Music therapy
Music therapy has been studied in the psychological community and has been found to be effective in reducing behavioral symptoms as well as positively influencing emotional and cognitive well-being. In one study, Alzheimer's patients in 98 nursing homes were exposed to music therapy and the results were compared to 98 controls that were not exposed to music therapy. The results suggested that this program helped reduce the use of medication, in combination with the reduction of behavioral and physiological symptoms of dementia. This is the first empirical study to show that the Music and Memory program, described below, exhibits efficacy in reducing antipsychotic and anxiolytic medicine use behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Additionally, another study found that music therapy demonstrated sedative and relaxing effects on patients. Certain neurotransmitter levels, such as norepinephrine and epinephrine, had significantly higher levels after four weeks of music therapy. Music therapy has also been found to help slow down deterioration of linguistic ability.