, we are being inundated with notifications and social media, among other things that are bombarding us and causing us to feel frazzled, she said. You experience silence; it’s almost as if your nervous system relaxes and you hear sound in its most unadulterated form, devoid of echo, reverb, or enhancements. Do you also realize that we use technology far too much these days to fix all of these issues that are fundamentally what makes us human?
Beatie ended up spending quite a few hours in that exact chamber, seemingly enjoying the experience far more than most people do. Because you could hear the blood pounding through your veins and the engineers usually had to take breaks due to the intensity, I was told that I would probably be able to stay in there for fifteen minutes. She claimed that I ultimately spent at least 100 hours.
I spent several hours in there for the first time and found it to be very soothing; perhaps I’m an exception. However, I reacted differently to people’s freakouts, which I believe are also related to being truly alone. You are there very much with yourself, there are no distractions, and there is nothing to pull you out of that internal space, she added, adding, I do think there is an element of it in the chamber. Regarding the issue of dementia patients remembering song lyrics but not their own children’s names, Dr. Dot Guite highlighted the power of repetition and the way that music can simultaneously activate multiple brain networks and regions.
We’ve discussed the universality of music in the brain, but even though a child’s name is repeated throughout their life, the song may only be played once a month or once a year. She inquired, How can we explain that?. Dr. According to Jakubowski, procedural memory is linked to the capacity to fill in the lyrics of songs. When people may no longer have this type of semantic memory for names and places, they still have this type of memory for the motor sequence of singing along lyrics, likely because they have sung along to that song many times before, or at least have sung along to that piece of music in their minds many times before, she explained. Procedural memories are similar to remembering motor sequences, such as being able to ride a bike.
She added that some people with dementia may be able to play an old song on an instrument or remember lyrics because the brain may spare specific areas of this kind of memory. According to her, if a person has played the piano before, they can frequently continue to play those well-known pieces even after they have developed a serious illness. Beatie started a study in 2014 called The Power of Music in a collection of assisted living facilities in the United States. The UK. The Priory Group is in charge.
The video and pictures of that experience make it clear how the dementia patients in those assisted living facilities begin to clap their hands, tap their feet, and sing along to some of them with their eyes shining. She explained to us how it all began when she performed original English-language songs in a Portuguese nursing home. I had intended to perform for my father-in-law alone, but instead, I performed for the entire ward, which consisted of about 100 Portuguese individuals suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s. Except for this relative, none of them could speak English. Additionally, I was playing brand-new English-language songs that they had never heard before. She added I was witnessing people clapping, waking up, and singing along as much as they could.
Beatie was inspired by this to test the theory that music, whether or not you were already familiar with it, had a powerful effect. In his book Musicophilia, neurologist Oliver Sacks made the prediction that prior knowledge of music was not necessary for its influence, which served as her inspiration. She performed original songs for residents of care facilities in the United States. K. The impact of one song in particular on the audience was noteworthy. Dr. Jakubowski shared her thoughts on why she believes the song Wish was especially popular with the people Beatie visited at the assisted living facility. Beatie, in particular, tends to use brief sentences. The fact that you can practically guess the next word or rhyme is a great way to get people to try singing along. A lot of things are repeated. As a result, you begin to anticipate, and it offers this lovely framework for others to follow along, she said.
Dr. Jakubowski stated that the very obvious beat is an additional contributing element in addition to rhyme and alliteration. The music’s tempo is actually quite similar to what is known as the human-preferred tempo. According to her, if I asked someone to tap a beat without listening to anything, they would typically do so at a pace of about 120 beats per minute, which is comparable to the tempo of that song. This is known as spontaneous motor tempo. We feel at ease clapping at that pace, so it’s a very simple piece to follow along with. I believe that encourages participation as well, she continued. Dr. Jakubowski added that the music’s structure makes it simple to follow. If you don’t have complex lyrics and you have this ‘oh, oh,’ every now and then, that’s pretty easy to understand, she said.
In addition to studying MEAMS (music-evoked autobiographical memories) in general, Dr. Dot Jakubowski thinks there are many implications for its relationship to dementia. She began by discussing the cascade effect of music on memory recall. A memory can be triggered by music or any other cue, which can then trigger related memories. According to her, the theory is that if music can arouse a memory associated with it, it may also aid in reviving other memories from that era or memories that are connected.
Dr. Jakubowski contrasted music with other forms of cues for autobiographical memories in one of her pieces. Across several studies, we consistently discovered that music generally evokes more positive memories from our lives than other cues. Therefore, I believe that music appears to be a particularly powerful cue for recalling happy memories from our past, which is one obvious potential therapeutic benefit. According to her, this actually appears to be further enhanced in older adults. Dr. To determine whether these findings apply to individuals with dementia, particularly those who are in the later stages of the illness, Jakubowski hopes that this will stimulate further research in this field. Dr. Jakubowski also discussed how music can help restore a sense of identity that frequently wanes with memory loss in individuals with dementia.
Beyond that, I believe the significance of autobiographical memories lies in the fact that recalling a small portion of our lives really strengthens our sense of personhood and identity, reminding us of our origins and identity. According to her, that’s crucial for those who experience some form of memory loss because it keeps them from connecting with their former selves and makes them feel trapped in the present, which can harm their mental health.
Family members and carers are also impacted by this sense of past, personhood, and reconnecting. Therefore, it’s crucial to catch a glimpse of the person you once knew. This supports family members and caregivers in realizing that this person is still a person with a rich past. Dr. While the immediate health benefits of music are obvious, Jakubowski pointed out that regular exposure is necessary to discuss long-term benefits. You can’t expect to benefit from listening to music for years on end just because you heard one song three years ago. According to her, listening to music for a longer period has more advantages than just hearing it once and then never hearing it again. People can interact with music in a variety of ways, she added.
For those with dementia, even regular, recorded music listening has long-lasting benefits, such as lowering agitation, lowering apathy, elevating mood, occasionally strengthening a sense of identity, and more. According to her, there are various ways to interact with music. Dr. Jakubowski emphasized that there might be drawbacks to using music therapy to treat dementia. Regardless of whether a person has dementia or not, there are possible drawbacks to music because, on occasion, it may be connected to a traumatic memory from their past, she said.
It might remind someone of a funeral or the death of a family member, even if it isn’t a traumatic memory. Therefore, she added, we must exercise caution when choosing music and consider these factors. She also discussed personal taste and the wide variety of musical styles available. Unwanted consequences could result from this, particularly for those suffering from dementia. According to her, choosing the music for sessions requires careful consideration on the part of music therapists.
Music is less likely to be useful for controlling agitation and mood if someone despises it. This relates to our discussion at the outset, which was that noises in our surroundings can occasionally be harmful and bothersome. According to her, we don’t want to force people to listen to music they don’t particularly enjoy or that they don’t relate to because that could cause them to react negatively.
Regardless of preferences, these experiences demonstrate the positive effects of music on health and well-being. Further research is necessary to determine whether it can truly slow the progression of dementia, but before I go, I would like to ask our readers this: What is the one song that always makes you feel something, whether it’s a reminder of a heartbreaking heartbreak or the happiest day of your life?