Neural dynamics during shared music for people living with dementia v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the neural dynamics of social connection during shared music activities for people with dementia and their informal carers
IRAS ID
294486
Contact name
Jodie Bloska
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Anglia Ruskin University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
The current project will explore how shared music activities might support interaction and social connection for people living with dementia and their informal caregivers. Our study will look at what is happening in participants’ brains during shared music activities, and compare this to shared reading activities. We will use a brain imaging technique called electroencephalography (EEG).
The caring relationship has been found to impact on individuals’ health and wellbeing, and therefore there is a need to develop interventions that can support relationship quality and social connection (Quinn, Clare and Woods, 2009). Our study therefore aims to see if there if shared music activities can support relationships and if there is something unique about using music together.
Participants will be people with dementia and their informal caregivers who have completed their participation in a previous study called ‘Homeside’ (Baker et al. 2019). During their participation in Homeside, they will have received training sessions in either a music or reading programme with a therapist, and they will have used music or reading activities at home together for 12 weeks. For the current project, we will invite 6 of these dyad participants to take part in this exploratory EEG study. The therapists from the Homeside study will also be invited to take part in a semi-structured interview for this study.
If they choose to take part in this study, participants will take part in a 2-hour refresher training session with the therapist before attending an EEG recording session. Participants will be asked to participate in the activities in which they have been trained (music or reading) while wearing a non-invasive EEG cap to record EEG data. We will collect some information from the participants before and after the EEG using questionnaires and an interview.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/LO/0738
Date of REC Opinion
3 Dec 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion