Researchers study whether singing can support memory in Alzheimer’s
Sunday 11th October 2026 on 11:30 in
Austria
A four-year study will examine whether singing and learning new songs can support memory in people with Alzheimer’s disease, ORF reports. The project, funded by the Austrian Science Fund and conducted with research teams in Norway and Argentina, is seeking participants over 65 who have no previous active music-making experience.
The researchers are studying the effects of actively singing and learning songs, rather than listening to music. They hope the activity could strengthen neural connections and improve memory.
About 10,000 people in the state of Salzburg live with dementia, and Alzheimer’s accounts for roughly two-thirds of cases, according to the report.
Research involving infants has found that, from three months of age, the brain processes music and links it with movement. The researchers say this supports the possibility that music plays a role in forming and maintaining memories. If their hypothesis is confirmed, music could help make memories more accessible to people with Alzheimer’s.