Abstract
Impaired neurodevelopment is increasingly recognized as a major health issue in children born prematurely. Creative music therapy (CMT) intends to prevent and or reduce neurobehavioral deficits in pre-term infants using musical stimulation and socio-emotional co-regulation. We conducted a randomized, clinical pilot CMT trial to test feasibility and to examine long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in pre-term infants (NCT02434224: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02434224). Eighty-two pre-term infants were randomized either to CMT or standard care. A specially trained music therapist provided family-integrating CMT via infant-directed singing during hospitalization. Fifty-six infants underwent follow-up at 2 years of corrected age. No significant beneficial nor adverse effects of CMT were identified in routine clinical neurodevelopmental measures (Bayley-III Scales of Infant and Toddler Development and the standardized neurological examination). Longer term follow-up (5 years) and larger future studies are recommended to elucidate possible long-term effects of music in relation to more sensitive outcomes including executive function, detailed language processing and social-emotional development.
Highlights
Impaired neurodevelopment is a major health issue in children born prematurely worldwide
In addition to many predictors of unfavorable neurodevelopmental outcomes in pre-term infants, it is plausible that the stress of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environment and the separation from the mother may negatively influence its development [9,10,11]
As described in our previous paper on study feasibility [27], seventy one parents rejected participation because they were concerned that the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam could be an additional stressful event for their infant and/
Summary
Impaired neurodevelopment is a major health issue in children born prematurely worldwide. Neurodevelopmental follow-up programs for very pre-term infants have become a standard of postdischarge care in many western countries to support early detection and initiate timely supportive therapies. In addition to many predictors of unfavorable neurodevelopmental outcomes in pre-term infants (e.g., brain lesions, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, infections, retinopathy of prematurity), it is plausible that the stress of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environment and the separation from the mother may negatively influence its development [9,10,11]. Further evidence indicates that music interventions may enhance neurobehavioral abilities that are often impaired in infants born prematurely [17]. Music interventions are associated with enhanced self-regulatory abilities in full-term infants [18]
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