Impact of Music Therapy on Post-stroke Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Control Study

Abstract

Abstract Background Currently, music therapy interventions in stroke rehabilitation have begun to diversify. This study observed the effect of music therapy on cognitive function in patients with post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). Methods 42 patients diagnosed with PSCI were randomly selected and divided into the conventional rehabilitation (CR) group (N = 18) and the music therapy (MT) group (N = 24), both the CR group and the MT group were given conventional medication and cognitive rehabilitation, while the MT group was given additional music therapy cognitive training for a total of 8 weeks. Patients' cognitive function was assessed by the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA). The degree of neurological deficits, motor function and activities of daily living (ADL) were assessed by National Institute of Health stroke scale (NIHSS), Fugl-Meyer assessment scale (FMA) and Modified Barthel Index (MBI). All those assessments were tested at the baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the intervention. Results At 4 and 8 weeks after the intervention, the MT group had higher increases in MMSE, MoCA, and LOTCA scores than the CR group (p < 0.05). At 4 weeks after the intervention, there was no statistical difference in the increase of NIHSS, MBI, and FMA scores between the two groups. At 8 weeks after the intervention, the increase of FMA score was higher in the MT group than in the CR group, but there was no statistical difference in the increase of NIHSS and MBI scores between the two groups. Conclusions Music therapy combined with cognitive rehabilitation was significantly more effective than conventional rehabilitation in restoring cognitive function in patients with PSCI, but the 8-week music therapy intervention did not have a significant advantage in improving neurological deficits, ADL and motor function. In addition, music therapy can improve the cognitive domains of verbal fluency, attention, visual perception, spatial perception, and thought operations in patients with PSCI. Trial registration: The registration number of the clinical trial is ChiCTR2000040612. Registration date: 03/12/2020.