Effects of music and music therapy on mood in neurological patients

Table 3 Characteristics of the included studies concerning effects on other neurological disorders

Ref.	Design/(Jadad)	Subjects(n)	Diagnosis	Intervention	Professionals	Frequency	Outcomes measures	Results
Pacchetti et al[80]	RCT (2)	32	Parkinson’s Disease	Relaxing music, choral singing, breathing/voice exercises, rhythmic movements, collective improvisation, body expression to music. Control group underwent specific motor exercises	Music therapist	Once a week for 3 mo for 2 h,	HM, MS, PDQL, UPDRS	Improvement in emotional (P < 0.0001) and motor (P < 0.034) functions, activities of daily living, and quality of life (P < 0.0001)
Schmid et al[81]	RCT (0)	20	Multiple Sclerosis	Active role of both patient and music therapist on playing instruments or singing (Nordoff-Robbins approach)	Music therapist	3 blocks of individual sessions (8 to 10 sessions per block) over the course of 1 yr	BDI, HADS, SESA, HAQUAMS, MSFC	Not significant differences between groups but medium effect size on depression (d = 0.63), self esteem (d = 0.54), and anxiety (d = 0.63)
Thaut et al[82]	CCT (0)	54	Acquired brain dysfunctions	Group improvisation, singing, synchronization, attention, and memory exercises with music (Neurologic Music Therapy). Control group spent an equal amount of time resting	Music therapist	4 group sessions on different days for 30 min each	WAIS-III, AVLT, TMT-B, BSI-18, MAACL, SEQ	Improvements on depression (P = 0.02), anxiety (P = 0.04), sensation seeking (P < 0.01), and executive functions (mental flexibility) (P < 0.01)
Horne-Thompson et al[83]	CCT	21	ALS/Motor neuron disease	Music relaxation, playing/singing familiar songs, and music and imagery. A second group received a listening intervention of self-selected music while a third control group underwent activities such as reading or watching TV	Music therapist	3 d per week for 30 min each condition	HADS, ESAS, HR, oxygen saturation levels	No effect was found on depression, anxiety, heart rate, and oxygenation levels between groups
Tamplin et al[84]	RCT (3)	24	Chronic Quadriplegia	Oral motor and respiratory exercises and therapeutic singing (Neurologic Music Therapy). Control group received group music appreciation and relaxation	Not specified	3 times weekly for 12 wk for 1 h	Standard respiratory function testing, EMG, PVP, POMS, AQoL	Both groups improved in mood (P = 0.002). The singing group showed positive effects on arousal (P = 0.006), speech intensity (P = 0.028), and maximum phonation length (P = 0.007)

HM: Happiness Measure; MS; Motor Subscale; PDQL: Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire; UPDRS: Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale; BDI: Beck Depression Inventory; HADS: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; SESA: Self-Acceptance Scale; HAQUAMS: Hamburg Quality of Life Questionnaire in Multiple Sclerosis; MSFC: Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite; WAIS-III: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III; AVLT: Auditory Verbal Learning Test; TMT-B: Trial Making Test Part B; BSI-18: Brief Symptoms Inventory-18; MAACL: Multiple Affect Adjective Check List; SEQ: Self Efficacy Questionnaire; HADS: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; ESAS: Edmonton Symptom Assessment System; HR: Heart Rate; EMG: Electromyogram; PVP: Perceptual Voice Profile; POMS: Profile of Mood State; AQoL: Assessment of Quality of Life.