Baltimore County Public Schools
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Concept
Unit Title
Encounter The Task
Theme Statement/
Enduring
Understandings
Essential
Question(s)
Suggested
Timeframe
Staff Teaching
Responsibility
Inquiry is a framework for learning.
Research is a process.
General Notes:
Teacher Note: This entire course will provide many of the lesson materials through the BCPS
independent research website. Students will need access to this website on a daily basis. See this
website at: http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/steps.html. This unit will focus on step
one of the process. The majority of the material needed for this unit can be found at:
http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/encounter.html.
Objective:
Standards
Alignment
Lesson: 2
“Steps in the Research
Process”
What are the steps in the research process?
What does the end product look like?
Two periods, 45 minutes each or one 90 minute period
Media Specialist/ Teacher
The teacher should keep in mind that this lesson includes suggestions for meeting the stated
objectives. The teacher should adjust the lesson based on the needs of his or her students;
however, all objectives should be covered.
Students will evaluate the end product of student research in order to determine the steps
needed to conduct a research project.
AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner
1.1.1 Follow an inquiry- based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and make the
real- world connection for using this process in own life.
1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media,
digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
1.1.8 Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry.
MD Technology Standards for Students
Formative
Assessment
Digital Content,
Tools, and
Resources
Unit 1 Lesson 2
6.A.1.a. Use technology to help identify the type of problem and the data needed to answer that
type of problem.
6.A.2.a. Identify possible technology tools to gather data.
 Completed literacy process model worksheet.
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http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/steps.html
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Baltimore County Public Schools
Before Direct
Instruction
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Suggested Activity
Sequence:
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Differentiation
Suggestions
Unit 1 Lesson 2
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Review materials at: http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/steps.html, under “what
are the steps in the research process?”
Materials:
o Student computers
o Sample research report, “The impact of music on the cognition of Alzheimer’s
disease patients”
o Sample powerpoint from report, “The impact of music on the cognition of
Alzheimer’s disease patients”
o Sample note cards from report, “The impact of music on the cognition of Alzheimer’s
disease patients”
Drill – Supply each student in the class with one note card from the attached sample note
cards. Students should read the note card and summarize the information included on the card
in writing.
Debrief drill as a class.
o Create a sequence chain on the board. Have students read their cards out loud, one by
one, and place the cards in the chronological order on the chalkboard.
o After all cards are placed, run through the order that was created, and allow students
the opportunity to adjust the order.
Activity – Students will use complete a worksheet identifying examples of each step of the
research process based on a student project
o Direct students to the course website,
http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/encounter.html
o Students should read through the information literacy process model under the
section, “what are the steps in the research process”
o Students need to print out the blank worksheet for the information process model
from the website.
o Students will read through the sample research report, “The impact of music on the
cognition of Alzheimer’s disease patients” and identify a specific example of each
step from the report. Since the report does not list the steps directly, students may
infer.
Formative Assessment – Completed literacy process model worksheet.
Components
Content
Process
Product
Curriculum Resources
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Brief Description
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Summer 2013
Baltimore County Public Schools
*-When I began this program I almost
immediately knew what I wanted to research,
something that had been a fascination of mine
for about 5 years. - the relationship between
music and the brain.
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Department of Curriculum and Instruction
*-I have played the flute for 6 years- solo &
ensemble, etc….
-But the moment that sparked my interest in
the topic was when my middle school band
director, Mrs. Clavell told us about a previous
professor of her’s .
-He had read about, and was fascinated about ,
the relationship between music and the brain.
He had learned that one of the only ways to get
a group of people’s brain waves synchronized
was to play music in an ensemble
2
*-I found this to be very interesting, so I began *-An example of brain waves while 2
to read articles online about the topic and I
bought a book titled This is Your Brain On
Music.
-I read select stories from the book and I was
very interested in this topic.
musicians are playing together is (point to
image) right here.
-This is an image of the synchronization of the
cortical phase of two guitarists playing a duet.
*-(Go to next image): This is an image of the
-Naturally, when I was given the opportunity
brain waves of two guitar players, playing a
to research any topic of my choice, I jumped at
guitar duet. As you can see, at different periods
the chance to research something that was so
during the duet, the guitarists’ brain waves
compelling.
4
were remarkably similar
3
-So once I had a broad topic that I knew I
*-MIT therapy is a relatively new form of
wanted to research, I began to research
speech therapy developed in 1973, which
different aspects of the topic.
layers melodies and rhythms to teach the
-As I began to research,
patient how to speak again.
