Vijayalakshmi T¹,
Priyadarsini R²,
¹Postgraduate,
²Assistant Professor,
Institute of Physiology,
Madurai Medical College,
Tamil Nadu, India.

Abstract

• Background: Memory is the ability to recall past experiences or information. Women generally experience better episodic memory, especially verbal memory, throughout their lifespan compared to men. However, women may also have a steeper age-related decline in memory after a certain age, possibly due to factors like brain atrophy or the presence of APOE-ε4 allele. Music plays an important role in the life of people, regardless of their age. It is used for recreation. Listening to music is associated with strong emotional feelings. It activates the limbic system, which is involved in the processing of emotions and in controlling memory. Music has high impact on our mental health. It improves the mood, mental alertness and memory. Music reduces depression, anxiety and stress levels.
• Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of music on short term memory in elderly female individuals..
• Methodology: It is a quasi-experimental study conducted at Poonimaangadu village, near Tirutani. 30 elderly female individuals in the age group of 60 -70 years were recruited for the study. Then textual memory task was conducted for the participants before and after listening to music. Final scores were calculated. Twenty-four hours later, visual memory task was conducted before and after listening to music. Final scores were calculated. The statistical analysis of the collected data was done.
• Results: There is a significant increase in textual memory task score (7.2(±)1.01) and visual memory task score (12.3(±)1.3) after listening to music in elderly female individuals compared to scores before listening to music (textual memory score: 5.2(±)1.08 & visual memory score: 7.1(±)1.7).
• Conclusion: Our study concludes that, there is a significant beneficial effect of music on memory which may be utilized as a simple, non-invasive, cost effective, preventive and therapeutic tool in age related decline in memory and other disorders leading to dementia.

Keywords: dementia, music, textual memory, visual memory