Research on music-based interventions for aphasia: a scoping review

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ABSTRACT Background Over the past decade, the field of music neuroscience has surged in its examination of the efficacy of music rehabilitation. A growing area of interest within this surge has been research on music interventions for post-stroke aphasia. Brain activation during music processing and perception may overlap with activity during speech and language processing. This overlap suggests possible improvement of speech and language through activation of the multimodal music system. However, the role of music has not been investigated from the perspective of existing literature on skilled language treatment to identify gaps in evidence and outcomes. Aims We surveyed the current literature regarding the use of music-based methods for skilled aphasia rehabilitation to answer the question, “What research has been conducted on music-based, speech-language interventions for post-stroke aphasia?” Methods & procedures We conducted a systematic database search of PubMed, EBSCO Discovery Search, CINAHL Complete, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, MEDLINE Complete, MEDLINE, APA PsycArticles, and APA PsycInfo using the following search terms: (music) AND (aphasia) AND (treatment OR rehabilitation OR intervention OR therapy OR management OR approach) AND (music OR choir OR choral OR melodic OR melody OR sing OR singing OR song) AND (aphasia OR language OR dysphagia OR cognitive-communication). Outcome & results Twenty-seven studies met our inclusion criteria after full-text review. The primary use of music in skilled rehabilitative aphasia therapy and focus of music neurorehabilitation research for aphasia is melodic intonation therapy (MIT), and most studies that fell within the search parameters discussed the use, mechanisms, and adaptation of MIT within the aphasia rehabilitation space. Our review highlighted considerable inconsistency in both the administration of MIT and the reporting of characteristics of MIT used in each study. Sample sizes of included studies ranged from one to ten participants, and most studies were published from 2010 to the present. Conclusions The rise in music neurorehabilitation literature occurred without foundational research of music as an aphasia intervention to provide uniformity or example. Lack of standardization, variability of results, and inconsistency of reporting lessened the quality of evidence found in the included studies. There is a need in this field for standardization of practice and reporting, even in the exploration of new clinical applications of music interventions.