School of Music develops music therapy project to treat Alzheimer's

Since the 1990s, the School of Music at the Adventist College of Bahia (Fadba) has been developing music education for students. However, in the past two years, new musical projects have been devised to expand their influence to the community as well. The activities are focused on inclusion, reinforcing the therapeutic, social, and spiritual role that music can fill.

One of the projects is aimed in particular at a lady who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease who lives near the institution. The initiative came about a little over a year ago through music teacher Juliana Pinheiro Sanches and aims to use music therapy as an aid in the treatment of neurological diseases. The goal is to extend classes to other people.

“Dona Nazaré is incredible,” Sanches says. “When I met her, I found out that she sang and was a music lover, and I proposed to the family that we start music therapy as an attempt to delay the effects of the disease, in addition to contributing to a better quality of life.”

Nazaré Portella is 79 years old and was diagnosed with the disease three years ago. Since then, his family has been looking for ways to help him. As a young man, he sang in church and in choirs, and he recently participated in a video in honor of Grandparents' Day at Colégio Adventista da Bahia.

Music as treatment 

Alzheimer's is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that manifests itself with cognitive and short-term memory deterioration and a variety of neuropsychiatric symptoms and behavioral changes that worsen over time.

"I know that music therapy does not cure the disease, but through music the patient responds to stimuli, smiles, speaks, becomes social, and improves posture, motor coordination, mood, and self-esteem," Sanches says.

According neurologist and university professor Felipe Oliveira, Alzheimer's disease is characterized by a degenerative process of neuron death, and it is not known how to stop its progression. Oliveira also states that patients with the disease show partial but significant improvement when they are also treated with music therapy.

“Areas of language, emotions, and memories are activated by music,” he explains. “A person with the disease tends to lose some skills, such as language, and studies show that music therapy activates certain brain regions that promote the reduction or degeneration of certain areas, in addition to improving some symptoms.”

Visible results

The class always happens in the same way, following a repertoire of eight new songs presented to the patient. From the opening song, “Bom dia!” to sacred songs based on Psalms 46 and 1 Chronicles 7:14, the collection of pieces has songs for many daily activities, such as bathing, hugging, and saying goodbye.

Tatiane Portella, Nazaré’s daughter, says that as soon as classes started, they saw considerable improvement. Her mother, in some unknown way, was able to recall the songs by their lyrics, rhythm, or melody.

“I saw that after class she remembered parts of the song,” Portella reports. “After five days, I could still hear her humming. I realized that the responses to the daily routine were more positive after school. Things like bathing and eating were done with more desire.”

According to Oliveira, this is due to three main areas that are activated when listening to music. One of them is the cerebral tonsils, responsible for feelings like fear and pleasure. Its outermost region is activated by music. 

“Depending on the melody we hear, we are sad or happy, making us remember certain moments in life,” he adds.

Sounds that transform

For Portella, her mother's improvement occurred gradually. The increase in vocabulary was noticeable and the level of speech was more orderly. 

“I see that the dynamics of the class have an effect both in the short term and the long term,” she says. “After music therapy, she is more willing to take actions such as choosing which clothes to wear; the repertoire even promotes notions of coordination such as right and left. She can even recall songs she used to sing in the past.”

Oliveira reinforces that these responses are due to another region fundamental for memory, the hippocampus--the area most affected by Alzheimer's disease. It also plays an important role in emotions. When listening to sad music for example, there is an inhibition of this region. On the contrary, there is an improvement in their performance.

There is also the accumbens core, known as the reward center. It promotes the feeling of pleasure that creates drive to always search for what brings well-being. It directs the individual's attitude.

“Music, in general, plays a role in stimulating our conduct,” details the doctor. “It can be passive (listening to music associated with emotions and behavioral changes) or active (dancing or singing). These actions also activate other brain regions simultaneously or sequentially; motor areas like coordination for example.”

The Fadba School of Music offers several courses in the areas of musical instruments, vocal technique, children's musicalization, orchestra practice, recorder, singing, and choir. The school has for years been spreading musical art in the Recôncavo Baiano, and has contributed to the formation of music leaders for Adventist congregations across the country.

This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site