*-I was very surprised when I read about how
Gabby Giffords learned to speak after her
-MIT was created based on neuroplasticity, the
injury
ability of the brain to adapt to changes and
grow cognitively and physically.
-Gabby underwent Melodic Intonation Therapy
called (MIT).
5
6
to
be
accessed
*-When Gabby Giffords was injured, her lefthemisphere was damaged, causing her lose her
ability to speak.
-Then you may ask, how can MIT help then?
-The way the brain works is, that our everyday
functions, like speaking, use a certain brain
route each time (Broca’s region)
-So, these networks are very strong, whereas
-MIT focuses on using an uncommonly used
other networks may still exist, but they are not
brain route to teach the patient how to speak
tapped into
again because the easiest brain route, used
8
when first learning to speak, is no longer able 7
Unit 1 Lesson 2
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Baltimore County Public Schools
-This could be compared to a muscle, the ones
most commonly used are the strongest, but the
ones that we don’t use everyday still exist, but
are not as strong
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
-I was so fascinated by this that I began to
research the impact of music on people with
speech impairments and with aphasia.
-I discovered that as early as 1888, music skills
-Since music uses both parts of the brain, right- began to be associated with aphasia and
hemisphere and left-hemisphere, MIT gives
language.
open access to that right region of the brain,
allowing the patient to learn to speak again
*-This was written about by Hermann
using a new neural network.
Oppenheim in his presentation of the first case
9
series of music and aphasia in 1888.
10
-As I began my research I began using
- This helped me to think about how music
resources like pub med to get published
could help people who had lost the ability to
scholarly articles
speak as a result of the brain injury.
-These articles were very in-depth with
information about the impact of music on
speech.
-In order to understand how music could
impact speech, I researched the link between
music and language.
11
*-The study made subjects complete a
fragment of a melody and a sentence in a way
that would make sense.
-So, the subject would have to stay in the same
key and rhythm pattern as the melody fragment
and the sentence fragment would have to make
sense when finishing the segment.
-Parsons found that the brain process is the
same when processing music and language.
13
-this led me to some brainstorming about what
other topics I could research involving music
and the brain
-I started to research the impact of music on
Alzheimer’s patients
*-I learned from a book called The Power of
Music by Elena Mannes that in a study
conducted by Lawrence Parsons, a Professor of
Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of
Sheffield in the United Kingdom, that music
and language are processed in the same part of
the brain.
12
-Parsons believed that humans improvise
language everyday, so how is music any
different?
-He was right.
*-He found that, of course, auditory and motor
areas of the brain were activated, but he also
found that the Broca’s area, typically thought
to be involved in the processing of language,
was also involved in the processing of music in
the brain.
14
-In some cases when a musician has developed
dementia, they have a well preserved
procedural memory (meaning their motor
skills) for musical performance, along with
declarative semantic memory(intentional recall
of facts) like forte, piano, etc….
-So the musician with dementia can remember
all things associated with music like the
music seems to be the only part of an
vocabulary and how to play and read music,
Alzheimer’s patient’s memory that seems
but they cannot remember their own children
intact.
16
15
- They also remembered the words that they
-I had read this in an article titled Music and
had sung in songs of their therapy better than
Dementia: Observing effects and searching for
*-I found this topic to be interesting because
Unit 1 Lesson 2
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Summer 2013
Baltimore County Public Schools
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
underlying theories
-The scientists had completed a study on the
impact of music therapy and live music which
yielded some surprising results
spoken material. However, what I found
interesting was that this wasn’t limited to old
songs. They remembered the words from new
songs.
-The Alzheimer’s patients also had more fluent
spontaneous speech after the music therapy
versus after the conversational therapy.
-The music therapy group had a significant
reduction in agitation, delusion, and apathy
17
-Though there was no impact of live music on
agitation and anxiety any different from
reading a book, there was an increase in verbal
activity in those who attended more than 50%
of the live music sessions
18
*-When I visited Keswick, I played the flute
for the memory care unit for dementia patients
that need 24 hour care.
-When choosing the music I would play, I tried
to think of songs that would be familiar to
everyone, so I played Christmas music (in
April), along with other familiar songs.
-Though I did not necessarily witness an
“awakening,” I witnessed some very
interesting events.
Unit 1 Lesson 2
19
-Fluency of spontaneous speech is important
because it allows the person to express
themselves. This ability is robbed from people
with Alzheimer’s
-Awakenings sometimes occur in what are
considered to be autobiographically salient
songs, which are songs that have a special
memory or significance to that person.
