Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies.
| Study and Year [Ref.] |
Study Design |
Country | No. of Participants |
Mean Age | Female | Severity of Cognitive Impairment | Type of Music-Based Intervention | Control Type | Intervention Period | Intervention Frequency | Intervention Duration | Cognitive Outcomes | Cognitive Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biasutti and Mangiacotti 2021 [52] |
1 RCT | Italy | 45 | 84.5 | 29/64.4% | 2 MCI and mild dementia | Music training (improvisation exercises) | Gymnastic activity | 6 weeks | 2 per week | 70 min | 3 MMSE | Improvement |
| Biasutti and Mangiacotti 2018 [53] |
RCT | Italy | 35 | 83.57 | 23/65.7% | MCI and mild dementia | Music training (improvisation exercises) | Gymnastic activity (45 min) | 6 weeks | 2 per week | 70 min | MMSE, 4 VFT, 5 TMT-A, attentional matrices, 6 CDT |
Improvement in MMSE, VFT, CDT |
| Chen 2018 [54] | RCT | Taiwan | 28 | 77.3 | 14/50% | Mild–moderate dementia | Musical dual-task training (7 NMT) |
Dual-task training |
8 weeks | 1 per week | 60 min | TMT-A | Improvement |
| Chéour 2023 [55] | RCT | Tunisia | 28 | 72.8 | 12/42.85% | Mild 8 AD | Music listening | Physical rehabilitation PR + ML, control |
4 months | 3 times per week | 60 min | MMSE, 9 ADAS- Cog |
Improvement (in ML, PR, and PR + ML) |
| Cheung 2018 [56] | RCT | China | 165 | 85.3 | 125/75.75% | Moderate dementia | Movement music Therapy (MM) | Music listening (ML), Social activity |
6 weeks | 2 per week | 40 min | MMSE; 10 FOME; Mod-VFT; Digit Span |
Improvement (MM, ML) in MMSE; memory storage and recall; VFT improvement in MM group |
| Doi 2017 [57] | RCT | Japan | 201 | 76 | 104/51.7% | MCI | Playing instrument (percussions) | Dance, control | 10 months | 1 per week | 60 min | MMSE, TMT-A, TMT-B, story, and word memory | MMSE improvement (music group); improvement memory recall (dance group only) |
| Feng 2020 [58] |
RCT | Malaysia | 93 | 70 | 73/78.5% | At risk of dementia (early cognitive impairment in 5/10 cognitive tests) |
Choral singing | Health education | 2 years | 1 per week | 60 min |
11 CCTS, 12 SM-MMSE 13 MRI, oxidative damage/ immunosenescence |
Improvement without intergroup difference; no difference in bio- markers |
| Fraile 2019 [59] | 14 CCT | France | 12 | 83.83 | 7/60% | Mild–moderate AD | Learning an individualized song (lyrics writing) | Control | 5 weeks + 5 weeks (Waitlist) |
2 per week | 20 min | Cued autobiographical recall, phonological, and semantic fluency; 15 EFCL (verbal, memory, executive process) | Improvement in autobio- graphical memory retrieval and general cognitive abilities |
| Giovagnoli 2017 [60] |
RCT | Italy | 39 | 73.6 | 24/61.5% | Mild–moderate AD | Active music therapy | Active control (cognitive training CT, neuro- education NE) |
12 weeks | 2 per week | 45 min | TMT, 16 DSST | No significant changes; clinically significant improvement rates = CT: (62%) AMT: (8%) NE: (none) |
| Gómez- Gallego 2021 [61] |
Quasi- experi- mental design (Randomization of nursing homes) |
Spain | 90 | 80.9 | 55/61.1% | Mild–moderate dementia (probable AD) | Active music intervention (AMI); receptive music Intervention (RMI) |
Control pharmacological therapy, cognitive stimulation |
12 weeks | 2 per week | 45 min | MMSE | Improve- ment in AMI (higher than in RMI) |
| Han 2020 [62] |
