Reminiscence therapy is an evidence-based treatment for late life depressive symptoms, and has been associated with improvements in cognitive function, loneliness, happiness, and wellbeing for older people. While music is often involved in reminiscence therapy, little is known about how music is used or works in this context. Specifically, we do not know what purpose music serves, or how it works to enhance the experience when combined with reminiscence therapy. This presentation will provide an overview of two studies exploring how music enhances reminiscence therapy.

A narrative literature review was conducted with a structured search strategy to identify all relevant literature. Furthermore, a single-case repeated measures experimental EEG study with 4 older adults experiencing psychological distress was conducted. Participants were randomly assigned to a single session of either verbal reminiscence therapy or music-assisted reminiscence therapy. EEG recordings of resting states (e.g., eyes closed) were taken before and after the session, together with different epochs recorded during the session (e.g., during the start of reminiscence, the problem solving success, and music played). Analysis involved calculating the standardised LORETA (sLORETA) calculations to map regions and sources of EEG activity during these epochs.

The SEED model proposed that music enhances reminiscence through: Summoning autobiographical memories, eliciting physiological responses, evoking emotional reactions and pleasure, and defining and describing self-identity and social connectedness. Findings of the EEG study suggested that for the individual participants, both verbal and music-assisted reminiscence therapy resulted in widespread and lateralised activation. These activations were stronger for music- assisted reminiscence than for verbal reminiscence, particularly in the central and frontal areas. Only participants who received music-assisted reminiscence demonstrated activation in areas associated with emotional regulation and meditation, providing preliminary evidence for the SEED model.

The two presented studies contribute to our understanding of the potential mechanisms for change when applying reminiscence and music-assisted reminiscence therapy interventions to improve wellbeing for older people.