Listening to classical music ameliorates unilateral neglect after stroke

Effects of personalized music listening on post-stroke cognitive impairment: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Previous studies have suggested that music listening has the potential to positively affect cognitive functions and mood in individuals with post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI), with a preference for self-selected music likely to yield better outcomes. However, there is insufficient clinical evidence to suggest the use of music listening in routine rehabilitation care to treat PSCI. This randomized control trial (RCT) aims to investigate the effects of personalized music listening on mood improvement, activities of daily living (ADLs), and cognitive functions in individuals with PSCI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 34 patients with PSCI were randomly assigned to either the music group or the control group. Patients in the music group underwent a three-month personalized music-listening intervention. The intervention involved listening to a personalized playlist tailored to each individual's cultural, ethnic, and social background, life experiences, and personal music preferences. In contrast, the control group patients listened to white noise as a placebo. Cognitive function, neurological function, mood, and ADLs were assessed.

RESULTS

After three months of treatment, the music group showed significantly higher Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores compared to the control group (p=0.027), particularly in the domains of delayed recall (p=0.019) and orientation (p=0.023). Moreover, the music group demonstrated significantly better scores in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) (p=0.008), Barthel Index (BI) (p=0.019), and Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI) (p=0.008) compared to the control group. No effects were found on mood as measured by the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD).

CONCLUSION

Personalized music listening promotes the recovery of cognitive and neurological functions, improves ADLs, and reduces caregiver burden in patients with PSCI.

Music-based interventions for unilateral spatial neglect: A systematic review

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of music-based interventions on unilateral spatial neglect. Five databases were retrieved prior to May 5, 2022. A range of study designs were considered, including randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, cohorts, and case series/reports. Types of music-based interventions were not limited. Methodological quality of randomized trials were evaluated using the RoB 2 tool, and the RoBiNT scale was utilized to assess the quality of case studies. Two authors independently summarized main results for assessments. Search strategies identified 186 potentially relevant articles, and 10 articles were collected for in-depth analysis. Preliminary results showed that USN patients performed better in cancellation tests than bisection tests after music-based intervention. In summary, pleasant music listening may have a beneficial effect on the visual attention of USN patients, and it can be hypothesized that this is related to the positive mood and emotions of patients induced by music. Music with a dynamic auditory stimulus as a new music listening programme in USN rehabilitation is worthy of further investigation. Instrument playing intervention can be considered as a multisensory stimulation to ameliorate neglect performance via multiple mechanisms. However, current results only support the short-term positive effects of music-based interventions on USN.

From Patient to Musician: A Multi-Sensory Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Tool for Spatial Neglect

Unilateral Spatial Neglect (USN) commonly results from a stroke or acquired brain injury. USN affects multiple modalities and results in failure to respond to stimuli on the contralesional side of space. Although USN is a heterogeneous syndrome, present-day therapy methods often fail to consider multiple modalities. Musical Neglect Therapy (MNT) is a therapy method that succeeds in incorporating multiple modalities by asking patients to make music. This research aimed to exploit the immersive and modifiable aspect of VR to translate MNT to a VR therapy tool. The tool was evaluated in a 2-week pilot study with four clinical users. These results are compared to a control group of four non-clinical users. Results indicated that patients responded to triggers in their entire environment and performance results could be clearly differentiated between clinical and non-clinical users. Moreover, patients increasingly corrected their head direction towards their neglected side. Patients stated that the use of VR increased their enjoyment of the therapy. This study contributes to the current research on rehabilitation for USN by proposing the first system to apply MNT in a VR environment. The tool shows promise as an addition to currently used rehabilitation methods. However, results are limited to a small sample size and performance metrics. Future work will focus on validating these results with a larger sample over a longer period. Moreover, future efforts should explore personalisation and gamification to tailor to the heterogeneity of the condition.

