This work, conducted in collaboration with the Universit. de Lille, focuses on the cognitive effects of music in pathological aging. Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the cognitive, emotional, and social functioning of individuals. Given the limited efficacy of pharmacological approaches, non-drug treatments and in particular musical interventions are frequently proposed to overcome these difficulties.

However, the factors that explain their effectiveness are not clearly identified. The aim of this project is to evaluate the factors influencing the socio-emotional and motor engagements of Alzheimer’s patients during musical activity, as well as their ability to synchronize their movements with the musical rhythm. For this purpose, Alzheimer’s patients and matched control participants performed a sensorimotor synchronization task, which consisted of tapping with their hand to the rhythm of a metronome or music in the presence of a musician. The musician performed the synchronization task with the patient. The musician was physically present in front of the patient (live condition), or virtually present through a pre-recorded video projected in real size in front of the patient (video condition).

The results show the importance of the musical context and social interactions in the synchronization performances, but also in the social, emotional, and motor involvement of participants with Alzheimer’s. These results open promising therapeutic perspectives, including the possibility of complementing current care with regular musical activities through the use of video recordings and mobile technology.