TABLE 1.
Music therapeutic interventions and outcomes in DoC.
| Source | Participants | Design | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formisano et al. (2001) | Thirty-four MCS patients, 13–70 years, M = 35.94; 18 TBI, 16 non-TBI | Music therapy program included singing or playing different musical instruments.Three 20–40 min sessions per week during 2 months. | Decreasing in inertia or psychomotor agitation in 21 patients.No significant change of CRS scores. |
| Magee (2005) | One VS patient, >50 years old anoxic brain injury | Music therapy program with singing and playing musical pieces. Music selection based on the participant’s life history.No information about the duration of the program. | The patient demonstrated some behavioral responses in response to music and song exposition.No information about changes in objective measures. |
| Raglio et al. (2014) | Four MCS and six VS patients (five with anoxic brain injury, four hemorrhage, one TBI) | Music therapy included two cycles of 15 sessions (three sessions/week, 30 min each). The cycles spaced out by 2 weeks. | Improvements of some observed behaviors in MCS patients: eye contacts, smiles, communicative use of instruments/voice, reduction of annoyance, and suffering expressions. VS patients only increased eye contacts. |
| Seibert et al. (2000) | One MCS patient, 20 years old after severe hypothermia, cardiac arrest, and brain anoxia; GCS score – 12Rancho Los Amigos Scale – 4 | Music therapy program involved exposure to oboe music, physical contact with the instrument, and the presentation of favorite music during 2.5 years. | At the end of the program: GCS score – 15, Rancho Los Amigos Scale – 6; Persisting moderate deficits in orientation/attention, visual-spatial skills, memory, and language. Reading comprehension and ability to follow commands were at a moderate level. |
| Lee et al. (2011) | One VS patient, age 45 yearsIntracerebral hemorrhageGCS score – 4 | ECG data collected during 7 weeks. First week: six baseline sessions with no music, each lasting for 180 min. Next 6 weeks: six music sessions when the patient listened to Mahler’s symphony no. 2, each session lasted for 210 min. | Changes in the standard deviation of time sequences showed positive changes in the cardiovascular system. |
| Steinhoff et al. (2015) | Four VS patients after cardiopulmonary resuscitation | Music therapy group (n = 2): standard care plus live and individual music therapy sessions for 5 weeks (three sessions/week, about 27 min each). Control group (n = 2): only standard care.PET in the baseline in rest state; PET at the end of the second and sixth weeks in response to musical stimulation (both in the music and control groups). | Patients in the music therapy group appeared to show higher brain activity than control group patients in the last PET scan. |
| Sun and Chen (2015) | Forty TBI coma patients, 18–55 years oldGCS score between 3 and 86.55 ± 2.82 days after injury | Music therapy group (n = 20): listening to their favorite and familiar music for 15–30 min three times every day during 4 weeks. Control group (n = 20): waiting control. | GCS scores increased significantly in both groups, yet significantly more in the music therapy group. Relative power of slow EEG rhythms decreased in both groups, yet these changes were significantly stronger in the music therapy group. |
CRS, Coma Recovery Scale; ECG, electrocardiography; EEG, electroencephalography; GCS, Glasgow Coma Scale; MCS, minimally conscious state, PET, positron emission tomography; TBI, traumatic brain injury; VS, vegetative state.