Everyone knows it. A song that takes you back to your childhood or that sultry summer with the first kiss. Music has a wonderful effect on our brain, also in people with dementia. They may not recognize you anymore, but they will sing along with the songs of the past.
Neuropsychologist Erik Scherder has shown that listening to music brings back memories and that music has a positive effect on the connections between the different areas of the brain.
Music is a great memory trigger. The first notes of a song take you back to beautiful moments from the past, even if you have dementia and slowly lose your memories,” says the professor who Memories for life – stop dementia explains how the connection between music and dementia works.
Brother Jaap (36) has dementia and is now fond of carnival squatters
One in five people will sooner or later have to deal with dementia. In the Netherlands there are currently 290,000 people with the brain disease, if no solution is found, there will be half a million in 2040. These are shocking figures and that is why AvroTros is once again making a one and a half hour program together with Alzheimer Nederland this year. The edition of Monday 26 June pays special attention to music memories and the connection between music and dementia.
The TV show also features the poignant story of Jaap (34), who has frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and lives in a care institution. His sister Charlotte (36) tells how Jaap’s character has changed completely due to the brain disorder, even his taste in music is different these days. “We used to be best friends. We did everything together. We had the same group of friends and always went out together. We also liked the same music, like Chef’Special. Jaap now likes a song more like I’m going z wemmen (in Bacardi lemon) and his carnival squatters are his favourite.”
In 2021, her brother was diagnosed with FTD. “The first thing we noticed was that he started behaving differently. He was inactive and distant. We thought it was because of corona, but when his girlfriend broke up with him and he lost his job in the hospitality industry because he could no longer perform simple actions, we realized that there was more to it. He was no longer the Jaap everyone was full of, the Jaap we knew. He only thought of himself and no longer put himself in the shoes of others. He used to be sweet and caring, now he’s blunt and self-absorbed.”
The memory still works, but Jaap’s behavior has changed. ‘There is no brake anymore’
After a brain scan, it was clear that major changes had taken place in his brain due to the condition. Charlotte: “I was not familiar with this disease and did not know that you could get this at such a young age. Afterwards, Jaap lived on his own for another seven months, but that was no longer possible. He didn’t take good care of himself. He lived with my mother for a while, but that situation was too unsafe for him and for us.”
There is nothing wrong with his memory, says Charlotte. “He still recognizes us and remembers things. With him, it’s really his behavior that has changed. His norms and values are different. He himself has no awareness that he is ill, he has no insight into his own illness. He says everything he thinks, there is no filter on it anymore. For example, he said that he no longer wanted the maid to come because she had bad teeth. Sometimes we also have to laugh at the situation.”
Sister Charlotte: “You are actually mourning someone who is still alive”
The hardest part is that her brother is still there, but then again not. “It’s bizarre to see your brother change like that, it’s really scary to experience that. The pictures from before when he wasn’t sick yet and now are so different. You are actually mourning someone who is still alive. How do you do that? When someone has passed away, you can talk about the beautiful memories. It’s too early for that now, but you can’t forget what he was like. I find it quite difficult that my children do not experience my brother as I know him, they do not hear the nice stories now, but they do experience the misery.”
According to Charlotte, it is important that there is more awareness about FTD and dementia, so that others are more likely to recognize signals in a loved one, even if it concerns a young person in whom you would not expect it. She also thinks it is important that more research is done into the disease. “We still can’t stop the disease process. You can only slow it down if you catch it early, even before you get symptoms.”
Other people also appear in the program, such as Meriam (59) who tells how she slowly loses herself due to dementia.
Monday, NPO 1, 8.35 pm.