Explicit (Semantic) Memory for Music in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

Our results support the notion of a specialized memory system for music.

Effects of Combined Physical Movement Activity and Multifaceted Cognitive Training in Older People with Mild Neurocognitive Disorder in a Rural Community: A Randomized Control Trial

“…Group activities are part of socializing, which can increase positive emotions [43]; this aspect supported their enjoyment in participating in the intervention. There is also evidence to suggest that music seems to have a beneficial effect on behaviors and cognitive function [44][45][46]. In addition, the older people were encouraged to count from 1 to 10 while they moved their bodies.…”

Musical cognition in Alzheimer's disease: application of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia

“…67 Previous studies, which have focused more on semantic than on episodic musical memory in AD, found that this kind of memory is partially preserved in such patients. 10,29,[33][34][35]69,70 A recent study also confirmed these findings by demonstrating that the areas crucial to neural encoding of semantic musical memory were less impaired in AD brains. 71 In this paper, we investigated episodic musical memory through the sixth task of the MBEA, which consists of an incidental memory recognition test based on unfamiliar short melodies.…”

“…Last, a recent review 32 in which musical memory was analyzed in AD reported that various forms of musical memory exist and may be impaired to varying degrees in AD. Memory of familiar music may thus be relatively spared in AD, 10,17,19,29,[33][34][35] whereas recognition of unfamiliar melody may be compromised. 34,[36][37][38][39] By contrast, others studies based on incidental learning of unfamiliar melodies did not detect any differences between patients and controls in musical memory tasks.…”

Preservation of Musical Memory Throughout the Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease? Toward a Reconciliation of Theoretical, Clinical, and Neuroimaging Evidence

“…Patients performed statistically much worse on this semantic verbal memory task than they did on the semantic musical memory task, confirming again a possible dissociation. Kerer et al (2013) supplemented the findings of Johnson et al (2011) with another paradigm that addressed both semantic verbal and musical memories [42]. Patients were first presented with a familiar melody.…”

“…This argues in favor of two independents cognitive processes responsible for semantic verbal and musical memories, which could interact. Despite their ultimate goal of stimulating recollection of autobiographical memories through associated musical memories (MEAMs), Basaglia-Passa et al (2013) built on the semantic musical memory [43] studies of Johnson et al (2011) and Kerer et al (2013). AD patients were asked to hum a familiar song whose title was given.…”