ALzheimer and MUsic THerapy: Effects of Music Lessons on Brain Plasticity, Mood, and Quality of Life in Alzheimer Patients
- Conditions
- MCI With Increased Risk for Alzheimer DiseaseAlzheimer DiseaseMild Cognitive Impairment
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Music lessonsBehavioral: Training intervention
- Registration Number
- NCT03444181
- Lead Sponsor
- University of Bergen
- Brief Summary
Music has powerful effects on memory in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. However, although there is anecdotal evidence for beneficial effects of active music interventions in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), there is lack of high-quality research investigating this issue, and the cognitive, emotional, and social factors that contribute to potentially beneficial effects of music making in AD patients are largely unknown. In a randomised controlled intervention trial, a cohort of AD patients will undergo twelve months of music lessons specifically tailored for AD patients. Structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be used to determine changes in brain age (as compared to two control groups), and voxel-based morphometry will be computed to determine contributions of different factors of the music intervention (cognitive, emotional, and social) to plastic changes of brain morphology, and a potential deceleration of brain atrophy. In addition, quality of life of patients. In cooperation with the Bergen municipality, and a strong network of national and international partners, the neurocognitive music therapy will be implemented, involving training of music therapists, and communication of results to patients, patient groups, and therapists.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 136
- Diagnosis of Alzheimer Disease
- Living independently at home (not in a care home or similar aged care facility)
- Able to complete questionnaires in Norwegian
- Able to undergo MRI scans
- Able to attend interventions and assessments in the area of Bergen, Norway
- Has given informed consent
- Hearing impairment that cannot be mended by hearing aids
- Conditions that hinder MRI scans, such as claustrophobia or metal objects in body (e.g. pacemakers)
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Music lessons Music lessons - Training intervention Training intervention -
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Brain age 12 months MRI-derived estimation of the deviation of a person's brain age from the chronological age of that same person, in months
Depression symptoms 12 months Sum score of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS; 15 yes/no items; possible range of scores 0-15; higher scores indicating more severe depression symptoms)
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Cognitive functioning 12 months Stroop test, online version
Living independently at home 12 months and up to 5 years Whether a person still lives at home or has moved to a care home (time-to-event data)
Language abilities 12 months Word Learning Test
Sensori-motor functions 12 months Finger Tapping Test
Activities of daily living 12 months Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)
Integrity of fibre tracts 12 months Estimated from Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)
Resting-state functional connectivity 12 months Functional connectivity (posterior versus anterior/ventral) in default mode network (DMN)
Disease progression 12 months Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)
Working alliance 6 months Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised (WAI-SR)
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Bergen Municipality
🇳🇴Bergen, Hordaland, Norway