Narrative review suggests music therapy may improve cognition and neuropsychiatric symptoms in cognitive impairment

This narrative review evaluates the potential benefits of music therapy as a non-pharmacological intervention for cognitive impairment. The scope includes conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, vascular cognitive impairment, Parkinson's disease-related cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and traumatic brain injury. The authors synthesize existing literature to provide a theoretical foundation and practical guidance for clinicians considering this approach.

The main synthesized finding indicates that music therapy may improve cognition and neuropsychiatric symptoms. The review does not report specific effect sizes, absolute numbers, or p-values for these outcomes. Safety data suggest the intervention is safe and well-tolerated, with no adverse events, serious adverse events, or discontinuations reported in the source material.

The authors acknowledge that specific details regarding the population, setting, and follow-up duration were not reported. Consequently, the certainty of the findings is limited by the lack of quantitative data and the observational nature of the included evidence. This review serves to highlight potential benefits while cautioning against overstatement of efficacy.