tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post8818105777273188738..comments2024-01-12T00:48:55.192-08:00Comments on Music and Brain Blog at University of Toronto: Effects of individualized vs classical ‘relaxation’ music on the frequency of agitation in elderly persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related disordLee Bartelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06727468225852676801noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post-60589180893124609822009-11-05T19:19:47.993-08:002009-11-05T19:19:47.993-08:00My elderly grandmother has a particularly severe f...My elderly grandmother has a particularly severe form of dementia. While she is not argumentative or violent in any way, she is severely and cognitively impaired in her dealings with her family and with her caregivers. She has trouble recognizing her family, especially her grandchildren (who are continuously growing and changing), and she is very distrustful of any strangers. My question is, would she be able to benefit from a personalized music therapy approach?<br /> <br />Firstly, if the music therapist were someone she didn’t know, then she wouldn’t take to the treatment very well. But what I like the idea of a music therapist working through a family member. My grandmother would recognize her children, and trust them, so the therapy might go a bit more smoothly that way. That would mean, perhaps, developing a standard method for dealing with patients suffering from dementia, and their family members. But, then again, who knows my grandmother and her personality better than the children she raised?<br /><br />Unfortunately, my grandmother’s personality has changed quite a bit since she became cognitively impaired. Would this affect the treatment? Would my grandmother be able to recall what she used to like and listen to as a younger woman, or would she simply gravitate toward music that she enjoys in the present? And, if she did gravitate to her “newer” tastes, would the treatment still be as effective in reaching out to my grandmother?<br /><br />My other issue is that my grandmother is quite deaf in her old age. So how would hearing loss affect a person’s perception of music? My grandmother can still hear, but I doubt she would be able to listen to a symphony orchestra and hear all of the subtle elements. So would hearing loss in old age cause more belligerence and unwillingness in a patient? Would listening to music with damaged and aged auditory equipment prove as a further frustration to the patient? And, if so, how would a music therapist get around this? Would vibro-acoustics using familiar music be effective?<br /><br />I really liked this posting. I am a firm believer that music is a very powerful art form. It elicits emotion, triggers memories, and requires a listener to be actively involved. I agree with Vasana and with the author of the article that the benefits of this music therapy approach are immense. And perhaps it would be interesting to do brain scans on Alzheimer’s patients as they listened to music, to show which areas of the brain the activity involves, and how that might potentially help the effects of this disease.rnormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02878760513143465092noreply@blogger.com