An international study is investigating the effect of music lessons on people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The project team is still looking for participants from Vienna.
Many people know this: a familiar melody sounds and brings back faces, places and feelings, sometimes even memories that seemed long lost. Relatives of people with Alzheimer's often notice something special: Even when everyday memories gradually fade, music continues to reach those affected.
But what if music could do even more? What if learning new songs could actively support memory and brain functions in old age?
Researchers at the University of Vienna, together with partner organisations in Norway and Argentina, are investigating precisely this question. The international study Memory for Music (M4M) investigates whether learning new songs together with professional music therapists can improve the memory of older people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
"We already know that music lifts the mood and can increase the quality of life," says project manager Anja-Xiaoxing Cui. She is a musicologist and member of the Health in Society Research Network. “What we want to better understand is how music affects the brain – and whether it could become an integral part of rehabilitation and care in the future.”
Currently, people in Vienna aged 65 and over with an Alzheimer's diagnosis are being sought who would like to participate in the M4M study. Participants should live at home, have not pursued a professional music career, and be willing to participate in the study for 12 months.
At the beginning of the study and at three other points in time, the participants visit research institutions in Vienna. There, memory and thinking tests are carried out and brain activity is measured using EEG and MRI. Between these appointments, music therapists come to the participants' homes and teach them new songs.
In the 12 months, the participants receive a total of 45 units of music lessons, 40 units in an intensive phase (approx. twice a week) and 5 units in a minimal phase (once a month). The two phases are interrupted by a two-month break and the order of the phases is determined randomly.
"With their participation, those affected and their relatives make an important contribution to a better understanding of how music and the brain are connected," explains Anja-Xiaoxing Cui. "In the long term, this knowledge can contribute to improving the care and quality of life of people with Alzheimer's in Austria and beyond."
Lukas Thijssen and Elias Langeland from the M4M team in Norway measure brain waves using EEG.
Project Manager Anja-Xiaoxiing Cui, University of Vienna
If you or someone in your family would like to learn more, please contact the project manager Anja-Xiaoxing Cui at anja.cui(at)univie.ac.at or +43 1 4277 44266.
You can find out more about the study on the website:www.memory4music.net/austria/
