Impact of Music on Dementia Care: Musical Influence on Brain Functionality
In the realm of dementia care, music—especially personalized music—stands out as a non-pharmacological intervention that offers significant benefits for cognition, emotional well-being, and quality of life.
Dr. Jennie Gubner, an ethnomusicologist with a focus on the effects of personalized music and its relationship with music and brain health, has conducted extensive research in this area. Her work includes community-based university courses about music and aging, and music and dementia. Dr. Gubner encourages listeners to think about what music does to brain health and to one's life in general.
Music benefits brain health in dementia caregiving by stimulating multiple brain regions involved in memory, emotion, language, and cognitive function. This stimulation helps preserve these functions, which are often impaired in dementia patients, while also reducing agitation, anxiety, and depression, thereby improving overall well-being[1][3][4].
Personalized music, tailored to the individual's familiar and preferred songs, is especially effective because it triggers long-term memories and emotional centers that tend to remain intact even in advanced dementia. Listening to or singing personalized music engages memory recall and emotional responses, enhances communication, and provides comfort and emotional stability to dementia patients[1][3].
Music therapy activates the limbic system responsible for emotion regulation and promotes neuroplasticity, helping the brain form new connections despite disease progression[1]. Personalized music encourages participation and social engagement, which support emotional and cognitive health in dementia caregiving[1][3]. Singing familiar songs can actively engage attention, memory, and verbal processing, providing cognitive workouts that help maintain speech and language skills[3].
Because music and language use overlapping but distinct neural networks, musical memory often remains accessible even when verbal memory declines, making personalized music a powerful tool for communication and interaction[4].
In addition to its cognitive benefits, music can help reconnect a person living with dementia to their sense of identity. Social music making like community choirs can promote wellbeing and reduce social isolation and loneliness. People with dementia often socially isolate due to cognitive impairment and social stigma, but music can be used to offer opportunities for meaningful social connections.
In dementia care, music can be used as a non-verbal form of social engagement. Belting out songs, dancing, watching music-related programs, playing music with friends, and singing in houses of worship are examples of social ways to connect through music. Music can help improve mood and make activities like taking a shower, getting dressed, or swallowing easier in dementia care.
Moreover, musical memories are often preserved in dementia patients due to relatively undamaged brain areas linked to musical memory. Recent studies suggest that musical training can increase brain development in children, preserve cognitive abilities in older adults, build cognitive reserve, reduce social isolation and loneliness, and improve balance and attention.
In conclusion, the power of music in dementia care is undeniable. By activating preserved brain pathways and fostering connection, music serves as a valuable tool in enhancing the quality of life for those living with dementia and their caregivers.
- The field of 'precision aging' could benefit from researching the effects of personalized music, given its success in stimulating various brain functions and enhancing well-being in dementia care.
- Pursuing 'education and self-development' opportunities in 'health-and-wellness', such as university courses about music and aging, could provide insight into the role of music in maintaining cognitive health and emotional stability.
- 'Mental-health' professionals working with dementia patients could incorporate personalized music therapy into their approaches, as it has been shown to reduce agitation, anxiety, and depression, and improve overall mental health.
