Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35771851›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

Study protocol for the Alzheimer and music therapy study: An RCT to compare the efficacy of music therapy and physical activity on brain plasticity, depressive symptoms, and cognitive decline, in a population with and at risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Birthe K Flo, Anna Maria Matziorinis, Stavros Skouras, Tobba Therkildsen Sudmann, Christian Gold, Stefan Koelsch

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03444181 (ALzheimer and MUsic THerapy), which is not on this map. Cited by 21 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
6.9field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT03444181 naunknown statusnot on this map

ALzheimer and MUsic THerapy: Effects of Music Lessons on Brain Plasticity, Mood, and Quality of Life in Alzheimer Patients

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of BergenRan2018 to 2024Enrolled136ConditionsAlzheimer Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment, MCI With Increased Risk for Alzheimer DiseaseArmsMusic lessons, Training intervention
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Music-based therapeutic interventions for people with dementia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
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  19. The promise of music therapy for Alzheimer's disease: A review.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2022
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Birthe K FloDepartment of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.ORCID 0000-0003-4270-7509
Anna Maria MatziorinisDepartment of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.ORCID 0000-0003-2325-9261
Stavros SkourasDepartment of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Tobba Therkildsen SudmannDepartment of Health and Function, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-7482-9984
Christian GoldNORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS, Bergen, Norway.
Stefan KoelschDepartment of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
University of Bergen · NOUniversity of Vienna · ATWestern Norway University of Applied Sciences · NO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is anecdotal evidence for beneficial effects of music therapy in patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). However, there is a lack of rigorous research investigating this issue. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of music therapy and physical activity on brain plasticity, mood, and cognition in a population with AD and at risk for AD.

methodsOne-hundred and thirty-five participants with memory complaints will be recruited for a parallel, three-arm Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). Inclusion criteria are a diagnosis of mild (early) AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or memory complaints without other neuropsychiatric pathology. Participants are randomised into either a music therapy intervention (singing lessons), an active control group (physical activity) or a passive control group (no intervention) for 12 months. The primary outcomes are the brain age gap, measured via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and depressive symptoms. Secondary outcomes include cognitive performance, activities of daily living, brain structure (voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging), and brain function (resting-state functional MRI). TRIAL STATUS: Screening of participants began in April 2018. A total of 84 participants have been recruited and started intervention, out of which 48 participants have completed 12 months of intervention and post-intervention assessment. DISCUSSION: Addressing the need for rigorous longitudinal data for the effectiveness of music therapy in people with and at risk for developing AD, this trial aims to enhance knowledge regarding cost-effective interventions with potentially high clinical applicability.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03444181, registered on February 23, 2018.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseCognitive DysfunctionMusic TherapyCognitionDepressionExerciseHumansNeuronal PlasticityRandomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Identifiers

PMID35771851
PMCPMC9246122
OpenAlexW4283729581

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.