MusiCare: Music Therapy & Innovative Technology

NCT ID: NCT04851028

Last Updated: 2025-09-03

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

210 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-04-01

Study Completion Date

2024-05-26

Brief Summary

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The number of older people living with cognitive impairment or dementia has increased the need for simple, inexpensive interventions to improve the quality of life for such individuals and their families. Policy-makers sensitive to issues associated with mental health challenges in aging have embraced social prescribing, and a wealth of research has flourished to study non-pharmacological forms of preventative intervention. Can music-therapy(MT) be one of them? Different studies demonstrated that music stimulates a range of cognitive and social functions. However, scientific studies assessing the value of MT for those who need support in later life are limited, and rigorous research is required to generate robust scientific evidence. The focus of this study is on developing novel forms of intervention for older adults who are healthy or experiencing mild-to-moderate cognitive decline, aiming at \[i\]understanding whether MT could be used in preventive programs to support cognitive functions, \[ii\]identifying the best match between types of MT and levels of cognitive decline. Moreover, recent developments of Robotic-Assistance-Technologies offer opportunities to explore how such technologies may be used to contribute to older adults wellbeing when integrated within care routines to facilitate MT delivery.

Spanning across three-studies, the investigators will examine psychosocial benefits of 5-month MT interventions (one2one, small-group MT, large-group MT) in healthy older adults and impaired older adults in care homes, compared to standard care. This latter group will receive MT afterwards. Further, researchers will investigate whether Robotic-Assistance-Technologies may enrich MT interventions and have additional benefits for the participants and translatability for community-based services.

In order to measure these effects, psychological (cognitive functions, wellbeing, quality of life) and physiological (hormonal, cardiovascular \& brain activity) measures will be compared before/after the intervention.

The study will elucidate relationships between different types of MT and benefits to participants wellbeing, cognitive functions \& social engagement, as well as the impact of robotic assistive technologies in public health services and social care.

Detailed Description

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The following objectives are addressed:

\[Oi\] Identifying a consistent set of convergent measures for the reliable assessment of cognition/well-being in MT studies integrating psychological measures with biomarkers; \[Oii\] Implementing robust MT protocols benefitting cognitive functions/well-being in ageing individuals with varying cognitive ability; \[Oiii\] Comparing the outcomes of one2one/small-group/large-group MT intervention in function of participants' cognitive abilities (ranging from healthy ageing to moderate impairment); \[Oiv\] Devising, implementing and testing a robotic platform associated with MT to facilitate therapists/caregivers' work through novel forms of interaction with ageing individuals, and potential translatability to communities.

Our research questions/hypotheses are:

\[H1\] Will MT benefits healthy, mildly and moderately impaired 65+ in outcome measures? MT \> standard care.

\[H2\] Which MT treatment (one2one/small group/large group) is more effective in function of older adults' cognitive level? Best outcomes predicted as follows: healthy 65+ with small-group MT; for mildly impaired 65+, one2one = small-group MT\<large group; moderately impaired 65+ with one2one MT.

\[H3\] Will improvements in cognitive functions derived from MT be associated with psychophysiological biomarkers? Convergent measures will be identified linking cognitive, behavioural and physiological improvement.

\[H4\] What are the benefits of MT for caregivers? A reduction in participant psychiatric and depressive symptoms will correspond to caregivers' workload and stress perception decrease.

\[H5\] Are there benefits from enriching MT with robotic technology? Specifically, the investigators hypothesize that a) the robot will have the capability of delivering interactive music training sessions, with the support of caregivers not specialised in MT and b) the continuous monitoring provided by the robotic platform will enhance the information available to therapists/caregivers without significantly burdening them.

