Sound Training for Attention and Memory (STAM) Protocol description
The STAM consists of a progressive series of exercises intended to stimulate cognitive functions such as attention and memory. These exercises include connecting body movements to sound stimuli, reacting to sound stimuli, shifting attention by varying one’s reaction to sound stimuli, and repeating sequences of previously recorded sounds.
It has been constructed to act on:
“selective attention” meaning in this case, the ability to select internal or external sources of stimulation in the presence of information and hence the capability to concentrate one’s attention on what is interesting and to elaborate in a privileged way the important information for the pursued aim;
“sustained attention” that is the ability to keep attention on an event for a prolonged time;
“alternate attention” is the mental flexibility to move from one task to another;
“short-term memory”, meaning working memory in charge of handling as well as retaining information.
The protocol is divided into 4 phases, one for each specific function that wants to act.
Phase 1: ASSOCIATION STIMULUS-MOVEMENT
Music therapist instructs subjects to link particular sound stimuli with specific body movements. Participants freely walk in the room listening to recorded music. When one sound stimulus appear over recorded music, the music stops for a while and the movement connected to the stimulus is performed; when the music starts again the subjects starts walking again.
Phase 2: REACTION TO ACOUSTIC STIMULI
The task consists of reacting to previously heard acoustic stimuli. The sound stimuli of the previous exercise are used. Reacting means recognizing the type of stimulus, counting how many times it is present in a recording with noises in the background.
Phase 3: SHIFTING ATTENTION (1)
The task consists of reacting to a target stimulus, a drum, by clapping one’s hands after having heard it, but not clapping when the drum is preceded by a second target stimulus, a cymbal. When the therapist gives a signal, one must react by clapping one’s hands only when the drum is preceded by the cymbal. The task is then made more difficult but the therapist giving this signal more frequently.
Phase 3: SHIFTING ATTENTION (2)
Participians listen to a rhythmic sequence, which is a regular, alternating sequence of bass drum and snare drum. The task is to follow the bass drum beat and snare drum beat by alternately clapping hands and tapping the floor with one’s foot.
Phase 4: ORDERLY AND INVERTED REPETITION
The task consists of listening, recognizing and repeating in an orderly or inverted way sequences of previously recorded sounds. The stimuli have been previously sampled from instruments selected for the exercise. The exercise will go from various simple repetitions, for example three sounds, to more and more difficult ones.
The STAM protocol can be easily used by music therapists, psychologists, physicians, mental health nurses and all technicians who work in cognitive remediation.
The STAM protocol can be easily used by music therapists, psychologists, physicians, mental health nurses and all technicians who work in cognitive remediation.
