Musical Memory Aids?

Posted by Sarah Canice Funke Dec 15, 2007

A Flintshire group is using music therapy to help patients improve their memories. The participants play rhythmic patterns on percussion instruments, in the company of friends and relatives. They also sing old favorite songs. So far the activities trigger long term memories, but don't effect short term memory.

The chair of the Alzheimer's Society's Flintshire branch, 67-year-old Lynne Hughes, wants to promote the methods more broadly if they work. The experiment will run for six weeks at five locations in Flintshire.

The experiment makes sense. Often favorite songs become favorites because of all the memories and associations we attach to them. By accessing one thread in the web of memory--the song--the participant can often access the other threads. At the very least, the activities offer an environment for memory loss patients to interact socially with each other and their care-givers.

For more information, please read the BBC story.