Music therapy
More than listening to music, playing music activates several parts of the brain simultaneously. Emotions are stimulated, memories are awakened, the expression of feelings is fostered, social interaction is facilitated. Music therapy can take several forms. These encompass more passive approaches such as listening to music (recorded or live), providing a personalized (preferred music) music list on an iPod, or active approaches such as singing familiar songs in a group or playing a musical instrument. Music therapy ameliorates depressive and anxiety symptoms, agitation and challenging behaviors, whilst it maintains perceptual-motor skills. In contrast to passive music therapy, active music therapy, being more suitable for people with mild to moderate dementia, has been shown to improve general cognitive ability.