Hippocampal sclerosis affects fMR-adaptation of lyrics and melodies in songs

Songs constitute a natural combination of lyrics and melodies, but it is unclear whether and how these two song components are integrated during the emergence of a memory trace. Network theories of memory suggest a prominent role of the hippocampus, together with unimodal sensory areas, in the build-up of conjunctive representations. The present study tested the modulatory influence of the hippocampus on neural adaptation to songs in lateral temporal areas. Patients with unilateral hippocampal sclerosis and healthy matched controls were presented with blocks of short songs in which lyrics and/or melodies were varied or repeated in a crossed factorial design. Neural adaptation effects were taken as correlates of incidental emergent memory traces. We hypothesized that hippocampal lesions, particularly in the left hemisphere, would weaken adaptation effects, especially the integration of lyrics and melodies. Results revealed that lateral temporal lobe regions showed weaker adaptation to repeated lyrics as well as a reduced interaction of the adaptation effects for lyrics and melodies in patients with left hippocampal sclerosis. This suggests a deficient build-up of a sensory memory trace for lyrics and a reduced integration of lyrics with melodies, compared to healthy controls. Patients with right hippocampal sclerosis showed a similar profile of results although the effects did not reach significance in this population. We highlight the finding that the integrated representation of lyrics and melodies typically shown in healthy participants is likely tied to the integrity of the left medial temporal lobe. This novel finding provides the first neuroimaging evidence for the role of the hippocampus during repetitive exposure to lyrics and melodies and their integration into a song

Golden oldies and silver brains : Deficits, preservation, learning, and rehabilitation effects of music in ageing-related neurological disorders

During the last decades, there have been major advances in mapping the brain regions that underlie our ability to perceive, experience, and produce music and how musical training can shape the structure and function of the brain. This progress has fueled and renewed clinical interest towards uncovering the neural basis for the impaired or preserved processing of music in different neurological disorders and how music-based interventions can be used in their rehabilitation and care. This article reviews our contribution to and the state-of-the-art of this field. We will provide a short overview outlining the key brain networks that participate in the processing of music and singing in the healthy brain and then present recent findings on the following key music-related research topics in neurological disorders: (i) the neural architecture underlying deficient processing of music (amusia), (ii) the preservation of singing in aphasia and music-evoked emotions and memories in Alzheimer's disease, (iii) the mnemonic impact of songs as a verbal learning tool, and (iv) the cognitive, emotional, and neural efficacy of music-based interventions and activities in the rehabilitation and care of major ageing-related neurological illnesses (stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease). (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Neural Structures Associated with Music Engagement in Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and a major public health issue resulting in decreased life expectancy of patients and high societal cost. Medical treatment of AD is palliative in nature as there is no definite cure. The symptoms can be alleviated through psychosocial interventions such as music-based rehabilitation. The aims of this small-scale study were to examine how AD affects the structure of brain areas associated with music engagement. Recently diagnosed patients with AD (N=5) were interviewed using Music Engagement Questionnaire (MusEQ) to acquire behavioral data relating to their musical activities. Using structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data acquired prior to this study with clinical indication, correlational Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM) analyses were carried out evaluating the relationship between the neural architectures and MusEQ subtests and total score. Greater MusEQ total scores were associated with greater grey matter volume (GMV) in parietal and superior occipital areas, bilaterally. Greater GMV in frontal, limbic and inferior occipital areas were associated with higher scored both in Daily and Respond subtests. Higher scores in Emotion subtest were associated with greater GMV in the left parietal areas. The current results of the present feasibility-type study provide putative evidence on the relationship between music engagement and brain plasticity in persons with AD, and, if verified in a larger patient population, could contribute to personalized implementation of music-based therapeutic approaches for patients with memory impairment

Neural Markers of Musical Memory in Young and Older Adults

Memory for music can be preserved in the presence of neurodegenerative disorders even when other memories are forgotten. However, understanding how the brain remembers music has proven difficult despite decades of research. The central goal of this thesis was to elucidate the neural correlates of musical memory by exploring how the presence of language and music information affect the way young and older adults remember music. To that end, I 1) used a controlled training paradigm to familiarize participants with novel stimuli that manipulated the presence of language and music, and 2) collected functional magnetic resonance imaging data to compare brain activity in response to stimuli that were identical except for their level of familiarity. First, I compared differences in neural activation based on familiarity in young adults using general linear model (GLM) and multivariate pattern analyses (Chapter 2). Contrary to the results of previous studies, there were no differences in the areas involved in processing novel and familiar music. Next, I used an intersubject synchrony analysis to assess the effect of familiarity on neural synchrony (Chapters 3 and 5). Synchrony is a new technique in the musical memory literature that correlates neural activation timecourses to a stimulus across individuals. Familiarity reduced synchrony in both young and older adults. Synchrony reduction is associated with increased idiosyncratic processing across participants. This reduction occurred after a single listen suggesting that each participant had a unique experience of the stimuli after only a single exposure. Finally, I used GLM and synchrony analyses together to characterize how musical stimuli with and without language are processed by healthy young and older adults (Chapter 4). Brain areas involved in processing music and language stimuli differed based on age group and stimuli, but in both groups language information induced more synchrony than stimuli without language. Altogether, these results suggest that 1) similarities in stimulus processing across individuals are directly related to the presence of language, and 2) the lack of clearly defined neural correlates of musical memory across previous studies may stem from the idiosyncrasies in processing that arise as individuals become familiar with musical stimuli