RCT, pilot | Korea | 24 | 73.12 | 11/45.8% | MCI | Song-based cognitive stimulation protocol | Control | 10 weeks | 2 per week | 60 min | MMSE-DS 17 MoCA-K |
Improvement |
| Kim and Kang 2021 [63] |
RCT, pilot | South Korea | 49/40 | 81.6 | 31/77.5% | Mild–moderate dementia | Active music intervention (rhythmic exercises) | Control (usual care) | 12 weeks | 2 per week | 50 min | MMSE- Korean version | Improvement |
| Li 2015 [64] | Quasi- experi- mental trial design |
Taiwan | 41 | 78.75 | 28/68.29% | Mild AD | Music listening (2 different pieces) | Control | 6 months | 2 daily | 30 min |
18 CASI, CASI- estimated MMSE |
No improvement (less decreased score than controls) |
| Liu 2024 [65] | RCT | China | 24 | 69.45 | 12/50% | Mild–moderate Dementia | Group music therapy (activities change across sessions) | Control (usual care) | 5 months | 1 per week | 40 min | MMSE | Improved scores (without statistics) |
| Lyu 2018 [66] | RCT | China | 298 | 69.7 | 173/58.1% | 10 AD (mild, moderate, severe) | Singing (S) | Reading (R), control | 12 weeks | 2 per week (2 per day) | 30–40 min | VFT, 19 AVLT, MMSE | Improvement in VFT (S and R groups) and in immediate recall (singing) |
| Maguire 2015 [67] | No rando- mization (voluntary partici- pation) |
USA | 45 | 70–99 | 38/85% | MCI and mild–moderate dementia | Singing (vocal training) | Music listening | 16 weeks | 3 times per week | 50 min | MMSE, CDT | Improvement in MMSE (both groups, larger effect in singing group) |
| Mahendran 2018 [68] | RCT, pilot | Malaysia | 68 | 71.1 | 38/55.9% | MCI | Music listening ML (reminiscence) | Art therapy, control | 12 weeks | 1 per week | 65 min | AVLT | Improvement in ML group |
| Moreira 2023 [69] | RCT | Brazil | 43 | 76.49 | 39/91% | MCI and mild–moderate dementia | Neurologic music therapy | Control | 6 weeks | 2 per week | 30–40 min | 20 WAIS-III Digit subtest; Corsi block-tapping test; 21 FMT; 22 SASMET; CDT; MMSE | Improvement in episodic memory tests only |
| Murabayashi 2019 [70] | CCT | Japan | 115 | 81.3 | 109/93.6% | Frail elderlies (with dementia or other care needs) | Music listening and singing | Control | 12 weeks +12 weeks (Waitlist) |
1 per week | 45–50 min | VFT: 23 YKSST |
No significant difference observed either in the period- effect or treatment for cognition |
| Perez-Ros 2019 [71] | RCT | Spain | 119 | 80.52 | 61/51.26% | Mild–moderate dementia | Preferred music listening + occupational therapy | Occupatio- nal therapy |
8 weeks | 5 days per week | 60 min | MMSE | Mainte- nance (worse- ning in controls) |
| Pongan 2017 [72] | RCT | France | 59 | 79.5 | 39/66.1% | Mild AD | Singing | Paint | 12 weeks | 1 per week | 120 min | TMT-A, 24 FAB | Improvement (digit, inhibitory processes) in both groups; singing group: verbal memory stable |
| Särkämö 2016 [73] | RCT | Finland | 89 | 78.3 | 55/51.4% | Mild–moderate dementia | Singing groups, music listening groups (ML) |
Standard Care | 10 weeks | 1 per week | 90 min | MMSE, 25 WMS-III FAB, WAIS-III, TMT-A, 26 BNT; 27 WAB |
Singing: improvement in working memory; maintenance: executive function, orientation (mild dementia); ML-supported general cognition, working memory (moderate dementia) |
| Särkämö 2014 [74] | RCT | Finland | 89 | 78.8 | 60/67.4% | Mild–moderate dementia | Singing groups, music listening groups |
