Associate Professor Northern Illinois University NAPERVILLE, Illinois, United States
Disclosure(s):
Jamie Mayer, PhD, CCC-SLP: No financial or non-financial relationships to disclose
Abstract:
Persons with dementia (PWD) comprise a large percentage of the SLP adult neurogenic caseload, and this number is expected to grow dramatically in the coming years as the population ages. SLPs have an important role in maximizing communication and quality of life through direct and indirect assessment and treatment services for this population. Music has been shown repeatedly to engender positive effects for PWD, but few SLPs regularly utilize it within their treatment paradigms. This presentation explores the neuroanatomical basis of the effects of music for PWD and provides specific strategies to build music in to person-centered, cognitive-communication treatment approaches.
Summary: Basic cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar neuroanatomy will be reviewed; then key neuroanatomical landmarks will be tied to specific components of learning and memory, with reference to prevailing cognitive neuropsychological models. We will then review the neuropathology associated with the most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and map the spared and impaired brain areas to fundamental memory components. The conceptualization of music as a form of motor-emotional memory will then be reviewed and tied to the brain areas known to be spared until very late in the AD process, providing a clear, brain-based rationale for the use and effects of music in PWD. The use of music to reach individuals with AD and maximize communication, cognition, and quality of life will be framed within specific approaches with data provided to show the effects of passive music listening (e.g., Music & Memory), active singing (NIU’s Bridges Choir and related studies), and similarly motivated arts-based approaches reviewed in the literature. Ideas to incorporate music in novel ways that complement existing cognitive-linguistic approaches (e.g., Reminiscence Therapy, memory books), including suggested outcomes and measurement instruments, will be presented.
Learning Objectives:
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
Describe and draw the major neuroanatomical components underlying memory
Summarize the cognitive-neuropsychological model of memory and generate a rationale for the sparing of musical memories in Alzheimer's disease
Describe music-based cognitive-linguistic programs for PWD and list possible outcome measures for music-based cognitive-linguistic programs based on the extant literature.