Kareem Ahmed

In what ways does listening to music impact short-term memory recall for dementia patients?

Started Jan. 29, 2025

Abstract or project description

Dementia is a condition that slowly removes brain matter, leading to cognitive decline. One major area of cognition is memory recall, which people with dementia typically struggle with. However, music may be able to influence cognitive function as both memory and the sensory processing of music share the temporal lobe. Literature about this topic is mixed, with some studies finding benefits, and others showing null results. The research objective of this study was to analyze the ways in which the act of listening to music can influence short-term memory recall in the minds of high-functioning individuals with dementia. I hypothesized that listening to music would improve the ability of high-functioning people with dementia to recall details from recent and ongoing conversations due to some sources finding benefits to verbal and language-based memory. Participants were split into two groups and underwent two trials of simultaneously reading and listening to an article that was being read aloud, and then answering questions to gauge their comprehension. For one group, music was played in the background during the second trial. The results showed minimal differences in both trials for both groups. These findings suggest that music will not help high-functioning dementia patients with short-term memory recall.