Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Increased Functional Connectivity After Listening to Favored Music in Adults With Alzheimer Dementia

  • Original Research
  • Published:
The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Personalized music programs have been proposed as an adjunct therapy for patients with Alzheimer disease related dementia, and multicenter trials have now demonstrated improvements in agitation, anxiety, and behavioral symptoms. Underlying neurophysiological mechanisms for these effects remain unclear.

Methods

We examined 17 individuals with a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer disease related dementia using functional MRI following a training period in a personalized music listening program.

Results

We find that participants listening to preferred music show specific activation of the supplementary motor area, a region that has been associated with memory for familiar music that is typically spared in early Alzheimer disease. We also find widespread increases in functional connectivity in corticocortical and corticocerebellar networks following presentation of preferred musical stimuli, suggesting a transient effect on brain function.

Conclusions

Findings support a mechanism whereby attentional network activation in the brain’s salience network may lead to improvements in brain network synchronization.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Gerdner LA. Individualized music intervention protocol. J Gerontol Nurs. 1999;25:10–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Gerdner LA, Schoenfelder DP. Evidence-based guideline. Individualized music for elders with dementia. J Gerontol Nurs. 2010;36:7–15.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Gerdner LA. Effects of individualized versus classical «relaxation» music on the frequency of agitation in elderly persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Int Psychogeriatr. 2000;12:49–65.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Sakamoto M, Ando H, Tsutou A. Comparing the effects of different individualized music interventions for elderly individuals with severe dementia. Int Psychogeriatr. 2013;25:775–84.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Cooke M, Moyle W, Shum D, Harrison S, Murfield J. A randomized controlled trial exploring the effect of music on quality of life and depression in older people with dementia. J Health Psychol. 2010;15:765–76.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Guetin S, Portet F, Picot MC, Pommie C, Messaoudi M, Djabelkir L, et al. Effect of music therapy on anxiety and depression in patients with Alzheimer’s type dementia: randomised, controlled study. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2009;28:36–46.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Gallego MG, Garcia JG. Music therapy and Alzheimer’s disease: Cognitive, psychological, and behavioral effects. Neurologia. 2017;32:300–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Sung HC, Chang AM, Lee WL. A preferred music listening intervention to reduce anxiety in older adults with dementia in nursing homes. J Clin Nurs. 2010;19:1056–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Ueda T, Suzukamo Y, Sato M, Izumi S. Effects of music therapy on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia: a systematic review and metaanalysis. Ageing Res Rev. 2013;12:628–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Ridder HM, Stige B, Qvale LG, Gold C. Individual music therapy for agitation in dementia: an exploratory randomized controlled trial. Aging Ment Health. 2013;17:667–78.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Sung HC, Chang AM. Use of preferred music to decrease agitated behaviours in older people with dementia: a review of the literature. J Clin Nurs. 2005;14:1133–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Raglio A, Bellelli G, Traficante D, Gianotti M, Ubezio MC, Villani D, et al. Efficacy of music therapy in the treatment of behavioral and psychiatric symptoms of dementia. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2008;22:158–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Raglio A, Bellandi D, Baiardi P, Gianotti M, Ubezio MC, Zanacchi E, et al. Effect of Active Music Therapy and Individualized Listening to Music on Dementia: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015;63:1534–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. van der Steen JT, van Soest-Poortvliet MC, van der Wouden JC, Bruinsma MS, Scholten RJ, Vink AC. Music-based therapeutic interventions for people with dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;5:CD003477.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Thomas KS, Baier R, Kosar C, Ogarek J, Trepman A, Mor V. Individualized Music Program is Associated with Improved Outcomes for U.S. Nursing Home Residents with Dementia. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2017;25:931–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Cuddy LL, Duffin J. Music, memory, and Alzheimer’s disease: is music recognition spared in dementia, and how can it be assessed? Med Hypotheses. 2005;64:229–35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Samson S, Dellacherie D, Platel H. Emotional power of music in patients with memory disorders: clinical implications of cognitive neuroscience. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009;1169:245–55.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Janata P. The neural architecture of music-evoked autobiographical memories. Cereb Cortex. 2009;19:2579–94.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Pereira CS, Teixeira J, Figueiredo P, Xavier J, Castro SL, Brattico E. Music and emotions in the brain: familiarity matters. PLoS One. 2011;6:e27241.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Eschrich S, Munte TF, Altenmuller EO. Unforgettable film music: the role of emotion in episodic long-term memory for music. BMC Neurosci. 2008;9:48.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Hall GR, Buckwalter KC. Progressively lowered stress threshold: a conceptual model for care of adults with Alzheimer’s disease. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 1987;1:399–406.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Salimpoor VN, Benovoy M, Larcher K, Dagher A, Zatorre RJ. Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature neuroscience. 2011;14:257–62.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Gates GA, Anderson ML, Feeney MP, McCurry SM, Larson EB. Central auditory dysfunction in older persons with memory impairment or Alzheimer dementia. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008;134:771–7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Jerger J, Hayes D. Diagnostic speech audiometry. Arch Otolaryngol. 1977;103:216–22.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Fifer RC, Jerger JF, Berlin CI, Tobey EA, Campbell JC. Development of a dichotic sentence identification test for hearing-impaired adults. Ear Hear. 1983;4:300–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Musiek FE, Gollegly KM, Kibbe KS, Verkest-Lenz SB. Proposed screening test for central auditory disorders: follow-up on the dichotic digits test. Am J Otol. 1991;12:109–13.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Dale AM, Fischl B, Sereno MI. Cortical surface-based analysis. I. Segmentation and surface reconstruction. Neuroimage. 1999;9:179–94.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Anderson JS, Druzgal TJ, Lopez-Larson M, Jeong EK, Desai K, Yurgelun-Todd D. Network anticorrelations, global regression, and phase-shifted soft tissue correction. Hum Brain Mapp. 2011;32:919–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Power JD, Barnes KA, Snyder AZ, Schlaggar BL, Petersen SE. Spurious but systematic correlations in functional connectivity MRI networks arise from subject motion. Neuroimage. 2012;59:2142–54.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Yeo BT, Krienen FM, Sepulcre J, Sabuncu MR, Lashkari D, Hollinshead M, et al. The organization of the human cerebral cortex estimated by intrinsic functional connectivity. J Neurophysiol. 2011;106:1125–65.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Buckner RL, Krienen FM, Castellanos A, Diaz JC, Yeo BT. The organization of the human cerebellum estimated by intrinsic functional connectivity. J Neurophysiol. 2011;106:2322–45.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Gordon EM, Laumann TO, Adeyemo B, Huckins JF, Kelley WM, Petersen SE. Generation and Evaluation of a Cortical Area Parcellation from Resting-State Correlations. Cereb Cortex. 2016;26:288–303.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Fischl B, Salat DH, Busa E, Albert M, Dieterich M, Haselgrove C, et al. Whole brain segmentation: automated labeling of neuroanatomical structures in the human brain. Neuron. 2002;33:341–55.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Jacobsen JH, Stelzer J, Fritz TH, Chetelat G, La Joie R, Turner R. Why musical memory can be preserved in advanced Alzheimer’s disease. Brain. 2015;138:2438–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Groussard M, La Joie R, Rauchs G, Landeau B, Chetelat G, Viader F, et al. When music and long-term memory interact: effects of musical expertise on functional and structural plasticity in the hippocampus. PLoS One. 2010;5.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Hsieh S, Hornberger M, Piguet O, Hodges JR. Neural basis of music knowledge: evidence from the dementias. Brain. 2011;134:2523–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Seeley WW, Menon V, Schatzberg AF, Keller J, Glover GH, Kenna H, et al. Dissociable intrinsic connectivity networks for salience processing and executive control. J Neurosci. 2007;27:2349–56.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Cooper JC, Knutson B. Valence and salience contribute to nucleus accumbens activation. Neuroimage. 2008;39:538–47.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Berridge KC, Robinson TE. What is the role of dopamine in reward: hedonic impact, reward learning, or incentive salience? Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 1998;28:309–69.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Salimpoor VN, van den Bosch I, Kovacevic N, McIntosh AR, Dagher A, Zatorre RJ. Interactions between the nucleus accumbens and auditory cortices predict music reward value. Science. 2013;340:216–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Greicius MD, Srivastava G, Reiss AL, Menon V. Default-mode network activity distinguishes Alzheimer’s disease from healthy aging: evidence from functional MRI. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004;101:4637–42.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Adriaanse SM, Binnewijzend MA, Ossenkoppele R, Tijms BM, van der Flier WM, Koene T, et al. Widespread disruption of functional brain organization in early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. PLoS One. 2014;9:e102995.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  43. Adriaanse SM, Sanz-Arigita EJ, Binnewijzend MA, Ossenkoppele R, Tolboom N, van Assema DM, et al. Amyloid and its association with default network integrity in Alzheimer’s disease. Hum Brain Mapp. 2014;35:779–91.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Rombouts SA, Damoiseaux JS, Goekoop R, Barkhof F, Scheltens P, Smith SM, et al. Model-free group analysis shows altered BOLD FMRI networks in dementia. Hum Brain Mapp. 2009;30:256–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Song J, Qin W, Liu Y, Duan Y, Liu J, He X, et al. Aberrant functional organization within and between resting-state networks in AD. PLoS One. 2013;8:e63727.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  46. Wang L, Zang Y, He Y, Liang M, Zhang X, Tian L, et al. Changes in hippocampal connectivity in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease: evidence from resting state fMRI. Neuroimage. 2006;31:496–504.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Bromberg-Martin ES, Matsumoto M, Hikosaka O. Dopamine in motivational control: rewarding, aversive, and alerting. Neuron. 2010;68:815–34.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  48. Sheline YI, Raichle ME. Resting state functional connectivity in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Biol Psychiatry. 2013;74:340–7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  49. Rossato-Bennett M. Alive Inside. Projector Media; 2014.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    J. B. King, K. G. Jones & Jeffrey S. Anderson

