06/04/2026
Here is something extraordinary about music and the brain.
A favorite song isn’t filed away in a single drawer of the brain. it’s scattered across many. The prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, the amygdala all hold a piece of it. So the brain can dig through its Rolodex and still find the melody, even when disease has taken other parts away. That’s the gift of music in dementia: the memories tucked inside it can outlast almost everything else.
A person living with late-stage dementia who cannot tell you their own name may be able to sing every single word of a song from 1958.
Music reaches people when nothing else can.
Today's person-centered care tip:
🎵 Find out what music your loved one grew up with
🎵 Play it during difficult moments — bathing, dressing, transitions
🎵 Sing along if you can. Don't worry about how it sounds.
🎵 Watch what happens
This is not a miracle. It is science. And it is beautiful.
💚 What song would be on your loved one's soundtrack? Tell us in the comments.