MusiCare aims are:

\[Ai\] Provide care-homes, communities and policy-makers with clear guidelines concerning the utility, suitability and cost-effectiveness of Music Therapy (MT) interventions (one2one vs small-group vs large group) as a prevention/rehabilitation method suitable for social prescribing and support for positive ageing.

\[Aii\] Provide music therapists with robust protocols, new tests specifically designed to work through musical tasks (Music Cognitive Test).

\[Aiii\] Provide scholars/practitioners with a range of objective measures to select from, depending on their needs, in order to evaluate MT interventions in ageing.

\[Aiv\] Explore how the assistive robotic technologies can enrich MT in care-home settings by empowering care-home staff with a new active role in assisting rehabilitative activities as well as facilitating inter-generational communication between families and ageing relatives.

\[Av\] Increase public awareness about healthy ageing, and arts \& wellbeing.

Conditions

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Healthy Aging Cognitive Impairment

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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One2One

1\) Weekly individual (one2one) Music Therapy intervention lasting 5 months (n=20 sessions)

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Music Therapy

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Music therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention, in which music and its elements are used professionally as an intervention in medical, educational, and everyday environments with individuals, groups, families, or communities who seek to optimize their quality of life and improve their physical, social, communicative, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health and wellbeing. This therapy has shown to provide significant benefits for individuals with cognitive decline living in care homes, enhancing social-cognitive functions and reducing behavioural symptoms (Brotons \& Koger, 2000; Hsu et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2017).

Small-group

2\) Weekly small group (max 8 people per group) Music Therapy intervention lasting 5 months (n=20 sessions)

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Music Therapy

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Music therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention, in which music and its elements are used professionally as an intervention in medical, educational, and everyday environments with individuals, groups, families, or communities who seek to optimize their quality of life and improve their physical, social, communicative, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health and wellbeing. This therapy has shown to provide significant benefits for individuals with cognitive decline living in care homes, enhancing social-cognitive functions and reducing behavioural symptoms (Brotons \& Koger, 2000; Hsu et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2017).

Large group

3\) Weekly Large group (max 8 people per group) Music Therapy intervention lasting 5 months (n=20 sessions)

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Music Therapy

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Music therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention, in which music and its elements are used professionally as an intervention in medical, educational, and everyday environments with individuals, groups, families, or communities who seek to optimize their quality of life and improve their physical, social, communicative, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health and wellbeing. This therapy has shown to provide significant benefits for individuals with cognitive decline living in care homes, enhancing social-cognitive functions and reducing behavioural symptoms (Brotons \& Koger, 2000; Hsu et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2017).

Control

Passive control, not attending any music-related activity

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Music Therapy

Music therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention, in which music and its elements are used professionally as an intervention in medical, educational, and everyday environments with individuals, groups, families, or communities who seek to optimize their quality of life and improve their physical, social, communicative, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health and wellbeing. This therapy has shown to provide significant benefits for individuals with cognitive decline living in care homes, enhancing social-cognitive functions and reducing behavioural symptoms (Brotons \& Koger, 2000; Hsu et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2017).

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Aged ≥65yrs
* No significant hearing impairment that would negatively interfere with the music-based interventions
* Fluent in English
* Healthy group - MMSE ≥ 24
* Cognitive impairment: mild MMSE= 18-23, moderate MMSE= 10-17

Exclusion Criteria

* Presence of severe motor deficits that would not allow individuals to participate in the intervention
* Having taken part in a cognitive training programme or Music Therapy programme within the last 6 months.
Minimum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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The Dunhill Medical Trust

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Padova

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Dublin, Trinity College

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Middlesex University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Anthony Mangiacotti

Lecturer in Psychology; Co-PI MusiCare Project

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Anthony Mangiacotti, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Middlesex University

Locations

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MHA Methodist Homes

Derby, , United Kingdom

Site Status

Countries

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United Kingdom

References

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Brotons M, Koger SM. The impact of music therapy on language functioning in dementia. J Music Ther. 2000 Fall;37(3):183-95. doi: 10.1093/jmt/37.3.183.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10990596 (View on PubMed)

