Alive Inside - 4 smiles

“Alive Inside” is a documentary about activist Dan Cohen’s attempts to get nursing homes to use music as part of their care regimen for those afflicted with dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. And it’s not just music in general but music that elicits memories of childhood, family, and friends. The movie opens with a clip of a 94-year old Henry who goes from catatonic to effusive, speaking not just sentences but entire paragraphs when he hears a Cab Calloway song. As one doctor explains, ‘Music is the back door to the mind. Henry has reacquired his identity for a while.’

There are an estimated 5 million Americans currently suffering from dementia with 10 million serving as their caregivers, with both numbers going up. It’s partially about the way music gets wired into our brains that makes it so effective. And the spontaneity of music triggers in the listeners’ emotions tied to memories. Yet regardless of the many examples we see in the film, barriers, largely economic, remain. It’s a lot easier to prescribe thousands of dollars worth of medication than buy a $40 iPod. Nonetheless, there are indications that exposure to music helps individuals delay institutionalization and remain with their families, even if the evidence is anecdotal. And on the positive side, Wisconsin has 100 nursing homes using the personalized music system. They are doing an 18-month study with 1500 residents with dementia and have approved funding for phase two and 150 additional nursing homes. Director Michael Rossato-Bennett’s “Alive Inside” makes a strong argument for music’s therapeutic value on slowly deteriorating minds and this is a movie everyone should see.  7/28/14