Music intervention is widely used as an alternative treatment and therapy for people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
And so, researchers from Frontiers in Neuroscience wanted to know how certain music interventions effectively improve the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
They investigated various music interventions such as music therapy versus music listening techniques and the type of music used during the intervention—individualized music versus non-individualized music and its outcome on patients’ behavior.
They researched studies from over the last 10 years, which had examined either active music therapy or listening of music techniques. They identified 206 papers but reduced them to 167 articles after excluding duplicates. They, however, reviewed further and remained with a final sample of six papers that were extensively reviewed.
They found out that despite the music used on a patient, individual music yielded the best outcomes for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, listening to music was found to provide long-term benefits to patients due to its relaxation technique.
They also found out that individuals may use active music in social interactions to engage patients and provide acute benefits.
In conclusion, music can be used in different ways to improve the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and behavior and cognition.
This research is published here by Frontiers in Neuroscience.