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Review
. 2022 Aug 3;10(8):1462.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare10081462.

The Effect of Music-Based Intervention on General Cognitive and Executive Functions, and Episodic Memory in People with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Recent Randomized Controlled Trials

Erika Ito  1 , Rui Nouchi  2 , Jerome Dinet  3 , Chia-Hsiung Cheng  4   5 , Bettina Sandgathe Husebø  6
Affiliations
Review

The Effect of Music-Based Intervention on General Cognitive and Executive Functions, and Episodic Memory in People with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Recent Randomized Controlled Trials

Erika Ito et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: Music-based intervention has been used as first-line non-pharmacological treatment to improve cognitive function for people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia in clinical practice. However, evidence regarding the effect of music-based intervention on general cognitive function as well as subdomains of cognitive functions in these individuals is scarce.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of music-based interventions on a wide range of cognitive functions in people with MCI or dementia.

Method: We searched the effect of various music therapies using randomized controlled trials on cognitive function using several databases. Studies based on any type of dementia or MCI were combined. The effects of music-based intervention on each cognitive function were pooled by meta-analysis.

Results: A total of 19 studies involving n = 1024 participants (mean age ranged from 60 to 87 years old) were included. We found statistically significant improvements in MMSE (general cognitive function), the Frontal Assessment Battery (executive function), and the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (episodic memory).

Conclusions: This study provides positive evidence to support music-based interventions for improving a wide range of cognitive functions in older adults with MCI and dementia. Therefore, we recommend increased use of music in people's homes, day care centers and nursing homes. This study was registered with PROSPERO, number 250383.

Keywords: MCI; cognitive functions; dementia; music intervention; music therapy; nonpharmacological therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow chart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trial level data, effect estimates, and forest plot for all general cognitive functions’ measures (A), MMSE (B), and MoCA (C). The area of green square is proportional to the study’s weight in the meta-analysis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Trial level data, effect estimates, and forest plot in supplementary meta-analyses for music-based intervention by music therapist (A), music-based intervention by non-music therapist (B), people with MCI (C), and people with dementia (D). The area of green square is proportional to the study’s weight in the meta-analysis.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Trial level data, effect estimates, and forest plot for the effects of music-based intervention on the AVLT. The area of green square is proportional to the study’s weight in the meta-analysis.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Trial level data, effect estimates, and forest plot for the effects of music-based intervention on all processing speed measure (A), TMT-A (B), and DSST (C). The area of green square is proportional to the study’s weight in the meta-analysis.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Trial level data, effect estimates, and forest plot in supplementary meta-analyses for music-based intervention by music therapist (A), music-based intervention by non-music therapist (B). The area of green square is proportional to the study’s weight in the meta-analysis.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Trial level data, effect estimates, and forest plot for the effects of music-based intervention on all executive functions’ measures (A), TMT-B (B), FAB (C), and Verbal Fluency Test (D). The area of green square is proportional to the study’s weight in the meta-analysis.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Trial level data, effect estimates, and forest plot in supplementary meta-analyses for music-based intervention by music therapist (A), music-based intervention by non-music therapist (B), people with MCI (C), and people with dementia (D). The area of green square is proportional to the study’s weight in the meta-analysis.
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