The Use of Music to Aid Memory of Alzheimer's Patients

Abstract

Ten patients whose diagnosis was probable Alzheimer's disease and who resided in an Intermediate Care Facility in a state hospital were assessed for recall of material, both sung and spoken, with which there was lifelong familiarity. They were also assessed for recall of material, both sung and spoken, which was being presented for the first time. For each participant there were three individual assessment sessions, averaging 20 minutes in length. All sessions had a similar format of familiar material, sung and spoken, interspersed with new material and a few orientation questions. Each session was videotaped with a close-up of the patient's face, and sound for the taping was augmented with a remote microphone. Evaluation of the videotapes consisted of both listening and watching to count the number of words each patient recalled correctly. Overall, patients recalled the words to songs dramatically better than they recalled spoken words (including rhymed speech) or spoken information (M percentage for sung = 61.9, M percentage for spoken = 37.4). Further analysis showed that, although long-familiar songs were recalled with much greater accuracy than a newly presented song (M percentage for familiar songs = 71.8, M percentage for new song = 42.6), most patients, whether or not they could recall the words to the new song, attempted to sing, hum, or keep time while the therapist sang (75% of the time). It would appear that patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease can be stimulated to responsive participation with the use of long-familiar songs. Furthermore, with consistent practice, some patients apparently are capable of learning a new song, even when they do not seem able to recall new spoken material; most who retain some self-care skills may be able to apprehend and react to music (by humming or keeping time) even when they cannot master learning the words.