Efficacy of musical interventions in dementia: methodological requirements of nonpharmacological trials
Abstract
The management of patients with Alzheimer's disease is a significant public health problem given the limited effectiveness of pharmacological therapies combined with iatrogenic effects of drug treatments in dementia. Consequently, the development of nondrug care, such as musical interventions, has become a necessity. The experimental rigor of studies in this area, however, is often lacking. It is therefore difficult to determine the impact of musical interventions on patients with dementia. As part of a series of studies, we carried out randomized controlled trials to compare the effectiveness of musical activities to other pleasant activities on various functions in patients with severe Alzheimer's disease. The data obtained in these trials are discussed in light of the methodological constraints and requirements specific to these clinical studies. Although the results demonstrate the power of music on the emotional and behavioral status of patients, they also suggest that other pleasant activities (e.g., cooking) are also effective, leaving open the question about the specific benefits of music in patients with dementia. All these findings highlight the promising potential for nonpharmacological treatments to improve the well-being of patients living in residential care and to reduce caregiver burden.
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Reviews pointed out methodological limitations and the scarce quality of previous studies on music therapy.
“However, reviews on this topic pointed out the methodological limitations and the scarce quality of previous studies and questioned the specificity of the effect of music that was found to be no more beneficial than other pleasant activities (223, 224).”
From The Multidisciplinary Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia. A Narrative Review of Non-Pharmacological Treatment (2018) · cites this paper as [224]
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“However, reviews on this topic pointed out the methodological limitations and the scarce quality of previous studies and questioned the specificity of the effect of music that was found to be nomore beneficial than other pleasant activities (223, 224).”
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Background
- Authors
- Samson, S., Clément, S., Narme, P., Schiaratura, L., & Ehrlé, N.
- Affiliations
- Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (FR)
- Université Lille Nord de France (FR)
- Université Paris Descartes (FR)
- Psychologie : Interactions, Temps, Emotions, Cognition (FR)
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Reims (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Samson, Séverine
- Venue
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-03
- Volume
- 1337
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 249-255
- ISSN
- 0077-8923 (ISSN-L)
- 1749-6632
- OpenAlex
- W2157482790
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 10.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche (09-BLAN-0310-02)
- Fondation Plan Alzheimer (Private)
- Institut Universitaire de France
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Keywords
- music intervention, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, non-pharmacological treatment, randomized controlled trials, methodological quality, emotional well-being, behavioral symptoms, cooking, residential care, caregiver burden
- MeSH terms
- Alzheimer Disease, Behavior, Cognition, Dementia, Emotions, Humans, Music, Music Therapy, Research Design, Reproducibility of Results, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Treatment Outcome, Caregivers
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