  2. Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    J. B. King, M. Rollins & Jeffrey S. Anderson

  3. Jewish Family Services of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    E. Goldberg

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    K. MacNamee, C. Moffit & J. M. Watson

  5. Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    S. R. Naidu & R. K. Gurgel

  6. Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    M. A. Ferguson

  7. Center for Alzheimer Care, Imaging, and Research, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    E. Garcia-Leavitt, J. Amaro & N. L. Foster

  8. Genetic Science Learning Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    K. R. Breitenbach

  9. Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    J. M. Watson

  10. Department of Otolaryngology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    R. K. Gurgel

  11. Department of Bioengineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Jeffrey S. Anderson

  12. Department of Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    N. L. Foster

  13. 1A71 School of Medicine, 50 N Medical Drive, Salt Lake City, UT, 84132, USA

    Jeffrey S. Anderson

Authors
  1. J. B. King
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. K. G. Jones
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. E. Goldberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. Rollins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. K. MacNamee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. C. Moffit
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. S. R. Naidu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. M. A. Ferguson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. E. Garcia-Leavitt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. J. Amaro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. K. R. Breitenbach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. J. M. Watson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. R. K. Gurgel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Jeffrey S. Anderson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. N. L. Foster
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeffrey S. Anderson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

King, J.B., Jones, K.G., Goldberg, E. et al. Increased Functional Connectivity After Listening to Favored Music in Adults With Alzheimer Dementia. J Prev Alzheimers Dis 6, 56–62 (2019). https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2018.19

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2018.19

Key words

Search

Navigation