Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41799646›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in integrative neuroscience2026

Systematic review and meta-analysis reveal positive therapeutic effects of music in brain damage rehabilitation.

Laura Navarro, Nour El Zahraa Mallah, Jacobo Pardo-Seco, Alberto Gómez-Carballa, Sara Pischedda, Wiktor Nowak, Emma Segura, Antoni Rodríguez-Fornells, Federico Martinón-Torres, Antonio Salas

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in integrative neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
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

10 authors.

Laura Navarro *Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and Genética de Poblaciones en Biomedicina (GenPoB)Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain.
Nour El Zahraa Mallah *Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and Genética de Poblaciones en Biomedicina (GenPoB)Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain.
Jacobo Pardo-SecoUnidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and Genética de Poblaciones en Biomedicina (GenPoB)Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain.
Alberto Gómez-CarballaUnidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and Genética de Poblaciones en Biomedicina (GenPoB)Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain.
Sara PischeddaUnidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and Genética de Poblaciones en Biomedicina (GenPoB)Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain.
Wiktor NowakUnidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and Genética de Poblaciones en Biomedicina (GenPoB)Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain.
Emma SeguraCognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
Antoni Rodríguez-FornellsCognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
Federico Martinón-TorresGenetics, Vaccines and Infections Research Group (GenViP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain.
Antonio Salas *Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and Genética de Poblaciones en Biomedicina (GenPoB)Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS) Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Brain damage (BD) caused by stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), or neurodegenerative conditions often results in persistent cognitive, motor, and emotional impairments. Music-based interventions (MI) have been explored as adjunctive rehabilitation strategies; however, the evidence remains fragmented. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesize available research on the effects of MI on functional recovery following BD, due to acquired brain injury (ABI), including both TBI and non-TBI. From a total of 868 publications screened in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov, 90 were included, of which 41 met the criteria for quantitative evaluation and meta-analysis, to assess the state-of-the-art of research on music and BD in the fields of neuropsychology and cognitive sciences. The reviewed studies span a range of methodologies, including randomized controlled trials and qualitative research, and incorporate diverse MI strategies, such as active music-making, structured listening, and improvisational techniques. The findings indicate that music supports recovery across motor, cognitive, and, albeit to a lesser extent, communicative and psychosocial domains. The findings suggest beneficial effects of MI, particularly in gait function (

Indexed as

acquired brain injurybrain damagemeta-analysismusic-based interventionsnon-traumatic brain injurystroketraumatic brain injury

Identifiers

PMID41799646
PMCPMC12963284

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.