Work

Musical and verbal memory dissociation in a patient with autoimmune encephalitis

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Music is emotionally arousing and activates different brain areas. Musicians with encephalitis spare musical memory. However, no prior studies have used delayed verbal and musical memory tasks in a patient with thalamic damage. The aim of the present study is to analyse a possible dissociation between verbal and musical memory in a patient with autoimmune encephalitis, who was an amateur musician. JC is a 67- years-old amateur musician with autoimmune encephalitis. He and 8 participants (musicians and non-musicians) were assessed through musical (novel excerpt recognition) and verbal memory tasks (word learning, recall and recognition), including a delayed memory task, a week later. The results showed JC had spared musical memory and impaired verbal memory, and a significant dissociation between them. The dissociation found could be due to the musical training brain plasticity. These findings support the idea of music stimuli as therapeutic tools for these patients.

Source: Neuropsychological Trends

DOI: 10.7358/neur-2024-036-molt

Authors: Julieta Moltrasio, Florencia Cossini, Daniel Gustavo Politis, Wanda Rubinstein

Institutions: Universidad de Buenos Aires, University of Palermo, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Language: English

Topic: Neuroscience and Music Perception

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: Universidad de Buenos Aires