Standard Care | 10 weeks | 1 per week | 90 min | MMSE, WMS-III, FAB, WAIS-III, TMT-A, BNT, WAB | Experimental groups: improvement orientation, remote episodic memory; attention, executive function, general cognition slightly improved; effect of singing also in short-term and working memory |
| Satoh 2015 [75] |
CT | Japan | 20 | 77.55 | 14/70% | Mild–moderate AD | Singing training | Control | 6 months | 1 per week | 60 min | MMSE, 28 RCPM, 29 RBMT, FAB, fMRI assessment | Time for RCPM completion significant reduction; increased activity in the right angular gyrus and the left lingual gyrus (fMRI) |
| Shimizu 2018 [76] |
RCT | Japan | 45 | 74.64 | 38/84.4% | MCI | Movement music therapy (MMT) | Gymnastic activity | 12 weeks | 1 per week | 65 min | FAB, 30 CBF with 31 NIRS |
Improvement (FAB) in MMT; significant increase in CBF |
| Tang 2018 [77] | RCT | China | 77 | 75.88 | 38/49.4% | Mild–moderate AD | Listening, singing, and playing instruments | Control | 12 weeks | 3 times per week | 50 min | MMSE | Mainte- nance (decrease in controls) |
| Wang 2018 [78] | RCT | China | 60 | 69.75 | 38/63.3% | Mild AD | Listening and singing familiar songs (+pharmacolo- gical therapy) |
Pharmacological therapy only | 12 weeks | 3 times per day | 30–50 min | MMSE, MoCA | Improvement (MMSE); listening group. MoCA significant increase (both groups) |
| Xue 2023 [79] | RCT | China | 80 | 74.93 | 62/77.5% | MCI | Receptive music therapy (RMT) | Standard Care | 8 weeks | 4 times per week | 20 min (+time for the last two session phases) |
MoCA | Improvement in RMT (especially memory, attention, abstraction) |
1 RCT = randomized controlled trial; 2 MCI = mild cognitive impairment; 3 MMSE = Mini-Mental State Evaluation test;4 VFT = Verbal Fluency Test; 5 TMT-A/B = Trail Making Test; 6 CDT = Clock Design Test; 7 NMT = neurologic music therapy; 8 AD = Alzheimer’s disease; 9 ADAS-Cog = Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale—Cognitive; 10 FOME = Fuld’s Object Memory Evaluation; 11 CCTS = composite cognitive test score; 12 SM-MMSE = Singapore Modified MMSE; 13 MRI/fMRI = (functional)Magnetic Resonance Imaging; 14 CCT = Controlled Crossover Trial; 15 EFCL = Language Cognitive Functions Assessment; 16 DSST = Digit Symbol Substitution test; 17 MOCA-K = Montreal Cognitive Assessment (Korean); 18 CASI = Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument; 19 AVLT = Auditory Verbal Learning Test; 20 WAIS = Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; 21 FMT = Figure Memory Test; 22 SASMET = Musical Autobiographical test; 23 YKSST = Yamaguchi Kanji Symbol Substitution Test; 24 FAB = Frontal Assessment Battery; 25 WMS = Wechsler Memory Scale III; 26 BNT = Boston Naming Test; 27 WAB = Western Aphasia Battery; 28 RCPM = Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices; 29 RBMT = (Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test; 30 CBF = cerebral blood flow; 31 NIRS = functional near-infrared spectroscope. From the analysis of these studies, it is interesting to see how the group dimension is favored over the management of individual interventions (n = 23 group interventions and n = 5 individual interventions). In some studies, the group size is not specified, in others, it is rather large (as in the case of the studies by Tang et al. [77], Lyu et al. [66], Gomez-Gallego et al. [61], in which the size per group is greater than 6 individuals). Details of each study are given in Table 2.