In Monday’s (7/9) Pacific Standard, Tom Jacobs writes, “Music has charms to soothe even those suffering from severe Alzheimer’s disease. That’s the key finding of encouraging new research from France, which found music therapy enhanced the moods of patients as much as four weeks after the conclusion of a four-week-long program. It’s the latest in a series of studies that point to music therapy as an effective tool in dealing with dementia. The Italian Psychogeriatric Association just reviewed 32 papers published over the past decade, and found a pattern of significant reductions in such symptoms as depression, delusions, and hallucinations. The new French study, published in the journal Music Perception, is—like most studies of people suffering from dementia—based on a very small sample: 11 people. But it was structured to provide a direct comparison between music therapy and an alternative treatment approach: specifically, eating and cooking. The patients, members of a French residential home for the elderly who had been diagnosed with severe Alzheimer’s disease, took part in eight sessions (each lasting two hours) over four weeks. By design, each of the sessions alternated between passive and active activities.”
Posted July 11, 2012