The Effect of Music Listening on EEG Functional Connectivity of Brain: A Short-Duration and Long-Duration Study

Music is considered a powerful brain stimulus, as listening to it can activate several brain networks. Music of different kinds and genres may have a different effect on the human brain. The goal of this study is to investigate the change in the brain’s functional connectivity (FC) when music is used as a stimulus. Secondly, the effect of listening to the subject’s favorite music is compared with listening to specifically formulated relaxing music with alpha binaural beats. Finally, the effect of the duration of music listening is studied. Subjects’ electroencephalographic (EEG) signals were captured as they listened to favorite and relaxing music. After preprocessing and artifact removal, the EEG recordings were decomposed into the delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands, and the grand-averaged connectivity matrices were generated using Inter-Site Phase Clustering (ISPC) for each frequency band and each type of music. Furthermore, each lobe of the brain was analyzed separately to understand the effect of music on specific regions of the brain. EEG-FC among different channels was accessed by using graph theory and Network-based Statistics (NBS). To determine the significance of the changes in brain networks after listening to music, statistical analysis was conducted using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and t-test. The study of listening to music for a short duration verifies that either favorite or preferred music can affect the FC of the subject and induce a relaxation state. The short duration study also verifies a significant (ANOVA and t-test: p < 0.05) effectiveness of relaxing music over favorite music to induce relaxation and alertness in the subject. In the study of long duration, it is concluded that listening to relaxing music can increase functional connectivity and connections strength in the frontal lobe of the subject. A significant increase (ANOVA and t-test: p < 0.05) in FC in alpha and theta band and a significant decrease (ANOVA and t-test: p < 0.05) in FC in beta band in the frontal and parietal lobe of the brain verifies the hypothesis that the relaxing music can help the subject to achieve relaxation, activeness, and alertness.

A Systematic Review on the Interaction between Emotion and Pseudoneglect

Background: A large body of research has shown brain asymmetries in spatial attention. Specifically, there is an attention-processing advantage for the left visual field in healthy, right-handed subjects, known as “pseudoneglect.” Several studies have revealed that emotions modulate this basic spatial phenomenon, but the direction of the effect is still unclear. Here we systematically review empirical evidence on the behavioral effects of emotion on pseudoneglect. Methods: We searched through Pubmed, Scopus, PsycINFO, and PsychArticles. Original peer-reviewed articles published until February 2021 were included if they (1) were written in English; (2) were conducted on adults; (3) included at least one task to measure pseudoneglect, and (4) included at least one task with emotional stimuli or employed a measure of emotional state/trait, as they relate to pseudoneglect. Results: Fifteen studies were included, and 784 healthy participants took part in all studies reviewed. Discussion: The results show some evidence of emotion modulation of pseudoneglect, but evidence on the direction of the effect is mixed. We discuss the role of methodological factors that could account for the available findings and the implications for emotion asymmetry hypotheses such as the right-hemisphere hypothesis, the valence-specific hypothesis, as well as neural and arousal frameworks of attention–emotion interactions.

Modulatory role of background music on cognitive interference task in young people

BACKGROUND

The Stroop Colour and Word Test (SCWT) is the most extensively used neuropsychological test in humans to evaluate the ability to inhibit cognitive interference. Any music played while the listener's primary attention is focused on another activity is known as background music and its effects on SCWT have not been studied well.

OBJECTIVE

The current study was designed to evaluate the influence of different background music (classical and heavy metal) on inhibiting cognitive interference in young adults by using the Stroop Colour and Word Test.

METHODS

Eighty student volunteers were invited for the study after obtaining their informed consent. They were first tested for colour blindness using Ishihara's colour test, and once passed, they were recruited to perform a computerised Stroop colour-word interference test. Each participant was requested to take part in four reading exercises: monochrome words, rectangle colours, coloured words and colour naming, respectively. These exercises were performed under three different conditions such as silence (absence of background music), presence of heavy metal and classical music, respectively. The participants' reaction time, errors made and heart rate were recorded and compared.

RESULTS

The participants' reaction time was found to be significantly decreased with classical and heavy metal background music compared with the silence condition. The heart rate and errors made by the participants did not significantly change during any of the study conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Results of this study indicate the positive impact of background music on a cognitive interference task. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the underlying neural mechanisms.

