Today’s update is focused on two articles that have free access! We hope you enjoy.
Hedge, S. (2014). Music-Based Cognitive Remediation Therapy for Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury. Front Neurol. Mar 24;5:34. eCollection 2014. PMID: 24715887
This article provides an overall introduction to how music therapy may be beneficial for cognitive skills in persons with Traumatic Brain Injury. The article is specifically focused on Neurologic Music Therapy. The overall conclusion is that music may be helpful in post-injury rehabilitation; however, the research is in its infancy. Overall the article does a nice job of bringing together the concepts and has an overall accurate look at the state of research in this area. There is really only one study, completed in 2009, which has positive indications for the treatment; however, the article has a small sample size and some validity concerns. I agree that more research is needed in this area of treatment and that there is the potential for music to have a great impact for these individuals.
Ratcliff, C.G., Prinsloo, S., Richardson, M., Baynham-Fletcher, L., Lee, R., Chaoul, A., Cohen, M.Z., de Lima, M., and Cohen, L. Music therapy for patients who have undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2:742941. doi: 10.1155/2014/742941. Epub 2014 Jan 9. PMID: 24527052
This article examined the use of music therapy (n=29) vs. unstructured preferential music (n = 31) on persons recovering from a medical procedure. Participants in the music therapy group listened to music that was selected in consultation with a certified music therapist. The music was designed to match the participant’s mood using the iso-principle and shift them into a more joyful or more relaxed mood. Two CDs containing music that shifted in tempo and feel were provided to the patient.
Participants in the unstructured music group meet with a metal health specialist and selected music that made them feel relaxed or energized. They were provided a CD with these songs – one CD of relaxing songs and one of energizing songs.
Participants were asked to fill out a log each time they self-administered music using the CDs. Researchers also completed a set of pre and posttest before the consultations, after their final session,and at a 1-week and 1-month followup.
Both groups reported similar use of CDs and had similar reports of satisfaction. There were no significant between group differences for mood ratings after the final session. There was a significant effect for time – meaning that both groups showed reduced mood disturbance after the final session. The unstructured group showed greater improvement than the music therapy group. There were no long term gains for QOL measure for either group.
The authors conclude that music listening improved mood; however, CDs using the iso principle had no greater effect than unstructured music listening. The authors also discuss several factors that may have impacted the results.
I agree with the authors that there is a need for more research looking at the iso-principle and how it can be administered successfully with this population. Furthermore, a difference between the groups was that the music therapy group was instructed to listen to the CD in the exact order, whereas the unstructured group could choose to listen to any song they wanted on their CDs. My personal feeling is that freedom of choice may have made the unstructured music group so successful. They listened to preferred music and had the option of choosing exactly which song fit their mood at that moment. This freedom of choice given current circumstances can’t be achieved in pre-set CDs that are always the same in each sitting. They may fit the patient’s mood on one day, but not quite fit in the next sitting.
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