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Music Therapy for Cognitive Impairment

Music therapy is a type of intervention that involves music in some capacity and includes both a participant and a therapist who has completed an accredited music therapy program. Patients who receive music therapy improve their health in cognitive, motor, emotional, communicative, social, sensory, and educational domains by using both active and receptive music experiences. Cognitive impairment is defined as when a person has trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating, or making decisions that affect their everyday life. It may also be defined as deficits in overall intelligence, specific and restricted deficits in cognitive abilities, neuropsychological deficits (such as in attention, working memory or executive function), or drug-induced impairment in cognition and memory. Compared to pharmacological treatments, music therapy is a low-cost solution to help manage the symptoms of various forms of cognitive impairment.

Substance Abuse
Music therapy may allow substance abuse patients to engage and communicate emotions they find difficult to express using more traditional forms of communication. Lack of communication is commonly associated with substance abuse, with the individuals turning to drugs to help cope with their own misunderstood intentions and disturbed hormone levels. Music therapy can target conditions at the root of the substance abuse, including depression, stress, anxiety, and anger. The introduction of music therapy can expose the patients to non-drug-induced emotions, effectively acting as a non-chemical replacement to gradually wean them off substance use. When used in conjunction with more traditional methods of treatment such as counseling and withdrawal medications, music therapy can add to the efficiency and reduce treatment times, while remaining as an option after treatment to help patients manage emotions rather than returning to substance abuse.

Mild Cognitive Impairment
Mild Cognitive Impairment is a prodromal stage of Alzheimer's Disease, manifesting as a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia. Patients with mild cognitive impairment who received therapy using a repetitive rhythmic task involving Naruko clappers along with a movement musical therapy showed significant improvement in performance in the Frontal Assessment Battery. Additionally, these patients showed increase in Cerebral Blood Flow after movement musical therapy. Other studies have shown that music therapy has a comparatively lower efficacy than other methods like computerized cognitive training in treating the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment, but the safety and low cost make it easily accessible to all patients as a supplement to any existing treatments.

PTSD
Music therapy has shown to be a feasible and effective option for PTSD patients who have not sufficiently responded to cognitive behavioral therapy. Soldiers with PTSD who went through drumming therapy showed a reduction in trauma symptoms, especially an increased sense of openness, connectedness, and intimacy. Such drumming therapy also served as an outlet for rage and regaining a sense of self-control. In a study of pre-school children who experienced early trauma such as forced evacuation of their homes, group music therapy with other children of similar age showed an increase in openness and trust, and children who had difficulty participating individually became more responsive when introduced to a group setting.