Welcome to Minding Memory. In this podcast we discuss topics related to dementia research. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for dementia research, and we have topics for both those new to the space as well as old pros. We start with some basics, like: What exactly is dementia? What are the different types of dementia? What is the TICS, if not a swarm of blood-sucking insects? But we also invite researchers on to discuss their interesting work to give you a glimpse at the questions, data, and methods moving the field forward.
Minding Memory is co-hosted by Matthew Davis and Lauren Gerlach. Matt and Lauren are health services researchers and professors at the University of Michigan. Matt’s PhD is in Data Science and Lauren is a geriatric psychiatrist. The Minding Memory podcast is part of the Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) at the University of Michigan, supported by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health. Additional support also comes from the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. The content of this podcast does not represent the views of the National Institutes of Health or the University of Michigan. Please consider subscribing to this podcast and make sure to check out our website. On our website you’ll also find links to the center’s seminar series and data products created specifically for dementia research.
You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome to Minding Memory. In this podcast we discuss topics related to dementia research. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for dementia research, and we have topics for both those new to the space as well as old pros. We start with some basics, like: What exactly is dementia? What are the different types of dementia? What is the TICS, if not a swarm of blood-sucking insects? But we also invite researchers on to discuss their interesting work to give you a glimpse at the questions, data, and methods moving the field forward.
Minding Memory is co-hosted by Matthew Davis and Lauren Gerlach. Matt and Lauren are health services researchers and professors at the University of Michigan. Matt’s PhD is in Data Science and Lauren is a geriatric psychiatrist. The Minding Memory podcast is part of the Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) at the University of Michigan, supported by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health. Additional support also comes from the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. The content of this podcast does not represent the views of the National Institutes of Health or the University of Michigan. Please consider subscribing to this podcast and make sure to check out our website. On our website you’ll also find links to the center’s seminar series and data products created specifically for dementia research.
You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While memory loss is generally thought of as the hallmark of dementia, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia like agitation, aggression, anxiety, and hallucinations are nearly universal, affecting almost all patients with advanced dementia. These behavioral disturbances are often the trigger for nursing home placement, and they can be highly distressing for both patients and their care partners. In today’s episode, Matt and Lauren speak with Dr. Ellen McCreedy, a researcher from the Brown School of Public Health who has conducted a study of personalized music intervention called Music & Memory for people living with dementia in nursing homes. Dr. McCreedy is a gerontologist and health services researcher who focuses on evaluation of non-pharmacologic interventions for managing behavioral disturbances of people living with dementia.
Ellen McCreedy, PhD, MPH Faculty Profile
Articles from Episode:
Sisti A, Gutman R, Mor V, Dionne L, Rudolph JL, Baier RR, McCreedy EM. Using Structured Observations to Evaluate the Effects of a Personalized Music Intervention on Agitated Behaviors and Mood in Nursing Home Residents With Dementia: Results From an Embedded, Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2024 Mar;32(3):300-311. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2023.10.016. Epub 2023 Nov 2. PMID: 37973488; PMCID: PMC10922136.
McCreedy EM, Gutman R, Baier R, Rudolph JL, Thomas KS, Dvorchak F, Uth R, Ogarek J, Mor V. Measuring the effects of a personalized music intervention on agitated behaviors among nursing home residents with dementia: design features for cluster-randomized adaptive trial. Trials. 2021 Oct 7;22(1):681. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05620-y. PMID: 34620193; PMCID: PMC8496617.
The transcript for this episode can be found here.
You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.