Gamma-Music Based Intervention for Mild Alzheimer's Disease

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Project Summary / Abstract Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is characterized by cognitive deficits such as memory loss, as well as deficits in the motivation that drives daily activities. These cognitive and motivational deficits are linked to widespread neuronal and synaptic atrophy, coupled with aggregated extracellular Aβ-plaque and tau deposits, and atypical neural activity across multiple frequencies. Recent work in mouse models of AD have shown that inducing gamma oscillations with a non-invasive gamma-frequency (40 Hz) light-flickering and auditory tone-stimulation regimes reduced Aβ plaques and improved spatial and recognition memory. In humans, restoring gamma-frequency activity while preserving its phase-amplitude coupling with theta-band activity are shown to recover human memory performance in older adults, and in patients with mild AD, thus offering a promising route towards a novel therapy that can prevent brain atrophy while improving cognition. Despite their recent successes, it is a major challenge to translate gamma-frequency neurostimulation from a laboratory study to a behavioral intervention. Our goal is to promote healthy neurocognitive aging using lifestyle interventions; in particular, interventions that sustainably elevate mood and reward motivated behavior while encouraging social bonding may be most promising in slowing the progression of AD. Music listening engages multiple brain networks involved in sensory processing, movement, language, attention, learning and memory, emotion and reward, and social connectedness. Music-Based Interventions (MBIs) have the potential to manage symptoms, slow disease progression, and improve quality of life. Our lab has recently shown that an eight-week MBI can increase auditory functional connectivity to the reward system. Here we propose to test a novel protocol for music-based brain stimulation, gamma-MBI: gamma-light stimulation that automatically adapts to music-based intervention. Harnessing the fact that music listening is an intrinsically rewarding activity, we propose to use music as a carrier for gamma sensory stimulation. As music contains theta-band acoustic energy, music listening is a form of theta- band noninvasive brain stimulation. We will test and refine a novel brain-stimulation tool using gamma-frequency lights coupled with self-selected music for a gamma-music-based intervention for participants with mild Alzheimer’s Disease. Results will yield a gamma-stimulation protocol that reliably influences brain activity (Aim 1), is adaptive, motivating and rewarding to use (Aim 2), and will generate predictions as to who might benefit the most from gamma-MBI (Aim 3). By bridging the gap between neurostimulation and behavioral intervention by combining music therapy with gamma-band neurostimulation, the present project aims to find a sustainable intervention that delays the progression of AD. Our team is uniquely qualified to address all aspects of this innovative and ambitious project.