title: Self-defining memories during exposure to music in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research suggests that exposure to music may enhance autobiographical recall in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients. This study investigated whether exposure to music could enhance the production of self-defining memories, that is, memories that contribute to self-discovery, self-understanding, and identity in AD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two mild-stage AD patients and 24 healthy controls were asked to produce autobiographical memories in silence, while listening to researcher-chosen music, and to their own-chosen music.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AD patients showed better autobiographical recall when listening to their own-chosen music than to researcher-chosen music or than in silence. More precisely, they produced more self-defining memories during exposure to their own-chosen music than to researcher-chosen music or during silence. Additionally, AD patients produced more self-defining memories than autobiographical episodes or personal-semantics during exposure to their own-chosen music. This pattern contrasted with the poor production of self-defining memories during silence or during exposure to researcher-chosen music. Healthy controls did not seem to enjoy the same autobiographical benefits nor the same self-defining memory enhancement in the self-chosen music condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Poor production of self-defining memories, as observed in AD, may somehow be alleviated by exposure to self-chosen music.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire SCALab UMR CNRS 9193-University of Lille Nord de France,France.
authors.forename: Mohamad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El Haj
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire SCALab UMR CNRS 9193-University of Lille Nord de France,France.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Antoine
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire SCALab UMR CNRS 9193-University of Lille Nord de France,France.
authors.forename: Jean Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Nandrino
authors.affiliation: Epsylon Laboratory,EA 4556,University Montpellier III,Montpellier,France.
authors.forename: Marie-Christine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Gély-Nargeot
authors.affiliation: Epsylon Laboratory,EA 4556,University Montpellier III,Montpellier,France.
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raffard
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012649:Self Concept; D012660:Semantics
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; autobiographical memory; memory; music; self-defining memories