Music can help dementia, stroke patients remember

Old songs often linger in your head. Sometimesit's a pleasure and othertimes it's anannoyance, but those songsmay be hugely significant for people suffering from neurological disorders.

That's because research suggests indelible musical memories may help restore cognition and speech in people suffering from dementiaor after a stroke.

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For example, the Music and Memory program atthe Misericordia Health Centre (MHC) in Winnipeg is trying to help patients with degenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's disease and dementia, hold onto memories through music.

Natalie Baird is a recreation facilitator at MHC, who helpspatients remember and speak by getting them to sing.

She brings them iPods filled with their favourite songs on a weekly basis.

"Often what happens is when I go in and see people, they're very disengaged. After listening to a few songs, they really start to come back to life, I'd say, and come out of their shells," Baird said.

The patients' families appreciate the results, saidMHCrecreationmanagerEllenLocke.

"We have a good, I would say 10or 15-minute reminiscence session after the music, which is huge. It sort of brings that person back to the family," she said.

Music spurs memories

When Baird and Lockego tovisit with an MHCresident, it's obvious 89-year-old patientElsiewill need some prodding to participate.

"You feel like listening to some music?" Lockeasks.

"Not really,"Elsiereplies after a short silence.

Elsie is awake,but distant. But a cheap pair of headphones and a few old tunes seemto help her perk up.

Baird picks a song from her iPod,Tennessee Waltz by Patti Page,which gets Elsie's nod of approval.

As Bairdslips theheadphones overElsie'shead, the olderwoman'seyes start to light up. She sings along with Page,and then without her.

"You were singing the lyrics when the lyrics weren't playing!" Baird says to Elsie."And you knew all the lyrics. That's pretty amazing."

"I like my music," Elsierepliesbefore askingto hear another song.

Baird plays Apple Blossom Time by the Andrew Sisters and Elsiesings along, monotone and hoarseat first, then louder and more expressive.

How it is that brains shed memory, while retaining lyrics and music, is one of neuroscience's great mysteries.

Making brains sing south of the border

At another hospitalin Minneapolis, Minn.,Roger Dumas is investigating the secrets of music circuits in the brain, and how rugged melodic pathways may help restore others that have been lost.

Besides being a music producer whose office is lined with gold and platinum records he's helped producefor artists like Janet Jacksonand Prince he's also a research associate at Minneapolis' Brain Sciences Center.

Dumas usesMoogsynthesizers to play bit of music to volunteers wearing sensor-packed helmets, which detect magnetic waves sailing across the surface of their brains.

In a sense, he's ticklingbrain circuitsto get them to sing back. And the payoffs may be huge for people suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia.

"If we can figure out how to extract a melody from the brain, we could help people who are locked-in to communicate," he said.

His Moog-braininterface is more than just a high-tech parlor trick. It reveals the brain's astonishing ability to process and retain music; to do complex things like predict next notes, or capture melodic contour.

Neural circuits like these may help restore speech and cognition circuits that have been downed by stroke or dementia.

Can hardy music circuits jog cognition and speech? Hopes are high. And it seems clear thatsinging old songs makes peoplelike Elsiehappy.

And that's good for their health.