Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36973733›Full record

SynthesisAlzheimer's research & therapy2023

The effect of music therapy on cognitive functions in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Malak Bleibel, Ali El Cheikh, Najwane Said Sadier, Linda Abou-Abbas

Open access · goldFull text readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
57citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
33.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

57 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 101 citations in OpenAlex.

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  19. Effect of cognitive training on cortisol levels in patients with neurocognitive disorders.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.

Malak BleibelFaculty of Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Research Centre, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Ali El CheikhPierre and Marie Curie Campus, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
Najwane Said SadierFaculty of Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Research Centre, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Linda Abou-AbbasFaculty of Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Research Centre, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon. l.abouabbas@ul.edu.lb.ORCID 0000-0001-9185-3831
Lebanese University · LBAbu Dhabi University · AESorbonne Université · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe use of music interventions as a non-pharmacological therapy to improve cognitive and behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients has gained popularity in recent years, but the evidence for their effectiveness remains inconsistent.

objectivesTo summarize the evidence of the effect of music therapy (alone or in combination with pharmacological therapies) on cognitive functions in AD patients compared to those without the intervention.

methodsA systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane library, and HINARI for papers published from 1 January 2012 to 25 June 2022. All randomized controlled trials that compared music therapy with standard care or other non-musical intervention and evaluation of cognitive functions are included. Cognitive outcomes included: global cognition, memory, language, speed of information processing, verbal fluency, and attention. Quality assessment and narrative synthesis of the studies were performed.

resultsA total of 8 studies out of 144 met the inclusion criteria (689 participants, mean age range 60.47-87.1). Of the total studies, 4 were conducted in Europe (2 in France, 2 in Spain), 3 in Asia (2 in China, 1 in Japan), and 1 in the USA. Quality assessment of the retrieved studies revealed that 6 out of 8 studies were of high quality. The results showed that compared to different control groups, there is an improvement in cognitive functions after music therapy application. A greater effect was shown when patients are involved in the music making when using active music intervention (AMI).

conclusionThe results of this review highlight the potential benefits of music therapy as a complementary treatment option for individuals with AD and the importance of continued investigation in this field. More research is needed to fully understand the effects of music therapy, to determine the optimal intervention strategy, and to assess the long-term effects of music therapy on cognitive functions.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseMusicMusic TherapyAgedAged, 80 and overCognitionHumansMiddle AgedRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicADAlzheimer’s diseaseCognitive functionsMusic interventionMusic therapy

Identifiers

PMID36973733
PMCPMC10041788
OpenAlexW4361004939

What Socratic holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
measurements read7
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.