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Musical Leisure Activities to Support Cognitive and Emotional Functioning in Aging and Dementia

The capacity of music to engage auditory, cognitive, motor, and emotional functions across cortical and subcortical brain regions and the relative preservation of music in the aging and degenerating brain makes music a promising tool both in supporting healthy neurocognitive aging and maintaining better emotional well-being, cognitive functioning, and communication and social interaction in different stages of dementia. As the incidence and prevalence of aging-related neurological illnesses is rapidly increasing, it is important to develop music-based interventions that make use of self- or caregiver-implemented musical leisure activities and that are enjoyable and effective in the everyday care of the persons with dementia. This chapter reviews recent experimental evidence on the emotional and cognitive effects of musical leisure activities in healthy older adults and in persons with dementia and their caregivers. The chapter also discusses which factors are crucial for the efficacy of music in different stages of dementia.