Among various artistic activities, music is most closely related to the brain. In particular, music is also used to treat neurological diseases accompanied by cognitive loss, such as Alzheimer’s disease. This is because the emotional power of music helps people with Alzheimer’s disease recover their memory.
Music Arouses Emotions and Helps Restore Memory | Source: Getty Images Bank
Participation in music activities strengthens memory
According to a study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh in the US, published in 2021, music activity can help people with dementia. The research team meta-analyzed the health data of 1,472 people who participated in 21 existing studies to investigate the effect of music on Alzheimer’s disease patients and mild cognitive impairment patients. As a result of the study, the researchers found that just active participation in music activities, regardless of the type, helps to restore cognitive function and memory in Alzheimer’s disease patients and mild cognitive impairment patients.
Professor Jennie L. Dorris, who led the study, said, “Participating in a variety of musical activities, such as singing in a choir or playing drums in a club, is beneficial to older adults facing cognitive decline. It might be a great opportunity.” In addition, another study was published that showed that patients with Alzheimer’s disease recovered to some extent when they listened to music they liked before the onset of the disease.
Effects of music on the brains of people with dementia
The reason why music helps to improve symptoms of diseases that accompany cognitive loss, such as Alzheimer’s disease, has a lot to do with hormones. When you listen to memory-related music, your brain collects music-related information, including latent memories. At this time, as the frontal lobe of the brain, which is responsible for collecting and maintaining information, is activated, hormones related to emotions such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytonin are secreted, imprinted on the recalled memories, and the memory returns for a short time.
Dr. Oliver Wolf Sacks, an American neurologist, emphasized the power of music, saying, “Music evokes emotions, and these emotions revive memory.” Other experts say that “music is very useful in the treatment of people with Alzheimer’s disease.” Including music activity in patients’ daily activities can help revive activity-related memory and improve cognitive function in the long run. will be,” he said.
Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia also found that Alzheimer’s patients respond to music even when they lose short-term memory and communication skills. According to the research team, music activates the exchange between the left brain, which is responsible for language functions, and the right brain, which is related to spatial and intuitive functions, and supports each other to improve the overall function of the brain. As a result, the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease patients, who require constant brain stimulation, are alleviated to some extent.
How to do music therapy?
Patients with early stage Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment are able to move and communicate. Therefore, it is good to actively participate in various musical activities such as listening to music, singing, and playing an instrument. This is because the more cognitive or emotional stimulation, the greater the effect of preventing and delaying cognitive function loss.
If you are a patient with Alzheimer’s disease who has progressed to some extent and has lost cognitive function, just listening to music can have a huge effect. Because it gives you emotional stability. However, it should be noted that one should not expect improvement in the patient’s behavior or symptoms with just one music treatment. While continuing music therapy, it is desirable to pay attention to the patient’s changes and to observe the changes slowly.
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