Dementia and Music - Research Paper Example

Dementia and Music Basically, the word “dementia” derives its origin from the Latin language. The literal meaning of this word is “without mind”. The literal meaning quite obviously presents the notion of the disease and the condition that a person goes into when the person suffers from this disease (Aarsland, Andersen, Larsen, Lolk & Kragh-Sorensen, 2003). Dementia leads to gradual decrease and degradation in the thinking, judging and comprehending abilities of the suffering person or, in general, the intelligence or the cognitive abilities of the person (Meyer, University of Florida & Suncoast Workshop on the Neurobiology of Aging, 1992). There are many different causes and diseases which lead to dementia; in this disease, the condition of the patient gets worse as time passes. Cure to this disease is available but the treatment is effective only for a few types of dementia (Aarsland, Zaccai, & Brayne, 2005). Dementia is usually considered as the disease which occurs due to the old age, but it can occur to adults of any age group. It affects the brain in a way that the abilities of a person like retaining ability, language, IQ level, understanding ability, focus, etc. deteriorate with time (Whitehouse, 1993). Dementia also leads to the change in the general behavior of the patient and the patient tends to become extremely moody, he loses control over his emotions, feeling, and other conditions. The worst part of this disease is that the patient starts forgetting and even stops recognizing people closest to him (Whalley & Breitner, 2009). This disease is slowly and gradually becoming common among the people. Generally, the number of cases of dementia is directly related to the age of the population. The relation is between the number of cases of dementia and the general age of the population somewhat exponential (Henderson, 1994). This means the greater the number of older aged population, the greater will be the number of dementia cases. On world scale, dementia cases are predicted to increase by considerable amounts (Hardman, 2009). According to the latest researches conducted, around 35 million people are currently suffering from this disease and it is expected to double after every twenty years. The epidemic of over aged population is not only rapidly increasing in high income countries, but in developing countries as well and, therefore, the head of WHO has demanded that countries should actively participate in anti-dementia campaigns and help to get control over this disease (Bowen, 2002). In developing countries, the age structure of the population is rapidly changing; it is expected that countries like China, Latin America and India will prominently dominate the world with the highest numbers of aging population. This majority of the ageing population leads to huge amounts of disease burden on the nation (NetDoctor.co.uk., 2004). The overall cost of dementia treatment is also quite high and as this disease is spreading rapidly in both developed and developing countries; it is imposing heavy burden on the low income families to care of their elderly members. It is an extremely alarming condition because people who were earlier above the poverty line are being dragged down below the poverty line just because they are spending for the treatment of dementia (Shea, 2012). The rate of increase in the number of cases of dementia is different in different parts of the world; in European countries, it is expected that there would be a 100% increase in the cases till the year 2014; in underdeveloped or developing countries, this percentage is far greater and it has been predicted that there would be an increase in the cases of dementia patients by an amount of 300% by the end of the year 2014. It has been forecasted that the number of dementia cases worldwide will triple by the year 2050 (DeKosky, 2000). Several different researches have also been conducted in Australia alone to find out the incidence and prevalence of dementia. Australia is also undergoing a similar situation like the entire world and it has been predicted that as the ageing population will increase the number of cases of dementia will also increase considerably (Graff-Radford, 2007). According to different surveys and researches that have been conducted, it is expected that the number of dementia cases in Australia are likely to increase by 241% by the end of the year 2050. It has been observed that the cases of dementia will increase more rapidly than the total population and the ageing population in Australia (Maj, & Sartorius, 2002). The number of cases are predicted to increase from 43 170 cases to 142 910 cases by the end of the year 2050. However, this rate will decrease if proper preventive measures are taken (Maj, & Sartorius, 2000). There are various types of dementia but majorly, dementia has been classified into two broad categories, namely, cortical and subcortical dementia. In cortical dementia, the outermost layer of the brain, that is the cerebral cortex, is affected (Wells, 1977). Since cerebral cortex is associated with the functioning of memory, language and behavior, this dementia leads to the disability in memory power or retaining ability, communication problems, bad or moody behavior and lack of ability to focus and think on a particular issue (O'Brien, Burns & Levy, 2000). In subcortical dementia, the part of the brain beneath the cerebral cortex is affected as it can be specified form the name as well. This type of dementia usually leads to the disability in the thinking and comprehending ability of the sufferer (McNamara, 2011). Subcortical dementia leads to a change in the personality of the patient and his general behavior towards people. The patient’s ability to pay close attention to any issue is affected badly as well (Omalu, 2008). The damage to the layer beneath the cerebral cortex leads to the direct impact on the emotional behavior and tolerance, the patient becomes emotionally weak and is unable to control his or her emotions. Gradually, the patient finds it difficult to make various movements as this has a direct impact on the part of the brain that supports movement (Edwards, 1993). Other types of dementia include progressive dementia, primary dementia and secondary dementia. Progressive dementia is very obvious from its name; in that type of dementia, the condition of the patient worsens slowly and gradually (Pitt, 1987). Primary dementia is the dementia which does not occur due to any other disease. Secondary dementia is