Improvement of Autobiographic Memory Recovery by Means of Sad Music in Alzheimer's Disease Type Dementia

Journal

Aging Clinical and Experimental Research

Year

2012

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Autobiographic memory undergoes progressive deterioration during the evolution of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to analyze mechanisms which facilitate recovery of autobiographic memories. We used a repeatedly employed mechanism, music, with the addition of an emotional factor. METHODS: Autobiographic memory provoked by a variety of sounds (music which was happy, sad, lacking emotion, ambient noise in a coffee bar and no sound) was analyzed in a sample of 25 patients with AD. RESULTS: Emotional music, especially sad music for remote memories, was found to be the most effective kind for recall of autobiographic experiences. CONCLUSIONS: The factor evoking the memory is not the music itself, but rather the emotion associated with it, and is useful for semantic rather than episodic memory.

Music and Health Institute Terms

Alzheimer's and Related Dementias; Cognitive Abilities; Elderly; Memory; Music and Cognition; Neurodegenerative Disorders

Indexed Terms

Elderly; Alzheimer Disease; Emotions; Memory Disorders; Memory, Episodic; Mental Recall

Study Type

Quasi-Experimental Study; Quantitative Methods

PubMed ID

21778809

Document Type

Article

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