Dementia affects around 50 million people globally, a number that is tipped to triple in the next 30 years.
With no cure yet, we're working on a groundbreaking research program to see if we can slow the rate of cognitive decline with music, to prevent dementia.
Waves will be running intermittently throughout the next 2 years. Once you check your eligibility, we will contact you to let you know the next start date
Contact Us
Zoe Menczel Schrire - Trial Co-ordinator
Phone: +61 2 9351 0755
Enabled by a generous philanthropic gift from Barbara Spencer, this three-year program will test whether music training workshops are a feasible cognitive training intervention for people experiencing mild cognitive decline - the stage before dementia develops.
Through an intensive music training course, imaging studies, and neurological and psychological testing, the program will provide evidence for what happens next in this space: a new field of research, broader studies, and music training programs for cognitive intervention within community settings.
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganise itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. It allows the neurons in the brain to compensate for and respond to new situations or to changes in their environment - like illness or injury.
Lead investigator, Professor Sharon Naismith, says neuroplasticity is supported by cognitive training. Activities that require effort, repetition, and adjustment (learning from mistakes) stretch us, which helps protect our neuroplasticity.
"Training, acquiring and mastering new skills and knowledge is 'cognitive reserve', which is listed as one of the 12 known lifestyle factors affecting a person's risk of developing dementia.
"Musicians know this type of training intimately. In neuroscience, we have results from other studies tracking cognitive training, but there is still very little scientific evidence to show how it could be used to help people who may be at risk of developing dementia.
"This is an exciting opportunity to lay down that evidence and take that extra step towards reducing cognitive decline."
We are seeking adults aged between 60-90 years with memory difficulties and no previous experience in instrumental playing or singing in an organised group in the last 6 months.
During the program's first phase, researchers from the Brain and Mind Centre and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music will work with small focus groups of participants enrolled in the Healthy Brain Ageing Clinic. The focus groups provide the framework for the design of the music training workshops that will be offered as part of the study.
Researchers will then offer music training to older adults with concerns about cognitive decline and who have been assessed by the Healthy Brain Ageing Clinic. At this stage, workshops are not open to wider participation as this marks the feasibility study, which measures the impact of music training on a small group of participants.
Participants of the feasibility study volunteer to be assessed at three points over the course of training:
To account for the known health benefits of social engagement, which may also contribute to any observed changes, a second group of participants may join in a social music series that fosters similar social interactions.
We hope that in three years we will have the evidence that sets the stage for music training programs that could be provided in community settings or public health services.
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