20
-When I first walked into the room, the people
were very agitated and a lady who I will refer
to as “X” from now on was shouting.
-I was told things by other people like “take off
from earth with me” and that “there is [was] a
very contagious disease in the room”
-The people who I was playing for were at an
advanced stage of dementia, so things like this
were expected. However, what happened when
I started playing was not expected.
22
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Summer 2013
Baltimore County Public Schools
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
-The woman “X” was shouting during the first
two songs that I was playing and then she
stopped and began smiling.
-The woman who had wanted to take me off
earth with her no longer wanted to go to the
moon, but wanted stay right there and listen.
She began talking to my mother and had much
more appropriate comments, like “she plays
nice” and “wasn’t that pretty?”
23
-The lady who I referred to as “X” began
acting like she was playing on a keyboard
while I was playing and she began smiling and
was very happy, all after she had been
screaming.
-When I played “Trumpet Voluntary” (play
excerpt from trumpet voluntary) she got
excited and said “That’s my wedding! That’s
my wedding!”
27
-A man was in a gerrychair, meant for people
who cannot sit up on their own, but he was
tapping his foot along to the music when I
began to play Christmas carols.
-Another woman, who will be referred to as
“Y” was extremely agitated, probably the most
agitated in the room.
24
-‘Y” was telling people to “shut up” and “shut
their mouths”, but when I started to play the
third song and had been playing for about 4
minutes, she stopped saying shut up, but she
would say “be quiet” and “listen to her play”
and became much less aggressive.
-Overall, their reactions and interactions with
each other were much more appropriate.
25
-Then a few songs later, her daughter entered
the room and she said “that’s my daughter!
Rochelle!”
-They began to say things like “that was
beautiful”, “thank you so much” and “do you
live on Keswick Avenue?” and they began to
clap appropriately after each song
-As anyone knows who has a relative with
Alzheimer’s, or can imagine what it is like,
being recognized as a relative is a very
important thing.
-The atmosphere of the room changed and they
all quieted down and became less agitated.
-However, some of my most surprising
28 observations were these…
26
-Then there was a woman who was sitting
behind me as I played and she was humming
along to Greensleeves.
-This I found to be pretty remarkable because
she could remember the tune of Greensleeves.
-I could tell that she was very moved by the
song because she made a signal to my mother
like this (show her sign)
-These are examples of autobiographically
salient songs
29
-Here is a video that I would like to leave you
with….
-A story that made national news from a
Unit 1 Lesson 2
-Edelweiss example…
-These observations may seem minor, but
when considering that their disease has
progressed so much that the Alzheimer’s
patients don’t remember when they last had a
meal, or where they live, or in some cases,
even how to tell time, it is amazing to me that
music can make a connection for them and
allows them to function more normally.
30
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Summer 2013
Baltimore County Public Schools
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
documentary titled “Alive Inside”
-Henry Dryer is 92 with dementia and has been
in the memory care unit for 10 years (show
video start at 1:58)
30A
-In a study completed in 2010 titled, Music as
a memory enhancer in patients with
Alzheimer’s, the scientists found that lyrics in
children’s songs were better remembered by
the Alzheimer’s group than the control group
of healthy elderly individuals.
-The scientists believe that the Alzheimer’s
group may have remembered the lyrics that
were sung better than spoken because of the
complexity of the neural mapping (meaning
where the parts of the brain are active) that
recruits from all areas of the brain.
-also, musical mnemonics have been shown to
31 induce synchronous neural firing in networks
associated with verbal learning and memory
(which they believe could help the learning of
lyrics)
32
-The relationship between music and the
cognitive processes of the brain are even more
interesting when analyses of the aging brain
were conducted in 2002 which I found in an
article titled, Voxel-based Morphometry
reveals increased gray matter density in
Borca’s area in male symphony orchestra
musicians
-They further found that there were significant
age –related reductions in the cerebral
hemispheres, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
subfields bilaterally and in gray matter density
in the left inferior frontal gyrus only in the
control group of nonmusicians. The
musicians did not have any age-related
reductions in brain matter.
*-The scientists who conducted this study
-The scientists believe that this is the result of
their daily music activities because the years of
playing correlate with the volume of gray brain
matter
concluded that musicians appear to be less
susceptible to age related degenerations in the
brain because they found that musicians had
increased gray matter in the Broca’s area in the
left inferior frontal gyrus.
33
-therefore, musicians seem less susceptible to
age-related degenerations in the brain.
