Musical Cognition in Alzheimer's Disease: Application of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia

Journal

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Year

2016

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess certain musical abilities in 30 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 30 healthy controls by using the complete version of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA). This battery evaluates melodic (scale, contour, and interval) and temporal (rhythm and meter) perception of music and musical memory. We found that altered musical processing is a common feature in AD. Despite that, AD subjects show partially spared abilities for temporal organization of music, though not for melodic perception and musical memory. This peculiar dysfunctional pattern could depend on the neurodegenerative involvement of some specific areas for music perception and memory in the brains of AD patients. Further studies are needed to investigate the usefulness of additional musical tests like the MBEA on larger samples to confirm our preliminary data.

Music and Health Institute Terms

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

Indexed Terms

Elderly; Alzheimer Disease; Auditory Perceptual Disorders; Case-Control Studies; Cognition; Demography; Neuropsychological Tests; Alzheimer's disease (AD); Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA); amusia; musical cognition; musical memory

Study Type

Quasi-Experimental Study; Quantitative Methods

PubMed ID

27447536

Document Type

Article

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