ABSTRACT

This chapter addresses new possibilities that have evolved from using monitoring technology in a context where people with dementia are interacting with music. Dementia may refer to a variety of disorders that are characterized by progressive nervous system dysfunction, leading to brain damage, which in turn causes a decline in memory, cognitive functioning, and sensorimotor behavior. Given that dementia affects emotional states, sensorimotor abilities, and cognition, the development of useful and reliable monitoring technology is particularly challenging. The chapter argues that the use of monitoring technology in a proper music interaction context may be beneficial for people with dementia. If this technology can capture the embodiment of those music interactions, the chapter considers that it can be a step toward training or maintenance of the patients' sensorimotor skills that support empathic and social skills. In any case, a monitoring tool may represent valuable progress toward a better understanding of the possible importance of embodied interactive approaches in handling neurological degeneration.