OBJECTIVE

To determine the effects of guitar lessons (intervention group) in comparison to conventional occupational therapy (OT) sessions (control group) on hand function of chronic stroke patients with unilateral hand impairment.

This randomized controlled trial enrolled 34 chronic stroke patients with unilateral hand impairment. Participants were grouped randomly into intervention (guitar lessons) and control (conventional occupational therapy) groups. Each group participant underwent a total of eight consecutive therapy sessions, twice weekly for an hour each session, at the designated treatment rooms in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of the Philippine General Hospital. Pre- and post-treatment evaluations were done to assess range of motion, grip and pinch strength, and hand functions. Satisfaction surveys were answered at the end of the 8-therapy session.

Improvements in hand function were assessed through measurement of range of motion (ROM), grip and pinch strength, and with the use of Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function test, and Purdue Pegboard Test of Manual Dexterity. In this study, the comparison of actual change of passive range of motion (ROM) of the impaired hand from pre- to post-treatment between control and intervention groups showed no statistically significant difference. No statistically significant difference between groups were also observed for the active ROM of the impaired hand. Comparison of function of the impaired hand pre- and posttreatment between control and intervention groups showed no statistically significant difference except for an observed greater improvement with the control group in motor coordination (median [IQR] 0 [-1 to 0] vs 1 [1 to 5], p = 0.004), tip (median [IQR] 0.33 [0 to 0.75] vs 1 [0.58 to 1.5], p = 0.006), and 3-jaw (median [IQR] 0.5 [0 to 0.92] vs 1.08 [0.41 to 2], p = 0.043) pinch strength.

Results. Improvements in hand function were assessed through measurement of range of motion (ROM), grip and pinch strength, and with the use of Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function test, and Purdue Pegboard Test of Manual Dexterity. In this study, the comparison of actual change of passive range of motion (ROM) of the impaired hand from pre- to post-treatment between control and intervention groups showed no statistically significant difference. No statistically significant difference between groups were also observed for the active ROM of the impaired hand. Comparison of function of the impaired hand pre- and posttreatment between control and intervention groups showed no statistically significant difference except for an observed greater improvement with the control group in motor coordination (median [IQR] 0 [-1 to 0] vs 1 [1 to 5], p = 0.004), tip (median [IQR] 0.33 [0 to 0.75] vs 1 [0.58 to 1.5], p = 0.006), and 3-jaw (median [IQR] 0.5 [0 to 0.92] vs 1.08 [0.41 to 2], p = 0.043) pinch strength.

All participants in both groups displayed 100% compliance in attending onsite treatments. Despite not showing statistically significant difference between groups (p = 0.721), an 11.8% tendency for better compliance is found in the intervention group.

The specific guitar lesson created and performed in this study as used by 17 participants of the intervention group have brought about improvement in hand function that is comparable with those who underwent traditional occupational therapy. This may be most helpful in areas with limited access to rehabilitation facilities and occupational therapy services. This may also be used as a continuing activity of chronic stroke patients at home to help improve hand function.

Rapid and accurate identification and effective non-drug intervention are the worldwide challenges in the field of depression. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals contain rich quantitative markers of depression, but whole-brain EEG signals acquisition process is too complicated to be applied on a large-scale population. Based on the wearable frontal lobe EEG monitoring device developed by the authors' laboratory, this study discussed the application of wearable EEG signal in depression recognition and intervention. The technical principle of wearable EEG signals monitoring device and the commonly used wearable EEG devices were introduced. Key technologies for wearable EEG signals-based depression recognition and the existing technical limitations were reviewed and discussed. Finally, a closed-loop brain-computer music interface system for personalized depression intervention was proposed, and the technical challenges were further discussed. This review paper may contribute to the transformation of relevant theories and technologies from basic research to application, and further advance the process of depression screening and personalized intervention.
Humans ; Algorithms ; Depression/therapy* ; Music ; Music Therapy ; Electroencephalography ; Wearable Electronic Devices

Adult ; Humans ; Cochlear Implants ; Music ; Cochlear Implantation ; Perception

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are common in the patients with dementia.Creative arts therapies (CAT) are one of the safe and effective non-pharmacological interventions for BPSD.This paper elaborates on the therapeutic effects of four common CAT,including art therapy,music therapy,dance therapy,and drama therapy,on BPSD.Despite the shortcomings,CAT offer a new gateway for the safe and noninvasive treatment of BPSD.
Humans ; Art Therapy ; Music Therapy ; Dementia/psychology*

