Familiar Music as an Enhancer of Self-consciousness in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease

Journal

BioMed Research International

Year

2013

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to examine the impact of familiar music on self-consciousness (SC) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). For this purpose, two AD groups of 20 patients matched by age, educational level, gender, illness duration, and cognitive state were assessed using an SC questionnaire before and after music intervention. The SC questionnaire measured several aspects: personal identity, anosognosia, affective state, body representation, prospective memory, introspection and moral judgments. One AD group received familiar music stimulation and another AD group unfamiliar music stimulation over three months. The AD patients who received a familiar music intervention showed a stabilization or improvement in aspects of SC. By contrast, control AD group showed a deterioration of most of the SC aspects after unfamiliar music stimulation, except the SC aspects of body representation and affective state. Familiar music stimulation could be considered as an enhancer of SC in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Music and Health Institute Terms

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

Indexed Terms

Elderly; Alzheimer Disease; Consciousness

Study Type

Quasi-Experimental Study; Quantitative Methods

PubMed ID

24106716

Document Type

Article

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