Dementia is a group of symptoms that affect memory and thinking and interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s Disease is the main and major cause of dementia. Treatments to reduce the symptoms and progression of dementia can be clinical, or methods such as practising yoga, breathing exercises, brisk walking and listening to tuneful music. It is an age-related disease, affecting over 55 million people across the world. The National Health Portal of India says that as per the Census 2011, dementia affects 2.7% of the 65 million Indian Senior Citizens over 65 years of age.
Combating dementia
The California-based site “Bayview Senior Assisted Living,” in an article suggests 13 ways in which dementia can be handled/reduced. These are: (1) breathing in and out- thinking of nothing but the breath coming out, (2) thinking about a favourite, peaceful place – even your noise-free living room, (3) nurturing a pet, (4) massage – once or twice a week relieves stress, (5) yoga – the breathing has a calming effect, (6) singing, or playing music – whatever you enjoyed during your prime, (7) doing arts and crafts – knitting, painting, and such, (8) cleaning your place daily; it keeps your brain working and offers a sense of accomplishment, (9) tending a garden – even if it is only flower pots, (10) reading newspapers and books, not just listening to TV news channels (and also trying to answer questions asked on Kaun Banega Karorpathi ), (11) attempting puzzles, crosswords, sudoku and the like, and learning a new language, (12) doing simple cooking, of course with someone’s help, and (13) organising – bringing order to drawers or shelves – getting rid of unwanted old files and letters will be an accomplishment!
What are other factors of value in reducing depression and postponing Alzheimer’s? Will bilingualism (ability to handle two languages with ease) or multilingualism be of greater advantage in reducing dementia than just familiarity with a single language? Dr. Subhash Kaul and Dr. Suvarna Alladi of Hyderabad looked into this aspect.In their study, bilingual dementia patients developed the disorder over four years later than monolingual subjects.
As it turns out, people in many parts of India are indeed bilingual (speak at least two languages, even if they cannot read in them). Indeed, most people who work in cities are good in speaking two languages; their jobs- housemaids, shopkeepers and the like – require bilingualism. Prof. Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath of the Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, has initiated work to study this aspect using functional magnetic resonance imaging, along with a survey of people around Bengaluru. Of course, it will be helpful for senior citizens who are monolingual to start learning a second language.
Role of music
Another important factor is music. Even listening to music can be therapeutic. Indeed, the paper by Celia Moreno-Morales et al., titled ‘Music Therapy in the Treatment of Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis’, in Frontiers in Medicine (Lausanne) (doi:10.3389/fmed.2020.00160) analysed the outcomes of eight earlier studies and concluded that music could be a powerful treatment strategy, by itself or in combination with pharmacological therapy, depending on the nature of the dementia.
Musical memory
In a similar vein is the paper by M. H. Thaut et al., titled: ‘Neural Basis of Long-term Musical Memory in Cognitively Impaired Older Persons’, which has appeared in the journal Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders ( doi: 10.1097/WAD.
0000000000000382). Using fMRI to scan the brain areas of 17 subjects with mild cognitive impairment, who were listening to short clips of personally selected music from the patient’s past, as well as newly composed music, the scientists concluded that long-known music activates various areas of the brain, and also identified why long-term memory is preserved among cognitively impaired older persons. In other words, they recognise and enjoy it!
Such experiments have been done right here in India by Prof. Nandini Chatterjee Singh’s group of the National Centre for Brain Research, Manesar, Haryana. She assembled a group of classical Hindustani musicians and as they performed, she monitored the players and listeners. You may access it in the podcasts section of the website https://indscicomm.blog or by searching for “Emotions in Hindustani Music-Part 2. Podcast.”
Rhythm and beat
It is not just the tune, but also the rhythm, timing and the movement. Those of us who listen to old movie songs can immediately capture errors in musical scale and rhythm. Professor Jessica Grahn of London, Ontario, Canada says that moving to music is an instinctive, often involuntary activity, experienced by those in all cultures. As humans move to music, the brain’s movement centres light up in response to music and rhythm, even when we aren’t moving a muscle. Do individuals who have trouble moving to the beat sill feel compelled to do so? Here then is an exciting potential held by musical interventions for those with degenerative neurological disorders such as dementia. So let the music play on!
dbala@lvpei.org
