ReviewFrontiers in human neuroscience2014
Neurobiological, cognitive, and emotional mechanisms in melodic intonation therapy.
Review in Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Music-based interventions for nonfluent aphasia: A systematic review of randomized control trials.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Neurologic music therapy for non-fluent aphasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Melodic Intonation Therapy for aphasia: A multi-level meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and individual participant data.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Melodic Intonation Therapy on Non-fluent Aphasia After Stroke: A Systematic Review and Analysis on Clinical Trials.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- Melodic Intonation Therapy for Post-stroke Non-fluent Aphasia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2021Pooled it
- Efficacy of music-based telerehabilitation after stroke: protocol description of a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Charting the Course of Aphasia Recovery: Factors, Trajectories, and Outcomes.Annual review of linguistics · 2025Article
- The role of musical aspects of language in human cognition.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
- A Review on Music Interventions for Frontotemporal Aphasia and a Proposal for Alternative Treatments.Biomedicines · 2022Review
- Melodic Intonation Therapy in Post-Stroke Non-Fluent Aphasia and Its Effects on Brain Plasticity.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Singing for the Rehabilitation of Acquired Neurogenic Communication Disorders: Continuing the Evidence Dialogue with a Survey of Current Practices in Speech-Language Pathology.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- A person-centered framework for designing music-based therapeutic studies in dementia: current barriers and a path forward.Aging & mental health · 2022Article
- Effectiveness of Melodic Intonation Therapy in Chinese Mandarin on Non-fluent Aphasia in Patients After Stroke: A Randomized Control Trial.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Article
- How the Brain Understands Spoken and Sung Sentences.Brain sciences · 2020Article
- Exploring the efficacy of melodic intonation therapy with Broca's aphasia in Arabic.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2018Article
- Melodic Intonation Therapy in Chronic Aphasia: Evidence from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2016Article
- Facing the music: three issues in current research on singing and aphasia.Frontiers in psychology · 2014Article
- The Combination of Rhythm and Pitch Can Account for the Beneficial Effect of Melodic Intonation Therapy on Connected Speech Improvements in Broca's Aphasia.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Singing has been used in language rehabilitation for decades, yet controversy remains over its effectiveness and mechanisms of action. Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) is the most well-known singing-based therapy; however, speculation surrounds when and how it might improve outcomes in aphasia and other language disorders. While positive treatment effects have been variously attributed to different MIT components, including melody, rhythm, hand-tapping, and the choral nature of the singing, there is uncertainty about the components that are truly necessary and beneficial. Moreover, the mechanisms by which the components operate are not well understood. Within the literature to date, proposed mechanisms can be broadly grouped into four categories: (1) neuroplastic reorganization of language function, (2) activation of the mirror neuron system and multimodal integration, (3) utilization of shared or specific features of music and language, and (4) motivation and mood. In this paper, we review available evidence for each mechanism and propose that these mechanisms are not mutually exclusive, but rather represent different levels of explanation, reflecting the neurobiological, cognitive, and emotional effects of MIT. Thus, instead of competing, each of these mechanisms may contribute to language rehabilitation, with a better understanding of their relative roles and interactions allowing the design of protocols that maximize the effectiveness of singing therapy for aphasia.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.