Music evoked autobiographical memory after severe acquired brain injury: Preliminary findings from a case series

Abstract

Music evoked autobiographical memories (MEAMs) have been characterised in the healthy population, but not, to date, in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI). Our aim was to investigate music compared with verbal evoked autobiographical memories. Five patients with severe ABI and matched controls completed the experimental music (MEAM) task (a written questionnaire) while listening to 50 "Number 1 Songs of the Year" (from 1960 to 2010). Patients also completed the Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI) and a standard neuropsychological assessment. With the exception of Case 5, who reported no MEAMs and no autobiographical incidents on the AMI and who also had impaired pitch perception, the range of frequency and type of MEAMs in patients was broadly in keeping with their matched controls. The relative preservation of MEAMs in four cases was particularly noteworthy given their impaired verbal and/or visual anterograde memory, and in three cases, autobiographical memory impairment. The majority of MEAMs in both cases and matched controls were of a person/people or a period of life. In three patients music was more efficient at evoking autobiographical memories than the AMI verbal prompts. This is the first study of MEAMs after ABI. The findings suggest that music is an effective stimulus for eliciting autobiographical memories, and may be beneficial in the rehabilitation of autobiographical amnesia, but only in patients without a fundamental deficit in autobiographical recall memory and intact pitch perception.

A theoretical framework and therapeutic songwriting protocol to promote integration of self-concept in people with acquired neurological injuries

“…People typically draw on residual musical memory and resilient musical identities to stimulate autobiographical recall, and, importantly when faced with degeneration of functioning, preserve their pre-illness identity. Our own experiences, supported by the research of Baird and Samson (2014), suggest that musical identities of people with ABI or SCI are also preserved post-injury.…”

Golden oldies and silver brains: Deficits, preservation, learning, and rehabilitation effects of music in ageing-related neurological disorders

“…In addition to AD, some aspects of music may be preserved also in cases of severe amnesia, with both anteroand retrograde memory impairment caused for example by encephalitis or brain injury. Although amnesic patients are typically not able to explicitly recall semantic music-related information (e.g., names of composers, artists or songs), they can nevertheless recognize both familiar (well-known) songs and novel songs after a learning period (Finke, Esfahani, & Ploner, 2012;Haslam & Cook, 2002) and may even be able to better recall autobiographical memories after hearing familiar songs (Baird & Samson, 2014). Amnesic patients who have an active musical background can also retain declarative knowledge of skills related to music playing (Gregory, McCloskey, Ovans, & Landau, 2016), procedural memory for playing familiar musical pieces (Sacks, 2007), and the ability to learn to play new songs (Cavaco, Feinstein, van Twillert, & Tranel, 2012;Valtonen, Gregory, Landau, & McCloskey, 2014).…”

Exploring the Self through Songwriting: An Analysis of Songs Composed by People with Acquired Neurodisability in an Inpatient Rehabilitation Program

“…As music can elicit emotionally potent experiences, song lyrics have the potential to be better encoded in memory than verbal dialogue alone 6 (Baumgartner, Lutz, Schmidt, & Jäncke, 2006). Further, musical identity is often unaffected by neurological injury (Baird & Samson, 2014), so songwriting is a resource that allows the person with neurodisability to access the continuity of identity, bringing it into conscious awareness rather than focusing purely on the disabled self. As people with acquire neurological injuries experience prolonged engagement with exploring the self while creating songs, we can provide them with the opportunity to process and reconstruct a new, integrated identity that incorporates enduring and new components (removed for blind review).…”