Postmorbid Learning of Saxophone Playing in a Patient With Frontotemporal Dementia
Journal
Neurocase
Year
2015
Volume
21
Issue
6
First Page
767
Last Page
772
Abstract
Some patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) show an artistic enhancement of musical abilities. However, no patients with FTD, to date, have been reported to be able to learn how to play a musical instrument after disease onset. Herein we describe a patient (J. K.) who had never played any musical instruments premorbidly, but who learned to play the saxophone after being diagnosed with a behavioral variant of FTD. He mastered a repertoire that consisted of 10 pieces of Korean folk songs over a period of three years. Furthermore, his saxophone skills were high enough to outperform other students in his class.
Music and Health Institute Terms
Alzheimer's and Related Dementias; Neurodegenerative Disorders; Playing an Instrument; Recreative Music Methods
Indexed Terms
Frontal Lobe; Frontotemporal Dementia; Learning; Motor Skills; Neuropsychological Tests; artistic talent; frontotemporal dementia; musical abilities; musical instrument; saxophone
Study Type
Case Study; Qualitative Methods
Disciplines
Neurology
PubMed ID
25587661
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Cho, H.; Chin, J.; Suh, M. K.; Kim, H. J.; Kim, Y. J.; Ye, B. S.; Lee, N. K.; Kim, E. J.; Seo, S. W.; and Na, D. L., "Postmorbid Learning of Saxophone Playing in a Patient With Frontotemporal Dementia" (2015). Research on Music and Dementia. 304.
https://remix.berklee.edu/mhi-music-dementia/304