The new study used YouTube clips as a means to deliver reminiscence therapy to dementia patients in a hospital setting. Six participants watched video clips related to their social interests or topics that came up in discussion. These included clips of historic sports stars and classic moments from movies and musicals, such as Gene Kelly's "Singing in the Rain."
After six weeks, the researchers conducted informal interviews with the participants and found improvements in participants' moods, quality of life and communication abilities. Most participants also showed improvement in their scores on a standard language skills test.
"YouTube is a feasible means of conducting computerized based [reminiscence therapy]," the researchers wrote in their findings, published Aug. 31 in the journal Age and Aging. "[T]his small cohort of participants had an increased sense of well-being and mood, and displayed greater communicative participation and engagement in the group," the researchers said.
via foxnews.com