Resources & references

This article provides a review of current studies on music therapy interventions and children with acquired brain injury (ABI). The results explore the benefits of music therapy interventions, the use of music therapy as a motivator, and professional collaboration.

Read a systematic review detailing the mechanisms of action and advances of the evidence in the use of Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) interventions. Results indicate that NMT can improve cognitive functions and neuropsychiatric symptoms with multiple cognitive disorders, but that the efficacy and goals of the therapy vary significantly by stage of disease progression. It also highlights the continued challenges facing the approach and recommendations for future research.

A music therapy group for individual's with Parkinson's disease is hosted on a weekly basis at Drury University. A music therapist and participants share how the sessions improve neurorehabilitation and symptom management through drumming, instrument playing, and singing.  The text includes an audio excerpt embedded in the article.

Read a Cochrane review on the use of music interventions for acquired brain injury. Results indicate positive effects in motor and communication/speech rehabilitation, as well as on quality of life, and that interventions lead by a qualified music therapist were more effective.

Review of current research supporting the use of music therapy and music-based interventions in pediatric neurorehabilitation. Results demonstrated measurable benefits of music therapy in multidisciplinary teams in three principle domains: gait rehabilitation, upper limb function, and speech recovery.

This case report highlights how neurologic music therapy supported the interdisciplinary rehabilitation of a severely injured American service member, improving physical, cognitive, speech, and language skills while offering emotional support.

This article explores music therapy models that enhance neurorehabilitaiton among service members with brain injuries and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Research article about how neurologic music therapy can enhance neurorehabilitation among stroke patients, traumatic brain injury, autistic individuals, and those with learning disabilities.

Music therapist Beatriz Vilche explains what neurologic music therapy (NMT) is, who it can help, and shares examples of NMT techniques.

This research article explains the scientific basis of Neurologic Music Therapy. In this music therapy approach, trained professionals use rhythm and auditory perception to enhance physical, cognitive, speech, and language rehabilitation along clients with various diagnoses such as Parkinson's disease and aphasia.

Listen to an interview featuring Dr Alison Talmage, a music therapist who recently published a handbook for helping and establishing therapeutic choirs to be more accessible to individuals with neurologic conditions. She discusses the benefits of therapeutic singing, including the neuroscience underlying the approach, as well as providing anecdotes on some of the participants in her choir.

This paper explores the existing behavioural, neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies of musicians, non-musicians and clinical populations with the goal of delineating the uses of music therapy to target executive functioning and attentional processes in cognitive rehabilitation.