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Long-Known Music Exposure Effects on Brain Imaging and Cognition in Early-Stage Cognitive Decline: A Pilot Study

Authors :
Tom A. Schweizer
Michael H. Thaut
Nathan W. Churchill
Melissa Leggieri
Veronica Vuong
Luis Fornazzari
Michael Tau
Corinne E. Fischer
Source :
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 84:819-833
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
IOS Press, 2021.

Abstract

Background: Repeated exposure to long-known music has been shown to have a beneficial effect on cognitive performance in patients with AD. However, the brain mechanisms underlying improvement in cognitive performance are not yet clear. Objective: In this pilot study we propose to examine the effect of repeated long-known music exposure on imaging indices and corresponding changes in cognitive function in patients with early-stage cognitive decline. Methods: Participants with early-stage cognitive decline were assigned to three weeks of daily long-known music listening, lasting one hour in duration. A cognitive battery was administered, and brain activity was measured before and after intervention. Paired-measures tests evaluated the longitudinal changes in brain structure, function, and cognition associated with the intervention. Results: Fourteen participants completed the music-based intervention, including 6 musicians and 8 non-musicians. Post-baseline there was a reduction in brain activity in key nodes of a music-related network, including the bilateral basal ganglia and right inferior frontal gyrus, and declines in fronto-temporal functional connectivity and radial diffusivity of dorsal white matter. Musician status also significantly modified longitudinal changes in functional and structural brain measures. There was also a significant improvement in the memory subdomain of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Conclusion: These preliminary results suggest that neuroplastic mechanisms may mediate improvements in cognitive functioning associated with exposure to long-known music listening and that these mechanisms may be different in musicians compared to non-musicians.

Details

ISSN :
18758908 and 13872877
Volume :
84
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....17a8a604922164262e6bfed925368953
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-210610