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Study protocol for the Alzheimer and music therapy study: An RCT to compare the efficacy of music therapy and physical activity on brain plasticity, depressive symptoms, and cognitive decline, in a population with and at risk for Alzheimer's disease
Flo BK, Matziorinis AM, Skouras S, Sudmann TT, Gold C, Koelsch S.. PloS one, 2022-06-30
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background There is anecdotal evidence for beneficial effects of music therapy in patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). However, there is a lack of rigorous research investigating this issue. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of music therapy and physical activity on brain plasticity, mood, and cognition in a population with AD and at risk for AD. Methods One-hundred and thirty-five participants with memory complaints will be recruited for a parallel, three-arm Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). Inclusion criteria are a diagnosis of mild (early) AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or memory complaints without other neuropsychiatric pathology. Participants are randomised into either a music therapy intervention (singing lessons), an active control group (physical activity) or a passive control group (no intervention) for 12 months. The primary outcomes are the brain age gap, measured via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and depressive symptoms. Secondary outcomes include cognitive performance, activities of daily living, brain structure (voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging), and brain function (resting-state functional MRI). Trial status Screening of participants began in April 2018. A total of 84 participants have been recruited and started intervention, out of which 48 participants have completed 12 months of intervention and post-intervention assessment. Discussion Addressing the need for rigorous longitudinal data for the effectiveness of music therapy in people with and at risk for developing AD, this trial aims to enhance knowledge regarding cost-effective interventions with potentially high clinical applicability. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03444181, registered on February 23, 2018.
Key findings
- Secondary outcomes include cognitive performance, activities of daily living, brain structure (voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging), and brain function (resting-state functional MRI).
- Trial status Screening of participants began in April 2018.
- A total of 84 participants have been recruited and started intervention, out of which 48 participants have completed 12 months of intervention and post-intervention assessment.
- Discussion Addressing the need for rigorous longitudinal data for the effectiveness of music therapy in people with and at risk for developing AD, this trial aims to enhance knowledge regarding cost-effective interventions with potentially high clinical applicability.
- Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03444181, registered on February 23, 2018.
Why it matters
This paper reports the protocol for an ongoing trial comparing music therapy, physical activity, and no intervention on brain plasticity, mood, and cognition in people with or at risk for Alzheimer's disease. No results are available yet, so it cannot say whether these approaches treat, cure, or prevent the disease.
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Study details
- Study designrandomized controlled trial
- Participants84
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 66/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (PloS one) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | PLoS ONE: journal h-index 594 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2022 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 84 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 39 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.5 citations a year over 6 year(s) since 2022 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 26 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Stefan Koelsch: h-index 81 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Vienna: institution h-index 851 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 35771851) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Flo, B. K., Matziorinis, A. M., Skouras, S., Sudmann, T. T., Gold, C., & Koelsch, S. (2022). Study protocol for the Alzheimer and music therapy study: An RCT to compare the efficacy of music therapy and physical activity on brain plasticity, depressive symptoms, and cognitive decline, in a population with and at risk for Alzheimer's disease. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270682
Vancouver
Flo BK, Matziorinis AM, Skouras S, Sudmann TT, Gold C, Koelsch S. Study protocol for the Alzheimer and music therapy study: An RCT to compare the efficacy of music therapy and physical activity on brain plasticity, depressive symptoms, and cognitive decline, in a population with and at risk for Alzheimer's disease. PloS one. 2022. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0270682. PMID: 35771851.
BibTeX
@article{flo2022-35771851,
author = {Flo, B. K. and Matziorinis, A. M. and Skouras, S. and Sudmann, T. T. and Gold, C. and Koelsch, S.},
title = {{Study protocol for the Alzheimer and music therapy study: An RCT to compare the efficacy of music therapy and physical activity on brain plasticity, depressive symptoms, and cognitive decline, in a population with and at risk for Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0270682},
pmid = {35771851},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270682}
}
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