The brain still responds to favorite music in dementia

by Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience

edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan

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What happens in the brain of someone with dementia when they hear music that means something to them? Researchers from Alzheimer Center Amsterdam and the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience mapped how the brain responds to personally meaningful music. They found that favorite music evokes a stronger brain response than neutral music—and that this response differs between types of dementia.

A song that instantly takes you back in time, gives you goosebumps or makes you want to move: Music can evoke remarkably strong emotions and memories. But what happens when the brain is affected by dementia? Researchers have found that favorite music can still trigger a clear response in the brain.

Dementia is an umbrella term for several brain disorders in which brain cells become damaged and die, including Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). As a result, different brain functions can become impaired. There is currently no cure for dementia, making it important to better understand what changes in the brain—and which functions may remain relatively intact.

The research is published in the journal Brain Communications.

What do we know about music and dementia?

Although dementia cannot currently be cured, nonpharmacological interventions such as music therapy may help improve well-being or alleviate certain symptoms. How effective they are may differ between types of dementia.

Previous research suggests that music processing is affected in FTD but may be relatively preserved in Alzheimer's disease. Until now, however, it was unclear whether the brain also responds differently to music in these two forms of dementia.

Listening to music in the MRI scanner

To investigate what happens in the brain while listening to music, the researchers compared people with Alzheimer's disease and FTD with healthy participants. Their brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they listened to music. Participants selected music that was personally meaningful to them, and the researchers compared the brain response to this favorite music with the response to neutral music.

"It's not just music, it's your music," says Jochum van 't Hooft, a researcher at Alzheimer Center Amsterdam. "We mainly wanted to use music that makes you think: this really does something to me. I love the idea that you can be lying in the scanner and genuinely enjoying yourself." That personal connection is important: Music is closely linked to emotions and memories.

Playing music while someone is lying inside an MRI scanner may sound straightforward, but it poses a technical challenge. "An MRI scanner makes a lot of noise, while music is all about sound and timing," explains Wietske van der Zwaag from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. "That's why we developed a special protocol: the scanner would briefly acquire a brain image, followed by a short pause during which the music was played. By alternating scanning and listening in a fixed rhythm, we could map how the brain responded to different types of music."

Favorite music evokes a stronger brain response

The study showed that favorite music evoked more brain activity than neutral music. This was true not only for healthy participants but also for people with Alzheimer's disease and FTD.

The researchers also observed differences between Alzheimer's disease and FTD. In people with FTD, for example, they found less activity in the supplementary motor area (SMA), a brain region involved in movement and aspects of musical processing and memory. In people with Alzheimer's disease, the brain response was more similar to that of healthy participants.

What could this mean for music therapy?

The findings offer new insights that may ultimately help us better understand the role of music therapy in dementia. Further research is needed to determine why music evokes a clear brain response in some people with dementia, while the response is weaker or absent in others.

Understanding these differences could eventually help explain why music-based interventions work better for some people than for others. This may be valuable both for people with dementia and for their caregivers, particularly when music therapy does not have the hoped-for effect.

For now, the study highlights the importance of the personal meaning of music. Even when dementia affects the brain, music that matters to someone can still evoke a clear brain response.

"It's not just any music that matters, but the music that belongs to that person."

Publication details

Jochum J van 't Hooft et al, Music processing in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease: a functional MRI study, Brain Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcag196

Journal information: Brain Communications

Key medical concepts

Alzheimer's DiseaseFrontotemporal DementiaFunctional MRIMusic Therapy

Clinical categories

NeurologyPsychology & Mental healthHealthy aging Provided by Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience Who's behind this story?

Gaby Clark

MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experience in higher education and health content. Dedicated to trustworthy science news. Full profile →

Robert Egan

Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language. Full profile →

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