Different from other trauma, the scar and pigmentation formed after healing of burn wound not only hinder beauty but also easily lead to a series of sequential psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety. Music therapy, as a supplementary treatment, is widely used in many fields including medical and health care and psychological regulation. However, affected by factors such as medical resources, the awareness and acceptance of music therapy among burn treatment workers in China are still low. Based on the clinical characteristics of burns, this paper matches the applicability of music therapy with it, summarizes the supplementary application of music therapy in the field of burn treatment, expounds this natural science with both science and aesthetics, and puts forward feasible suggestions for its future development.
Anxiety ; Burns/therapy* ; Cicatrix ; Humans ; Music Therapy ; Wound Healing

Music therapy is an integrative oncology practice that has been rapidly emerging, over the past two decades, as a field of its own, clinically and academically. The randomized controlled trials that evaluate the clinical impact of music therapy are growing in number, and at the same time, there has been progress in understanding the neurobiological mechanisms that underly the beneficial effects of music therapy. Cultural background and autobiographical memories may uniquely influence music perception and cognition. It is vital to personalize music therapy because music preferences are unique; one size does not fit all. Cognitive music science studies and clinical music therapy trials that study individualized music choices will serve as a vital step forward in providing patient-directed personalized integrative cancer care. The field of music therapy is advancing, and its ability to improve a patient's quality of life can be understood only through robust, personalized, evidence-based initiatives that focus on research, advocacy, education, and delivery of care.
Humans ; Integrative Oncology ; Music/psychology* ; Music Therapy ; Neoplasms/therapy* ; Quality of Life

There is a growing interest in the use of music therapy in neurological rehabilitation. Of all the major neurological illnesses, stroke rehabilitation has been observed to have some of the strongest potential for music therapy's beneficial effect. The current burden of stroke has raised the need to embrace novel, cost-effective, rehabilitation designs that will enhance the existing physical, occupation, and speech therapies. Music therapy addresses a broad spectrum of motor, speech, and cognitive deficits, as well as behavioral and emotional issues. Several music therapy designs have focused on gait, cognitive, and speech rehabilitation, but most of the existing randomized controlled trials based on these interventions have a high risk of bias and are statistically insignificant. More randomized controlled trials with greater number of participants are required to strengthen the current data. Fostering an open and informed dialogue between patients, healthcare providers, and music therapists may help increase quality of life, dispel fallacies, and guide patients to specific musical interventions.
Humans ; Music/psychology* ; Music Therapy ; Quality of Life/psychology* ; Stroke/therapy* ; Stroke Rehabilitation

