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Effect of music on patients

Various studies have assessed the efficacy of how music affects patients suffering from major neurocognitive disorders. Research has shown that music can improve behavior, mood [3], and cognition [2], leading to an increase in Quality of life. Furthermore, music proves to be a powerful tool for inducing reminiscence [1], which is important for improving memory. Besides, previous research has also established that music can help improve speech fluency and activate innovative dialogues [2]. Thus, we will adopt music during our implementation to improve the cognition of patients.

Use of music

In our use of music, we aim to improve the memory of the patients by simultaneously linking the music to daily activities that the patients perform. By personalizing the music for each individual patient, with the help of caregivers or loved ones, we ensure the patient is convinced and willing to use the platform. If the chosen music already has connections with some certain activities, the creation of the bonds between music and activities would become easier. Moreover, by providing a daily quiz on these music-activity pairs, we intend to reinforce the musical memory of activities to build stronger cognitive links.        

The specific music linked to activities is changeable with the permission of the caregiver to prevent patients from becoming weary of a specific piece of music through repetitive exposure. The volume of the music can be adjusted by the caregiver or loved ones as older people have a high likelihood of being hearing impaired. Moreover, the robot is able to dynamically adjust the volume of the music when patients are not detected in the same room. This is necessary when dealing with patients at home as the robot is mostly stationary instead of being moved around. 

Citations

[1] Baird, A., & Samson, S. (2015). Chapter 11 - Music and dementia. In E. Altenmüller, S. Finger, & F. Boller (Reds), Music, Neurology, and Neuroscience: Evolution, the Musical Brain, Medical Conditions, and Therapies (bll 207–235). doi:10.1016/bs.pbr.2014.11.028

[2] Baird, A., Garrido, S., & Tamplin, J. (Eds.). (2019). Music and dementia: From cognition to therapy. Oxford University Press.

[3] Narme P, Clément S, Ehrlé N, Schiaratura L, Vachez S, Courtaigne B, Munsch F, Samson S. Efficacy of musical interventions in dementia: evidence from a randomized controlled trial. J Alzheimers Dis. 2014;38(2):359-69. doi: 10.3233/JAD-130893. PMID: 23969994.