-This is further supported by a study titled
Leisure activities and the risk of dementia in
the elderly which followed a group of elderly
75 years or over for 5 years.
-They found that those who frequently played a
musical instrument were less likely to develop
dementia than those who did not play an
instrument or who rarely played.
35
--The elderly aged 60-85 years were given a
half-hour piano lesson each week for six
months and practiced each week for 3 hours.
Unit 1 Lesson 2
34
-This protective effect of music was stronger
than any other cognitive activity such as
reading, writing, or doing crossword puzzles.
-In a literature review written by Gottfreid
Schlaug and Catherine Wan, they believed that
music may counteract some of the negative
effects of aging.
-They supported their hypothesis with a study
titled, Individualized piano instruction
enhances executive functioning and working
memory in older adults.
36
-This research is important for the treatment of
dementia patients and for prevention of
dementia
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Summer 2013
Baltimore County Public Schools
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
-They had improved test scores on working
memory, perceptual speed, and motor skills,
but the control group didn’t experience these
improvements.
-According to scientists who conducted
research on Leisure Activities and the risk of
dementia in the elderly their results could
support recommendations for cognitive
activities like music to lower the risk of
-All of this information points to the possibility dementia just as physical activity is
that musical training or music in general could recommended to lower the risk of
impact the process of the aging brain positively cardiovascular diseases.
depending on the degree of the activity.
37
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Unit 1 Lesson 2
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Summer 2013
Baltimore County Public Schools
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
The Impact of Music on the Cognition of
Alzheimer’s Patients
Caitlin Seluzicki
Unit 1 Lesson 2
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Summer 2013
Baltimore County Public Schools
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S. According to “Alzheimer’s Facts &
Figures” (2013), “it [Alzheimer’s disease] is the only cause of death among the top ten in America without a
way to prevent it, cure it, or even slow its progression”. Alzheimer’s disease affects 1 in 3 seniors and is
developed in an American every 68 seconds. By 2050, every 33 seconds Alzheimer’s disease will develop in
one American as the population of Americans over 65 years old increases. This progressive and devastating
disease has a widespread impact, affecting not only the individual with the disease, but family members and
caregivers. $9.1 billion were spent in additional healthcare costs in 2012 because of the emotional and physical
impact on Alzheimer’s patients’ caregivers. According to “Alzheimer’s Facts & Figures,” (2013) unless
Alzheimer’s disease is cured or treated in a better way, Alzheimer’s will cost an estimated $1.2 trillion (in
today’s dollars) in 2050 and costs to Medicare and Medicaid will increase over 500 percent. Therefore,
Alzheimer’s disease does not only have an emotional and physical consequence, but will have an economic
consequence. Exploration of alternative promising future treatments is the key in the battle against
Alzheimer’s disease. Music therapy and other musical activities like listening to music and playing a musical
instrument offer promise in the search for a treatment to help Alzheimer’s patients regain their identity.
However, only about 5,000 certified music therapists exist in the U.S. and less than 20% work with the elderly
("Alzheimer's Facts & Figures," 2013).
In Alzheimer’s patients, music seems to be the most complex part of memory that is spared by the
disease (Spiro, 2010). Verghese et al. followed elderly adults 75 years or older for five years (Verghese,
Lipton, Katz, Hall, Derby, Kuslansky & Buschke, 2003). The scientists discovered that those who frequently
played a musical instrument were less likely to develop dementia. Also, those with participation scores in the
top 1/3 of all participants, judged by the amount of time spent on the activity, had a 63% lower risk of
dementia. Therefore, music seems to have the strongest “protective effect” against the degeneration of the
brain out of cognitive activities like reading, writing, or doing crossword puzzles (as interpreted by Wan &
Schlaug, 2010, p.5). However, in musicians who have developed dementia, the procedural memory (motor
Unit 1 Lesson 2
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Baltimore County Public Schools
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
skills needed for playing the instrument) and declarative semantic memory (memory of the vocabulary
associated with playing the instrument) are still intact (Spiro, 2010). In a study completed by Sluming et al.
(2002), the scientists discovered that there was increased gray matter density in the left inferior frontal gyrus of
professional musicians that was not observed in non-musicians (Sluming, Barrick, Howard, Cezayirili, Mayes,
Roberts, 2002). In addition, the scientists found that there were “significant age-related volume reductions in
cerebral hemispheres, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex subfields bilaterally, and gray matter density in the left
inferior frontal gyrus in controls but not musicians”. Sluming et al. (2002) believe that the differences in brain
matter are a result of musicians’ daily musical activities because their years of playing correlate with their
brain matter volume. This data supports the protective impact of music and supports the role of music in
possible prevention of Alzheimer’s.
