When I used to play the piano on an Alzheimer's unit, as part of my research study on "The Therapeutic Effects of Music on Alzheimer's Patients," one thing I vividly remember is that all the patients seemed to love the old Irish songs, "Too-ra loo-ra loo-ra," "When Irish Eyes are Smiling," "I'll Take Yo Home Again Kathleen" and "It's a long, long way to Tipperrary." Somehow they all seemed to know these songs and sang them with great verve and gusto. Why is this? No one knows for sure, but it would seem that when music is associated with a positive life experience or time period in one's life, certain pairings happen in the brain so that whenever that music played, memories of great pleasure or just the release of pleasure hormones, like endorphins or dopamine surge through the brain. It's a pretty wonderful phenomenon and Irish music in our society does it for a lot of people.
1 comment:
So true. Irish music really touches the heart strings, especially when you are Irish!
You must see the new movie Once. It captures the power of music, created by an Irishman and Czech woman and is one of the most touching and moving stories.
Your work is incredible and so valuable.
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