Pop Music's Appeal Explained

An Oldie But a Goodie:

Study Finds Dementia May Affect Musical Tastes

Science Daily — St. Paul, MN -- Appreciating music for the first time, or switching preferences from classical to "pop" music, can be a behavior resulting from dementia, as reported in Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Dementia is often characterized by a loss of reasoning abilities, language skills and memory. But researchers at the National Centre for Research and Care of Alzheimers Disease in Brescia, Italy, found that two of the patients who had acquired frontotemporal dementia, subsequently acquired something new: an appreciation for a kind of music they previously disliked.

In one example cited in the study, a 68-year-old lawyer developed progressing apathy, indifference to his work, and a loss of inhibition, judgment, and speaking and abstract thinking skills. About two years after his diagnosis, he began to listen at full volume to a popular Italian pop music band. Formerly a classical music listener, he had once referred to pop music as "mere noise."

In another example, a 73-year-old homemaker developed apathy and loss of interest in her children. About a year after her diagnosis, she developed an interest in music, where she had barely tolerated easy-listening tunes before, and began sharing her 11-year-old granddaughter's interest in pop music.

[As Heard on Car Talk]