Contextual Information and Memory for Unfamiliar Tunes in Older and Younger Adults

We examined age differences in the effectiveness of multiple repetitions and providing associative facts on tune memory. For both tune and fact recognition, three presentations were beneficial. Age was irrelevant in fact recognition, but older adults were less successful than younger in tune recognition. The associative fact did not affect young adults\u27 performance. Among older people, the neutral association harmed performance; the emotional fact mitigated performance back to baseline. Young adults seemed to rely solely on procedural memory, or repetition, to learn tunes. Older adults benefitted by using emotional associative information to counteract memory burdens imposed by neutral associative information

L'utilisation de la musique comme support de nouveaux apprentissages dans le vieillisement normal et la maladie d'Alzheimer

L objectif de ce travail de thèse est d évaluer le potentiel de la musique comme support mnémotechnique pour l acquisition de nouvelles informations chez des personnes âgées saines et atteintes de la maladie d Alzheimer (MA). Les bénéfices de la musique sur la cognition ont souvent été mis en évidence, y compris chez des populations âgées ou atteintes de démence. Parallèlement, chez des sujets jeunes, l idée que la musique peut servir de support pour la mémoire a été largement débattue. Pourtant, très peu d études ont posé cette question auprès de populations âgées ou dans la démence, malgré le besoin persistant de stratégies d intervention dans ce domaine. Dans le présent travail, deux études sont menées dans une cohorte de 8 participants atteints d un stade léger de la maladie d Alzheimer, et 7 participants âgés sains appariés en âge et niveau de scolarité. La première étude porte sur la mémoire verbale, et compare l apprentissage et la rétention de paroles (textes inconnus) présentées de manière récitée ou chantée. Lorsque les paroles sont chantées, différents degrés de familiarité de la mélodie sont contrastés. Aussi, l action motrice étant intimement liée à l écoute musicale, nous contrastons deux procédures d apprentissage impliquant (ou non) la production synchronisée des paroles à mémoriser pendant l encodage : le participant est invité à chanter à l unisson avec un modèle (ou à écouter simplement sans chanter). Les résultats de cette étude sont présentés et discutés dans les deux premiers articles de la partie expérimentale. Ils suggèrent globalement que la musique n aide pas l apprentissage en rappel immédiat ; un effet délétère est même observé lorsque la mélodie utilisée est non familière. Par contre, la musique favorise la rétention à long terme des paroles, principalement pour les participants MA. Elle ne semble cependant pas interagir avec la procédure d apprentissage impliquant le chant à l unisson. La seconde étude porte sur l apprentissage de séquences de gestes. Suivant la même logique que dans la première étude, nous explorons l influence d un accompagnement musical (versus apprentissage en silence) et d une procédure d apprentissage avec production synchronisée (versus observation) des gestes durant l encodage. Les résultats (article 3) ne montrent pas non plus d interaction entre l accompagnement et la procédure d apprentissage, mais différents effets de chaque composante sur les deux groupes de participants. Effectuer les gestes en synchronie avec un modèle lors de l encodage est bénéfique pour les sujets Contrôles, mais plutôt délétère pour les participants MA. Par contre, l accompagnement musical favorise davantage l apprentissage chez les sujet MA que chez les Contrôles. En discussion générale, nous discutons les implications de ces résultats pour la neuropsychologie fondamentale et clinique, et proposons notamment différentes recommandations visant à maximiser ces effets et à les rendre pertinents pour l usage thérapeutique en stimulation cognitive.This thesis research aims to test the potential of music as a mnemonic support for new learning in normal elderly and Alzheimer s disease (AD) participants. Several studies have highlighted the beneficial effects of music on cognition in aging and dementia. At the same time, in young adults, the idea that music could serve as a mnemonic support is highly debated. Yet, very few studies addressed this question in aging or dementia. In the present work, we conduct two studies in a cohort of 8 mild Alzheimer s disease and 7 matched control participants. The first study concerns verbal memory, and compares learning and different retention delays of lyrics (unknown texts) that are either spoken or sung. When lyrics are sung, different degrees of melody familiarity are contrasted. Moreover, as motor activity is strongly related to music, we compare two learning procedures that are either synchronized or not with the production of these lyrics during encoding: 1) participants sing in unison with the model or 2) participants hear the model without singing. Results of this study are presented and discussed in the first two articles of the experimental section. Globally, music does not show aid for learning measured in immediate recall; we even observed a harmful effect when lyrics are sung on a non-familiar melody. But music helps long-term retention of lyrics, particularly for AD participants. Nevertheless, music does not clearly interact with learning procedure involving unison singing. The second study of the thesis investigates the learning of gesture sequences. Similarly to the first study, we explore influence of music versus silence as background accompaniment, and synchronized production versus observation of gestures during encoding. Results (article 3) showed again no interaction between background accompaniment and learning procedure, but different effects of each variable on both groups. Learning gestures with synchronized production is beneficial for normal controls, but harmful for AD participants. On the other hand, musical accompaniment led to greater benefit for AD participants than for controls. In the general discussion, we present the implications of these results for fundamental and clinical neuropsychology. We propose some recommendations to maximize these effects and make them relevant for therapeutic care.DIJON-BU Doc.électronique (212319901) / SudocSudocFranceF