PMID- 10990596
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20001115
LR  - 20220409
IS  - 0022-2917 (Print)
IS  - 0022-2917 (Linking)
VI  - 37
IP  - 3
DP  - 2000 Fall
TI  - The impact of music therapy on language functioning in dementia.
PG  - 183-95
AB  - Dementias, such as Alzheimer's disease, include a progressive deterioration of 
      language functioning. While some researchers have reported an increase in 
      patients' self-expression following music therapy, it is not clear whether these 
      changes specifically reflect improved language skills or whether simple 
      interpersonal interaction with a therapist could account for the improvement. In 
      this study, the effects of music therapy were compared to conversational sessions 
      on language functioning in dementia patients. Participants were selected 
      according to the following criteria: (a) residing in a facility specializing in 
      Alzheimer's and related disorders; (b) possessing sufficient verbal ability to 
      answer simple questions and to comply with requests to speak, participate, or sit 
      down; and (c) attaining the written consent of the patient's guardian or 
      representative. All participants had been in music therapy twice per week for at 
      least 3 months prior to the study onset. One week prior to the beginning of the 
      study, subjects were assessed for cognitive functioning using the Mini-Mental 
      State Examination (MMSE), and language ability via the Western Aphasia Battery 
      (WAB). A within-subjects design was used, with order of condition (music or group 
      conversation first) counter-balanced between participants. Subjects participated 
      in groups of 2 to 4, twice per week for 20-30 minutes for a total of 8 sessions 
      (4 music therapy and 4 conversation sessions or vice-versa), and were re-tested 
      on the WAB at the end of each 2 week (4 session) interval. Results from 20 
      participants revealed that music therapy significantly improved performance on 
      both speech content and fluency dimensions of the spontaneous speech subscale of 
      the WAB (p =.01). While the difference in overall Aphasia Quotient (AQ) for music 
      and conversation sessions (mean AQ = 76 vs. 70, respectively) did not reach 
      statistical significance, data were only available for 10 participants (5 per 
      condition). Hopefully, these findings will stimulate additional research on the 
      use of music therapy interventions with demented patients, as it may offer a 
      noninvasive mechanism to enhance communication between victims and their 
      caregivers.
FAU - Brotons, M
AU  - Brotons M
AD  - Psychology Department, Willamette University, Salem, OR 97301, usa.
FAU - Koger, S M
AU  - Koger SM
LA  - eng
PT  - Comparative Study
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - England
TA  - J Music Ther
JT  - Journal of music therapy
JID - 0014162
SB  - IM
MH  - Aged
MH  - Aged, 80 and over
MH  - Alzheimer Disease/therapy
MH  - Analysis of Variance
MH  - Dementia/complications/*therapy
MH  - Female
MH  - Homes for the Aged
MH  - Humans
MH  - *Inpatients
MH  - Language Disorders/etiology/*therapy
MH  - Language Tests
MH  - Male
MH  - Music Therapy/*methods
MH  - Nursing Homes
MH  - Oregon
MH  - *Speech
MH  - Treatment Outcome
EDAT- 2000/09/16 11:00
MHDA- 2001/02/28 10:01
CRDT- 2000/09/16 11:00
PHST- 2000/09/16 11:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2001/02/28 10:01 [medline]
PHST- 2000/09/16 11:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1093/jmt/37.3.183 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Music Ther. 2000 Fall;37(3):183-95. doi: 10.1093/jmt/37.3.183.