OLD people with dementia who have trouble remembering things should keep the
gramophone on, say researchers in London. They have found that music sharpens
memory in people with dementia.
Elizabeth Valentine and Nicholas Foster of Royal Holloway, part of the
University of London, already knew that old people with dementia are better at
recalling memories when there is background noise than when there is silence.
But the researchers wanted to know if music could improve such people’s memories
even more.
They tested 23 men and women aged between 68 and 90, who had mild to moderate
levels of dementia. Some…