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of parent-child cooperative music therapy on the core symptoms of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their mothers. METHODS: In this prospective study, 112 children with ASD and their mothers were divided into a music therapy group and an applied behavior analysis (ABA) group using a random number table (n=56 each). The children in the ABA group were treated with ABA, and those in the music therapy group were given parent-child cooperative music therapy in addition to the ABA treatment. The duration of intervention was 8 weeks for both groups. Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Parenting Stress Index-Short form (PSI-SF), Family APGAR Index, and Herth Hope Index (HHI) were used to evaluate the core symptoms of children with ASD and the parenting stress, family APGAR index, and hope level of mothers before and after intervention. RESULTS: A total of 100 child-mother dyads completed the whole study, with 50 child-mother dyads in each group. After intervention, the children in the music therapy group had significantly lower total score of ABC scale and scores of sensation, social interaction, and somatic movement, as well as a significantly lower total score of CARS than those in the ABA group (P<0.05). After intervention, compared with the mothers in the ABA group, the mothers in the music therapy group had significantly higher total score of PSI-SF and score of parent-child dysfunctional interaction, significantly higher total score of HHI and scores of each dimension, and significantly higher total score of APGAR and scores of cooperation and intimacy (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Parent-child cooperative music therapy combined with ABA can alleviate the core symptoms of children with ASD, reduce the parenting stress of their mothers, and improve family APGAR index and hope level.
Autism Spectrum Disorder/therapy* ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Mothers ; Music Therapy ; Parent-Child Relations ; Prospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of five-element music therapy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on the clinical symptoms and the quality of life in the patients with suboptimal health status (SHS) of liver stagnation and spleen deficiency and explore the corresponding specificity changes in the temperature of acupoints when zangfu functions are of dysfunction and recovered to be balanced, separately. METHODS: Sixty patients with SHS of liver stagnation and spleen deficiency were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each one. In the control group, the conventional health education was provided. In the observation group, on the base of the therapeutic regimen as the control group, the patients received the five-element music therapy to pacify the liver qi and strengthen the spleen functions, once every two days, 30 min each time, 3 treatments a week. The course of treatment consisted of 4 weeks. Before and after treatment, the TCM syndrome score and the MOS 36-item short form healthy survey (SF-36) score were compared between the two groups and the clinical therapeutic effect was evaluated. Using infrared thermal imaging, the temperature at the acupoints of the affected organs (liver, spleen), the related organs (gallbladder, stomach) and the other non-related zangfu organs (pericardium, lung) was detected before and after treatment in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the TCM syndrome scores were reduced when compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0.01, P<0.05); the reduction in the observation group was larger than that of the control group (P<0.01). The score of each domain for the SF-36 in the observation group and the score of role-emotional domain in the control group were all increased when compared with the scores before treatment (P<0.01, P<0.05); and the score of each domain for the SF-36 in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). The total effective rate was 66.7% (20/30) in the observation group, which was higher than 10.0% in the control group (3/30, P<0.05). In the observation group, the temperature of the yuan-primary point, the back-shu point and the front-mu point related to the liver, as well as those related to the gallbladder after treatment was reduced when compared with the temperature before treatment; and the changes were larger than those of the control group (P<0.01). The temperature of the yuan-primary point, the back-shu point and the front-mu point related to the spleen, as well as the back-shu point and the front-mu point related to the stomach in the observation group was increased when compared with the temperature before treatment (P<0.01); and the changes were larger than those of the control group (P<0.01). For the temperature of the non-specific points related to the liver and spleen, as well as the yuan-primary point, the back-shu point and the front-mu point related to the pericardium and the lung, there was no significant differences when compared with the temperature at the above-mentioned acupoints before and after treatment (P>0.05). CONCLUSION TCM five-element music therapy associated with the conventional health education may effectively relieve the clinical symptoms and improve the quality of life in the patients with suboptimal health status of liver stagnation and sleep deficiency; and the therapeutic effect is better than the simple health education. The changes in the temperature of acupoints may reflect the functional regulation of the related zangfu organs in the body.
Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Spleen ; Music Therapy ; Quality of Life ; Temperature ; Liver ; Health Status

Objective: To evaluate the interventional effects of music therapy on pain and anxiety of burn patients in wound dressing change. Methods: The meta-analysis method was adopted. Databases including China National Knowledge Internet, Wanfang Database, and VIP database were retrieved with the search terms in Chinese version of ", , /, /", and PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were retrieved with the search terms in English version of "music, burn, dressing change/wound dressing, pain/ache/sore" to obtain the publicly published randomized controlled trials on the application of music therapy for wound dressing change in burn patients from the establishment of each database to May 2021. The outcome indexes included pain score/percentage and anxiety score after dressing change. Rev Man 5.4 and Stata 14.0 statistical software were used to conduct a meta-analysis of eligible studies. Results: A total of 520 burn patients from 7 studies were included, including 260 patients in music therapy group who received music therapy and 260 patients in routine dressing change group who received routine dressing change. The bias risk of all the 7 included studies was uncertain. Compared with those in routine dressing change group, the pain percentages (relative risk=0.06, 95% confidence interval=0.01-0.41, P<0.01) and pain scores after dressing change (standardized mean difference (SMD)=-0.91, 95% confidence interval=-1.61--0.22, P<0.05) of patients in music therapy group were significantly lower. Subgroup analysis showed that music type and timing of intervention might be the source of heterogeneity in pain scores after dressing change. The anxiety scores of patients in music therapy group were significantly lower than those in routine dressing change group (SMD=-0.64, 95% confidence interval=-1.09--0.19, P<0.01). There was no publication bias in pain or anxiety scores after dressing change. Conclusions: Music therapy can relieve the pain and anxiety of burn patients during dressing change.
Humans ; Music Therapy/methods* ; Pain/etiology* ; Anxiety/therapy* ; Burns/therapy* ; Bandages