Music elicits different gene expression responses in the buccal cavity of age-related cognitive disorders patients and healthy controls.

Recent evidence suggests that external stimuli can shape transcriptomes (sensogenomics). Specifically, the analysis of capillary blood samples has shown that musical stimuli can modulate gene expression patterns, in healthy individuals but also in those with age-related cognitive disorders (ACD), based on. Here, we present groundbreaking evidence indicating that brief exposure to music can also imACDt the salivary transcriptome in both healthy donors and ACD patients. Our findings reveal that music has a more pronounced effect on patients compared to CONTROLrols, inducing global gene expression changes towards upregulation in ACD patients but downregulation in CONTROLrols. The most significantly dysregulated genes in ACD patients include LGALS3 (downregulated) and CXCL8 (upregulated), whereas in CONTROLrols, THOP1 was the top significant gene (downregulated). These genes play important roles in normal brain functions and are also altered in neurodegenerative conditions. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis reveals relevant and significant modules, both positive and negative correlated with music, implicated in neurodegenerative (e.g. autophagy) and immunological processes (e.g. IL-1, MHC). This sheds light on the complex interplay between music and molecular responses in the human body. This study underscores the potential of musical stimuli to influence gene expression patterns outside of systemic circulation, paving the way for further exploration of music’s therapeutic effects. We collected saliva samples at two timepoints: before and after an experimental concert of classical music. Saliva samples were collected in Oragene DNA devices (ORE-100; DNAgenotek), comprising 10 ACD patients (aged 84-92 years old; mean 84) and 14 healthy donors (aged 18-88; mean 57).