Is Music Special for People With Dementia?

Abstract

Multitudes of studies support that musical interventions in people with dementia positively affect various domains of their well-being—emotional, cognitive, and behavioral—and also reduce the distress of caregivers. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. This chapter proposes that rhythmic entrainment induced by listening to music, including movements synchronized with musical rhythms, might contribute to the efficacy of music-based interventions for people living with dementia. After reviewing the influence of rhythmic entrainment on motor, cognition, emotion, and social functioning, evidence obtained in dementia research is provided to support this hypothesis. Actions aligned to rhythmic sounds can be modulated by the presence of a partner, and more generally by the social environment, suggesting a link between synchronization to musical rhythm and interpersonal coordination. Finally, a method to measure rhythmic entrainment in people with dementia is presented for use in future researches to increase the intervention efficacy in pathological aging.

The effect of the severity of neurocognitive disorders on emotional and motor responses to music

“…Some studies demonstrated that active interventions, during which patients are encouraged to sing or move with the musical beats, provide larger benefits than passive ones whereby patients only listen to music without motor incentive 3,4 . This finding suggests that the ability to synchronize movements with a musical rhythm, which is relatively spared in patients with NCD, may contribute to the positive impact of these interventions on patients’ behavior and well‐being 5,6 . Consequently, designing efficient musical interventions requires a better understanding of the change in rhythmic abilities and emotional responsiveness to music with the severity of the disease.…”

Sensorimotor synchronization and non-verbal behaviors in Alzheimer's disease: the influence of social and musical context

“…Les quelques études qui ont comparé l'efficacité de ces différentes activités sur le comportement des patients ont montré que les bénéfices de ces interventions étaient plus importants lorsque les patients étaient engagés au niveau moteur dans l'activité musicale (en chantant par exemple) plutôt que lorsqu'ils écoutaient passivement la musique [12,13]. Il se pourrait alors que la stimulation motrice et les interactions sociales jouent un rôle clé dans les bénéfices émotionnels, sociaux et cognitifs de ces interventions, en particulier en promouvant la coordination interpersonnelle [14][15][16].…”

Why do music-based interventions benefit persons with neurodegenerative disease?

“…This spontaneous interpersonal synchronization, called motor entrainment or alignment, has been observed in laboratory studies, in which dyads of participants unconsciously or voluntarily synchronized their finger tapping (Oullier, Guzman, Jantzen, Lagarde, & Kelso, 2008), their steps while walking side by side (van Ulzen, Lamoth, Daffertshofer, Semin, & Beek, 2008) or the rhythm of rocked chairs sways (Richardson, Marsh, Isenhower, Goodman, & Schmidt, 2007). We can therefore propose that interpersonal synchronization of rhythmic movements might provide relevant indexes to measure patients' engagement with others in a musical context (Ghilain, Schiaratura, Singh, Lesaffre, & Samson, 2019). In addition, the synchronization of individuals' posture, gestures, facial expression and eye gaze, which have long been regarded as the regulators of social interaction, are notably important for the development of rapport and personal relationships (Lakin, Jefferis, Cheng, & Chartrand, 2003).…”