Hsu MH, Flowerdew R, Parker M, Fachner J, Odell-Miller H. Individual music therapy for managing neuropsychiatric symptoms for people with dementia and their carers: a cluster randomised controlled feasibility study. BMC Geriatr. 2015 Jul 18;15:84. doi: 10.1186/s12877-015-0082-4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26183582 (View on PubMed)

Zhang Y, Cai J, An L, Hui F, Ren T, Ma H, Zhao Q. Does music therapy enhance behavioral and cognitive function in elderly dementia patients? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing Res Rev. 2017 May;35:1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2016.12.003. Epub 2016 Dec 23.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28025173 (View on PubMed)

Folstein MF, Robins LN, Helzer JE. The Mini-Mental State Examination. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1983 Jul;40(7):812. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1983.01790060110016. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 6860082 (View on PubMed)

Nucci M, Mapelli D, Mondini S. Cognitive Reserve Index questionnaire (CRIq): a new instrument for measuring cognitive reserve. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2012 Jun;24(3):218-26. doi: 10.3275/7800. Epub 2011 Jun 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21691143 (View on PubMed)

Alexopoulos GS, Abrams RC, Young RC, Shamoian CA. Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia. Biol Psychiatry. 1988 Feb 1;23(3):271-84. doi: 10.1016/0006-3223(88)90038-8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 3337862 (View on PubMed)

Cummings JL, Mega M, Gray K, Rosenberg-Thompson S, Carusi DA, Gornbein J. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory: comprehensive assessment of psychopathology in dementia. Neurology. 1994 Dec;44(12):2308-14. doi: 10.1212/wnl.44.12.2308.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 7991117 (View on PubMed)

Di Liberto GM, O'Sullivan JA, Lalor EC. Low-Frequency Cortical Entrainment to Speech Reflects Phoneme-Level Processing. Curr Biol. 2015 Oct 5;25(19):2457-65. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.08.030. Epub 2015 Sep 24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26412129 (View on PubMed)

Di Liberto GM, Pelofi C, Bianco R, Patel P, Mehta AD, Herrero JL, de Cheveigne A, Shamma S, Mesgarani N. Cortical encoding of melodic expectations in human temporal cortex. Elife. 2020 Mar 3;9:e51784. doi: 10.7554/eLife.51784.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32122465 (View on PubMed)

Biggio, G. and Mostallino, M.C., 2013. Stress, cortisol, neuronal plasticity, and depressive disorder. Journal of Psychopathology, 19, pp.77-83.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Logsdon, R.G., Gibbons, L.E., McCurry, S.M. and Teri, L., 1999. Quality of life in Alzheimer's disease: patient and caregiver reports. Journal of Mental health and Aging, 5, pp.21-32.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Arcara, G., Bisiacchi, P. S., Mapelli, D., Mondini, S., & Vestri, A. 2011. Esame Neuropsicologico Breve (ENB-2): una batteria di test per lo screening neuropsicologico, Raffaello Cortina Editore, Milano.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Reitan, R. M., & Wolfson, D. (2009). The Halstead-Reitan neuropsychological test battery for adults-theoretical, methodological, and validational bases. Neuropsychological assessment of neuropsychiatric and neuromedical disorders, 1, 3-24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Mangiacotti, A., Cipriani, G., Ward, E., Franco, F. and Biasutti, M., 2019b. The Music Cognitive Test: A new music-based cognitive test. Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 15(7), pp.446-P447.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Mangiacotti, A., Hsu, M.H., Barone, C., Di Liberto, G., Van Puyvelde, M., Biasutti, M. and Franco, F., 2019a. Effects of music therapy in elderly care: cognition, biomarkers, mood and social behaviour. Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 15(7), p.1144.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Mangiacotti, A., PhD Thesis, "The Music Cognitive Test validation, training and applicability of a music-based cognitive tool for music therapists - an interdisciplinary study" University of Padua (submitted October 2019 - Viva passed 9th March 2020).

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Other Identifiers

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DUNHILL MEDICAL TRUST

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

2020 Dec 14845

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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