Playing for timePlaying for time
All In The Mind
Researchers, therapists and neurologists are using music to treat people with brain injuries, and disorders such as Alzheimer’s, dementia and depression. Listening to and performing music can help manage anxiety, aggression, and improve quality of life for these patients.
28:49•27 Mar 2016
Playing for Time: How Music Helps Minds Hold On
Episode Overview
- Music can tap into preserved implicit memory in dementia, allowing people to learn and retain new songs even when other memories fail.
- Therapeutic use of rhythm and live music can help calm agitation and support social connection for people in late-stage dementia.
- Nostalgic radio programming, such as Silver Memories, may trigger recognition, speech and emotional engagement in aged care residents.
- Ultrasound techniques in animal models have opened the blood–brain barrier and reduced toxic amyloid, fully restoring memory in tested mice.
- Songwriting and musically structured reflection can support people with brain injury as they rebuild a sense of self and future identity.
“She couldn't remember meeting me or having learnt the song, but she could actually sing the song.”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? Here, the focus shifts from alcohol to ageing brains, showing how music might buy precious time for memory, mood and identity. Hosted by Lynn Malcolm, this episode of *All In The Mind* brings together a panel of specialists who look at how music and sound affect the brain.
Dementia researcher and clinical neuropsychologist Dr Amy Baird talks about people with dementia who can still learn and recall new songs, even when other memories have faded. One woman, Norma, couldn’t remember meeting Amy, yet could flawlessly sing a newly taught pop song each week – a striking example of preserved implicit memory. Music therapist Dr Jeanette Tamplin explains how singing and rhythm support speech, movement and emotional connection.
She describes working with people who’ve forgotten everyday skills yet still remember lyrics, and using live music to gently calm agitation in late-stage dementia by matching then softening musical intensity. Broadcaster Gary Thorpe shares moving stories from his nostalgic radio service “Silver Memories”, designed for older people and those with dementia.
One carer wrote that after playing the station, his wife, who had stopped recognising him, seemed to return: “Now, after such a short time, I have my wife back and I have my life back.” Professor Jürgen Gertz adds a cutting-edge angle, describing ultrasound techniques in mice that open the blood–brain barrier and clear toxic amyloid, restoring memory in laboratory tests.
He stresses that music isn’t a cure for Alzheimer’s, but argues that sound itself can influence nerve cells and help ease depression and emotional distress. Across research labs, care homes and rehab wards, the conversation circles back to hope: using music to support identity, connection and quality of life, while medical treatments slowly develop. It’s a reminder to anyone touched by cognitive decline that a favourite song might still hold a surprising kind of strength.
Could music play a bigger part in how you care for brain health and emotional recovery?
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