Musical Jingles Can Help Alzheimer’s Patients

We’ve all seen commercials with a catchy jingle or heard a song that we simply can’t forget. No matter how we go about our regular day trying to forget that particular song or jingle, it’s stuck in our heads seemingly forever. Could that phenomenon be translated to people living with Alzheimer’s disease by helping them retain more information?

British composer, Alexis Kirke, has come up with a program that can help Alzheimer’s sufferers to retain more information. The hope is to develop the work sufficiently so that people can even learn new things. While there is much data on how music can help aid the brains of those living with Alzheimer’s Kirke was only able to find two papers that dealt with new music in relation to such a condition.

Kirke, a member of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research, says that the center is looking at partnering with him on a longer term scientific project but that right now it’s much more artistic than scientific. Kirke and the ICCMR are working together on two simple prototype algorithms—one for text and the other for mobile phones.

While medical research continues into varying ways to improve the conditions of people living with Alzheimer’s disease, the good news is that innovative “outside the box” concepts are being considered and tested. So, while those annoying jingles get stuck in our heads, the positive news is that they very well could help those suffering with life-­‐altering ailments.

To read more on this story, and Kirke’s research, please click here.