BURNABY, B.C. — A researcher at British Columbia’s Simon Fraser College says the brains of older adults really feel a way of reward when listening to music, even when it is a tune they do not significantly like.
BURNABY, B.C. — A researcher at British Columbia’s Simon Fraser College says the brains of older adults really feel a way of reward when listening to music, even when it is a tune they do not significantly like.
Sarah Faber says her work on how wholesome brains reply to music as they age creates a baseline for future analysis on individuals who have Alzheimer’s or dementia to raised perceive these ailments.
The analysis printed within the journal Community Neuroscience featured 80 individuals, together with college college students of their 20s in addition to folks as outdated as 90, who took practical MRI scans whereas listening to music they selected in addition to some picked by the researchers.
Faber says they discovered reward sections of the mind have been activated in youthful adults whereas they listened to music they appreciated or have been conversant in, however older adults confirmed the identical space being stimulated even when the music was new to them, or they did not prefer it.
She says having a baseline for a way a wholesome mind responds to music will permit researchers to identify modifications in these with Alzheimer’s and doubtlessly enhance therapies.
Faber, who was a music therapist earlier than working as a neuroscientist, says analysis into folks with Alzheimer’s may be difficult if somebody is unable to talk, or clarify what they’re considering or feeling in a second.
“There’s plenty of curiosity in tips on how to predict who is likely to be going to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s illness after which as soon as folks do develop Alzheimer’s and dementia, who’s going to reply to remedy and what sort of remedy,” she mentioned.
“The mind is fascinating, nevertheless it does not exist in a jar. It is connected to a physique, that is connected to an surroundings, and neighborhood, and a social construction.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Could 2, 2024.
The Canadian Press