the type which occurs due to reasons other than diseases like injury or a physical illness. There are certain other dementias which come under more than one category (Van, Feys, De & Dom, 2004). The behavior and the condition of a person with dementia are usually much similar to the conditions of a senile person. The change in the behavior and abilities of the patient of dementia depends on which part of the brain the disease has exerted its devastating influence upon (Smith, 2010). Different parts of the brain help in carrying out different functions and whichever part of the brain is affected, those abilities and capabilities of the person degrade and gradually deteriorate. If the front part of the brain is affected, the person is likely to fail to carry out the desired movements, fails to plan out things, to pay close attention on a particular issue, as well as to judge distance, direction, object placement and carry out problem solving (Zeisel, 2011). The patient becomes emotionally weak and is unable to have a control over his emotions. He also loses his command over language and fails to carry out communications properly (Bourgeois & Hickey, 2009). If the dementia has affected the temporal lobe of the patient, the patient is likely to get deprived of good hearing sense and comprehend things out (Whitman 2009). The patient also starts to forget things and his retaining power weakens to the extent that in severe cases the patient fails to recognize the people around him and even his closest relations. He fails to organize things and objects properly in a line (Meadows, 2011). If the parietal lobe is affected, the patient starts to lose his sense of feel and touch. The person weakens mentally and takes time to comprehend and understand things; the process of dispensation of information is impaired (Aldridge, 2005). Other general changes that are observed in dementia patients are that they fail to perform the daily routine tasks properly; even they become unable to eat, drink, or wear appropriate clothing properly (Bergener & Reisberg, 1989). They start to forget the most important events of their life (Morris, 1996). They start having hallucinations and start arguing and misbehaving without any valid reason. They start facing difficulty in reading and writing properly (Ban & Lehmann, 1989). The patients easily get frustrated and agitated and, thus, they start suffering from depression and delusions (Mortimer & Schuman, 1981). According to the neuropsychological theory, the loss of memory or confabulation in dementia is due to the malfunctioning of the part that carries out cognitive process. The damage to the front lobe of the brain damages the cells and neurons that help in in improving memory power (Minagar, 2009). The front lobe of the brain helps to manage and retain the events of life; when this part gets damaged due to some reasons, the person’s ability to retain things decreases; eventually, this leads to the forgetting of the events or people or mixing up the details of different events into one event or getting confused in recognizing people (Whitaker, 1988). Using the theory of mind, a person can become able to associate different mental states to a person. Accordingly, dementia is a disorder related to the degeneration of neurons, which results in many different conditions associated with the degradation of mind and brain (Murphy, 1923). Dementia is a disease that has a cure for some of its types but requires intensive care, medications, appointments and a lot of money to spend. An easier, cheaper and more effective method to treat dementia is through music or making the patient undergo music therapy (Miller, & Boeve, 2009). An effective method of treating diseases that encompasses distress and depression is to adopt methods that bring peace and calm and create a very pleasing, happy and soothing environment to boost the spirits of the patient and motivate him towards life and release the patient’s tension (Draper, 2004). In such cases, the family and the surrounding people must be very supportive and comforting; at all times they must try to please the patient and keep the patient happy and tension free (Tanaka, McGeer, Ihara, & International Symposium on Dementia, 2001). Music is one such very effective method to sooth and comfort the patient. Music that is generally used for treating dementia patients is very soothing and calming (Torack, 1978). The music used has an extremely restful and gentle sensation (Chronic Organic Brain Syndrome Society, Bell, Bell, & Pennsylvania Dept. of Aging., 1984). It brings peace and serenity to the mind, and as the dementia is devoid of this peace, it proves very beneficial for the patient (Horden, 2000). Music therapy must not be considered as a treatment but it is, in fact, an effective method to improve the detoriated condition of the patient and music therapy has proved capable of improving the condition of the patients (Wimo, 1998). Music therapy sessions are conducted by professional music therapists who have deep knowledge of music and its types; they maintain a regular check of the patient and make sure that improvements are being made in the patient through the music (Emr, 1981). Music therapy is effective in the sense that listening to music can make a person recall certain memory, have a positive attitude towards life, make a person get released of the pressure and depression, get a control and balance over the life, etc. (Feil, 1993). Listening to good music generally makes a person happy (Darnley-Smith, & Patey, 2003). Thus, a dementia patient who gets frustrated and angry and keeps himself cut off socially will revive back and improve social relations and try to live a happy life; they can grow mentally, physically and emotionally tough (Tolnay, Probst, & Swiss Society of Neuropathology, 2001). Not only listening to music can improve the condition, but playing the music can also bring peace of mind and calm the person (Coulston, & Boushey, 2008). Scientists are continuing their research on music as a treatment for dementia patients (Farness, 1990). It has been proved that music therapies are beneficial for dementia patients but it is still under research whether music therapy has a long tern benefit and effect on dementia patients or it is just temporal (Bruscia, 1991). If it is proved that there are long term benefits, it will be introduced into hospitals and care centers as a proper treatment for dementia (American Association for Music Therapy, 1981). 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