Exploring Music-Based Interventions for Executive Functioning and Emotional Well-Being in Stroke Rehabilitation: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Purpose: Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability with life-long implications requiring assessment and treatment of several functional domains. This review identifies the results from research into music-based interventions (MBIs), including music therapy (MT), for executive functions (EFs) and emotional well-being (EWB) in adults with stroke and highlights opportunities for clinical practice and future research.

Methods: APA PsycInfo (EBSCOhost), and CINAHL (EBSCOhost) were searched, in addition to grey literature.

Results: A total of 49 studies were included and encompassed experimental, analytic, and descriptive observational studies, and case reports, involving a total of 1663 participants. In total, 32 studies included MT interventions, and 17 were MBIs. EFs were an outcome in 20.41%, and EWB in 61.22% of studies, for which active interventions were the most utilized. Overall, 73.47% of the studies reported positive results.

Conclusions: This scoping review indicates that music interventions can be beneficial for the improvement of different aspects of EFs and EWB at different stages of stroke recovery. Further research may benefit clinical practice by including standardized protocols, outcome and self-reported measures, and brain imaging data to determine the effects of interventions and support evidence-based decisions for treatment policies for stroke survivors.

Keywords: cognitive rehabilitation; emotional well-being; executive functioning; music therapy; music-based interventions; stroke.

Figure 1

PRISMA flow diagram. The 49 papers included in this scoping review were published between 2000 and 2022, while the majority were published between 2016 and 2021 (61.22%, n = 30) (see Table 2). The first authors originated mainly from the United States (14.28%, n = 7), followed by the United Kingdom, Korea, and Italy (8.16%, n = 4 per country) (Table 3). Thirty-two were music therapy studies (65.3%) with the remainder being MBI studies (see Table 4). Study designs included 1 case report, 5 descriptive observational studies, 6 analytic observational studies, and 37 experimental/interventional studies, out of which 54% (n = 20) were randomized controlled trials (RCTs).