Music as a Social Bond in Patients With Amnesia

M. C. Del Mastro
M. R. Strollo
M. El Haj

Abstract

The music and social bonding (MSB) hypothesis proposes that human musicality has evolved as mechanisms supporting social bonding. We consider the MSB hypothesis under the lens of amnesia by arguing how patients with amnesia, especially those with Alzheimer's disease, can benefit from music, not only to retrieve personal memories, but also to use them for social bonding.