ReviewJournal of Alzheimer's disease reports
Visual art therapy for cognitive and emotional enhancement in aging and dementia: A structured narrative review.
Review in Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of visual art therapy on depressive symptoms in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Visual art therapy is an emerging non-pharmacological intervention that integrates mental health and human services to enhance cognitive functions. It has shown promising results in supporting cognitive performance among healthy elderly individuals, those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and individuals with mild to moderate dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD). Given the limitations of current pharmacological treatments for dementia, visual art therapy presents an accessible, engaging alternative that fosters cognitive, sensory, and emotional stimulation-potentially contributing to neuroplastic changes in the aging brain. Here, we review recent applications of visual art therapy for these populations, particularly focusing on AD. The review highlights the significant impact of visual art therapy on cognitive function, summarizing the main approaches used and exploring mechanisms of cognitive enhancement, which may involve alterations in brain structure, neuroplasticity, and the promotion of sensory system neuroplasticity, particularly in audition and vision. It also discusses enhancements in functional connectivity within the default mode network. Future research should investigate optimal art therapy methods, scientific evaluation and quantitative analysis, explore integration with other non-pharmacological interventions, and pursue interdisciplinary investigation of art therapy mechanisms through neuroimaging. This review offers new insights into the empirical evidence supporting the use of visual art therapy for improving cognitive function in both healthy elderly individuals and dementia patients, explores potential neurobiological mechanisms underlying its cognitive benefits, and identifies current gaps and future directions for interdisciplinary research and clinical application, thereby fostering further research and application to address cognitive decline.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
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.