A Clinical Study of the Musical Effect on Anxiety and Depression in Dementia

Dementia is widespread among elderly people and often related to anxiety and depression. These symptoms affecting strongly dementia subject can deteriorate the quality of life and increase the risk of mortality. Consequently, it is necessary to find therapeutic methods to manage dementia. Among the several care programs, we have decided to analyze non-pharmacological interventions, precisely the music therapy. Combining the clinical psychology and the scientific literature, we have tried to explain the underlying mechanisms of ? the power of music ? on anxiety and depression in dementia. We hypothesize that the Musical Sound System remains relatively preserved in dementia, due to the characteristics of musical sound, and it could represent a cognitive resource. Nevertheless, the subjectivity of the patient plays an important role in therapy, as Oliver Sacks points out, and without its consideration, every intervention could be vain.