October 1, 2014
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmBook Review: Alive Inside
Books and recommendations from Scientific American
By Annie Sneed
On supporting science journalism
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Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory
by Michael Rossato-Bennett (DVD available October 21, 2014)
More than 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and many of them become unreachable as their cognitive impairment advances. Incredibly, though, when these same people listen to personally meaningful music, they can sometimes reconnect with their emotions, memories and identities. Filmmaker Rossato-Bennett follows social worker Dan Cohen as he brings iPods into nursing homes around the country. One resident with advanced dementia instantly awakens from a stupor when he hears music from his past and recalls decades-old details about his favorite singer, Cab Calloway. Cohen's ultimate goal is to make personalized music a standard tool at the tens of thousands of elderly care facilities in the U.S. “We need to use music to engage with people,” Cohen says, “to allow them to express themselves, enjoy themselves, and live again.”
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