Catherine Wan and Gottfreid Schlaug believe that music may counteract some of the negative impacts
of the aging brain (2010). Wan and Schlaug (2010) supported their hypothesis with the results of a study about
piano lessons for elderly individuals completed by Bugos, Perlstein, McCrae, Brophy and Bedenbaugh (as
cited in Wan & Schlaug, 2010, p.5) In the Bugos and et al. study, 60-85 year old individuals participated in a
half-hour piano lesson each week for six months and practiced each week for three hours. After the piano
lessons, the elderly had improved test scores on working memory, perceptual speed, and motor skills (as cited
in Wan & Schlaug, 2010, p.5). However, the control group, which did not have the piano lessons, did not
experience any of these improvements. Further support for the protective impact of music on the aging brain is
found in a study by Verghese et al. (2003). This study investigated the impacts of the frequency of cognitive
and physical leisure activities on chance of developing Alzheimer’s (Verghese et al., 2003). The cognitive
activities could be reading, writing, completing crossword puzzles, playing cards or board games, playing
musical instruments and participating in organized group discussions. The physical activities were playing golf
or tennis, bicycling, swimming, participating in group exercises, dancing, playing team games like bowling,
climbing more than two flights of stairs, walking for exercise, babysitting, and doing housework. The 469
subjects did not have dementia at the beginning of the research, but 124 developed dementia during the
Unit 1 Lesson 2
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Baltimore County Public Schools
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
approximately five years of follow-up. Of the 124 that developed dementia, 61 subjects developed
Alzheimer’s disease, 30 subjects developed vascular dementia, 25 developed mixed dementia, and 8 subjects
developed other dementia types. The frequency of activity was recorded based on a point system with seven
points for everyday participation; four points for performing the activity several days per week; one point for
performing the activity once a week; and zero points for performing the activity occasionally, monthly, or
never. Those who were the most involved in their activity, in the top 1/3 on the cognitive activity scale, had a
63% lower risk of dementia than those who participated in their activity less. Risk of dementia was reduced by
only 7% in participants who participated in their activity 1 day per week. Overall, Verghese et al. found that
“among cognitive activities, reading, playing board games, and playing musical instruments were associated
with a lower risk of dementia. Dancing was the only physical activity associated with a lower risk of
dementia” (Verghese et al., 2003, p.2511-2512).
Music seems to be the most complex part of an Alzheimer’s patient’s memory that is still intact (Spiro,
2010). When musicians have developed dementia, they have a well-preserved procedural memory (motor skill
memory) for musical performance and a well-preserved declarative semantic memory (the language associated
with music). In a study completed by Prickett and Moore (1991) scientists found that dementia patients
remembered the lyrics sung during their music therapy session better than spoken material (as cited in Spiro,
2010, p.893). However, Prickett and Moore (1991) found that the memory of lyrics was not limited to the
memory of old songs; new song lyrics were remembered as well (as cited in Spiro, 2010, p.893). Brotons and
Koger (2000) also found that “following music therapy, performance on speech content and fluency of
spontaneous speech was better than following therapeutic conversation sessions,” (as cited in Spiro, 2010, p.
893-894). Fluency of spontaneous speech is an important impact because it allows the Alzheimer’s patients to
communicate their feelings, which Alzheimer’s patients cannot do once the disease progresses. Cooke,
Moylea, Shumb, Harrisonc, and Murfield (2010) conducted a study about the impacts of attendance of live
music sessions, music therapy, and conversational therapy sessions on cognition and behavior of Alzheimer’s
patients (as cited in Spiro, 2010, p.895). Cooke et al. found that Alzheimer’s patients who attended more than
Unit 1 Lesson 2
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Baltimore County Public Schools
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
50% of live music sessions experienced an increase in spontaneous speech, even though there was no
difference in agitation and anxiety from that of the Alzheimer’s patients who merely read a book (as cited in
Spiro, 2010, p.895).
Listening to music can also trigger memories, causing an awakening. Awakenings occur when an
autobiographically salient song, a song that may have a special or emotional connection to a person, is played
(Rossato-Bennett, director, 2012). At Keswick, a facility which contains a 24 hour Memory Care Unit,
Seluzicki played the flute (Seluzicki, narrator, 2013). When Seluzicki first began to play, the memory
impaired patients were very agitated and not aware of their surroundings. The agitation, delusion, and apathy
witnessed by Seluzicki were expected because the memory care patients were at an advanced stage of their
disease. About 4-5 minutes after Seluzicki began playing classical music arrangements, the memory impaired
patients (including Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia), were not agitated and were relaxed. A woman
who will be referred to as “X” was shouting during the first two songs that Seluzicki played, but she stopped
screaming, began smiling and acted more appropriately; “X” began to make comments like, “she plays nice”
and “wasn’t that song pretty”. There was also another woman, who will be referred to as “Y,” who was the
most agitated in the room. When Seluzicki began playing, her aggressive behaviors and comments, such as
“shut your mouth” and “shut up,” were reduced to “be quiet” and “listen to her play”. Overall, the reactions to
the music and performance became much more appropriate because they began to comment on the music and
clap after each song, which they had not been doing during the first 2-3 pieces that Seluzicki played. However,
in addition to behavioral changes, some cognitive changes were observed. “X” reacted to the performance of
“Trumpet Voluntary,” a song commonly played at weddings, with excitement and exclaimed “that’s my
wedding! That’s my wedding”. A few minutes later, “X’s” daughter entered the room, and X recognized her
daughter by saying “that’s my daughter! Rochelle”. “Y,” upon hearing the tune, “Edelweiss,” began to repeat
the phrase, “that’s right- don’t ever forget. Always remember. Don’t ever forget”. Edelweiss is a tune from the
“Sound of Music,” that is sung to remember how Austria was before the German occupation. Therefore, “Y”
seemed to make an appropriate connection between the song and its meaning. Also another woman, who is
Unit 1 Lesson 2
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Summer 2013
Baltimore County Public Schools
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
referred to as “Z,” began to sing along to Greensleeves as Seluzicki began to play the tune. Seluzicki realized,
while she was playing, that the woman recognized the song and was very moved by hearing the tune. After the
tune was finished, “Z” waved to get the attention of Seluzicki’s mother and, while putting her hand across her
heart, “Z” mouthed ‘thank you’ to Seluzicki’s mother. While Seluzicki could not say for sure that her
observations are awakenings, she can say that she observed cognitive changes.
“The range of music-based activities in care homes is increasing” (Spiro, 2010). Music has been shown
to have profound impacts on cognition. At Keswick, iPods are being used to calm memory care residents and
to bring back old memories (Walker, 2013). iPods are also being used at Cobble Hill, a healthcare facility in
Brooklyn, New York, to help patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Rossato-Bennett, director, 2012). In the
documentary Alive Inside, Henry Dryer, a 10 year resident at Cobble Hill has an iPod with music that fits his
likes. Dryer’s disease has progressed to the point that he does not keep his head raised, but keeps it laid down
on the tray of his wheelchair during day. Dryer does not communicate with anyone and can barely answer
simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions. However, when Dryer is given his iPod, he begins to move his upper body and
sing to the music. When the iPod is taken away, he is able to communicate with people, to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’
questions with ease, and even to elaborate on his answers. Dryer was able to remember his younger days when
his favorite artist was Cab Calloway and when he used to go to dances frequently. Dryer proclaimed that he
loved music. Dr. Oliver Sachs described the effect of music on Dryer as the “quickening effect”. Dr. Sachs
explained that Dryer was being “quickened” by the music on his iPod and was being given his identity back.
Dryer began to remember who he was as a young adult and was able to communicate in a coherent and audible
way in which he had not been able to communicate before listening to the music. This cognitive impact,
though transitory, reflects the beneficial impact of music on cognition in Alzheimer’s patients. Alive Inside
demonstrates well the results found in various studies about the impact of music on cognition in Alzheimer’s
patients [Prickett and Moore (1991) (as cited in Spiro, 2010, p.893), Brotons and Koger (2000) (as cited in
Spiro, 2010, p.893-894), Sluming et al. (2002), Bugos et al. (2007) (as cited in Wan & Schlaug, 2010, p.5),
and Cooke et al. (2010) (as cited in Spiro, 2010, p.895)]. The results of these studies and others like them
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(Verghese et al., 2003) may lead to recommendations that the elderly engage in cognitive activity to decrease
the risk of development of dementia, similar to those that people engage in physical activity to decrease the
risk of development of cardiovascular diseases (Verghese et al., 2003, p.2516).
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References
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Mc Dermott, J., & Hauser, M. (2005). The origins of music: Innateness, uniqueness and evolution. Music
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=voxelUnit 1 Lesson 2
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