I not long ago browsed a writeup on the Wall Street Journal website concerning the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The writing stated that one of the criticisms of music playback devices is that people who use them are likely to stay away from friendships with other people and remain in an isolated universe of their own. However, recent observations of stroke and Alzheimer's patients are showing that iPods and other MP3 devices routinely have the opposite end results.

By listening to some old often encountered tunes, advanced dementia patients can link back with their memories and with each other in some unexpected ways, especially for those with degenerative brain problems. As an example, as reported in the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod each day prompted a 28-year-old stroke victim to start to walking and use his hands again.

In another incident, a 52 year-old man who fell from a fourth-floor construction site and suffered a crushed larynx became so absorbed with music that he composed 400 songs and produced four albums. An 85-year-old dementia patient in Florida listens to her favorite opera and Yiddish songs each day on an iPod with a home health aide or her daughter when she comes to visit. According to her daughter they listen for somewhere around a half-hour a day and "It seems to touch something deep within her."

Caregivers have known for many years that music therapy in dementia patients can be extremely useful. They have observed for decades that dementia sufferers can still remember and sing tunes long after they have stopped recalling names and faces. Hospitals and aging care facilities have been using music as amusement for a long time, since it causes patients pleasure. Furthermore, beyond the delight value, there is significant evidence that listening to music can also help improve apparently lost memories, and even help restore cognitive function in some cases. (via IPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients, WSJ.com)

As a golden-ager myself I am a big supporter of iPods and comparable devices for senior citizens. I myself have an iPhone, which is basically an iPod with a telephone built into it. I am conscious that many of you will be dubious because you think such devices are too complex for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite efficacious in minimizing memory loss due to aging. Now we have determined that the musical functionality can be helpful even for those who have already begun to suffer memory loss.

Well, okay, you might decline to actually leave an iPod in the hands of a person who is experiencing cognitive decline, but such a device can certainly be used, under supervision, to provide the kinds of music therapy in dementia patients set out in this article. Technology can be very helpful for those who are willing to be creative and farsighted in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a perfect illustration.

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