Can auditory cues improve visuo-spatial neglect? Results of two pilot studies

Although neglect is known to be a multimodal deficit, current interventions often address the visual modality only. Experimental studies, however, found that neglect patients can partially overcome their spatial inattention temporarily when being exposed to auditory cues that move towards the neglected side of space. Two pilot studies investigated the impact of dynamic auditory cueing on egocentric neglect severity in a clinical-therapeutic setting. In both studies, the patient groups received 15 sessions of intervention. Study 1, designed as double-blinded trial with a historical control group, targeted severely impaired early-acute patients who listened to music or audio books which were presented as moving dynamically from right to left. Results showed a reduction in egocentric neglect severity that persisted after therapy termination in the intervention but not in the historical control group. In study 2, based on the comparison with reported effect sizes of previous studies, dynamic meaningful auditory cues and optokinetic stimulation were combined in a computer-based training. Both studies found a significant reduction of neglect severity. Results provide evidence for the reduction of egocentric neglect severity after repetitive auditory cueing therapy in both severely and moderately impaired patients. Our promising findings should be verified thoroughly in randomized-controlled trials.

Why is music therapeutic for neurological disorders? The Therapeutic Music Capacities Model

Music has cognitive, psychosocial, behavioral and motor benefits for people with neurological disorders such as dementia, stroke, Parkinson's disease (PD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Here we discuss seven properties or 'capacities' of music that interact with brain function and contribute to its therapeutic value. Specifically, in its various forms, music can be engaging, emotional, physical, personal, social and persuasive, and it promotes synchronization of movement. We propose the Therapeutic Music Capacities Model (TMCM), which links individual properties of music to therapeutic mechanisms, leading to cognitive, psychosocial, behavioral and motor benefits. We review evidence that these capacities have reliable benefits for people with dementia, stroke, PD and ASD when employed separately or in combination. The model accounts for the profound value that music affords human health and well-being and provides a framework for the development of non-pharmaceutical treatments for neurological disorders.

Reporting quality of music intervention research in healthcare: A systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Concomitant with the growth of music intervention research, are concerns about inadequate intervention reporting and inconsistent terminology, which limits validity, replicability, and clinical application of findings.

OBJECTIVE

Examine reporting quality of music intervention research, in chronic and acute medical settings, using the Checklist for Reporting Music-based Interventions. In addition, describe patient populations and primary outcomes, intervention content and corresponding interventionist qualifications, and terminology.

METHODS

Searching MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, HealthSTAR, and PsycINFO we identified articles meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria for a five-year period (2010-2015) and extracted relevant data. Coded material included reporting quality across seven areas (theory, content, delivery schedule, interventionist qualifications, treatment fidelity, setting, unit of delivery), author/journal information, patient population/outcomes, and terminology.

RESULTS

Of 860 articles, 187 met review criteria (128 experimental; 59 quasi-experimental), with 121 publishing journals, and authors from 31 countries. Overall reporting quality was poor with <50% providing information for four of the seven checklist components (theory, interventionist qualifications, treatment fidelity, setting). Intervention content reporting was also poor with <50% providing information about the music used, decibel levels/volume controls, or materials. Credentialed music therapists and registered nurses delivered most interventions, with clear differences in content and delivery. Terminology was varied and inconsistent.

CONCLUSIONS

Problems with reporting quality impedes meaningful interpretation and cross-study comparisons. Inconsistent and misapplied terminology also create barriers to interprofessional communication and translation of findings to patient care. Improved reporting quality and creation of shared language will advance scientific rigor and clinical relevance of music intervention research.

EEG-based alpha neurofeedback training for mood enhancement

The aim of this paper is to develop a preliminary neurofeedback system to improve the mood of the subjects using audio signals by enhancing their alpha brainwaves. Assessment of the effect of music on the human subjects is performed using three methods; subjective assessment of mood with the help of a questionnaire, the effect on brain by analysing EEG signals, and the effect on body by physiological assessment. In this study, two experiments have been designed. The first experiment was to determine the short-term effect of music on soothing human subjects, whereas the second experiment was to determine its long-term effect. Two types of music were used in the first experiment, the favourite music selected by the participants and a relaxing music with alpha wave binaural beats. The research findings showed that the relaxing music has a better soothing effect on the participants psychologically and physiologically. However, the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) results showed that the short-term soothing effect of both favourite music and relaxing music was not significant in changing the mean alpha absolute power and mean physiological measures (blood pressure and heart rate) at the significance level of 0.05. The second experiment was somewhat similar to an alpha neurofeedback training whereby the participants trained their brains to produce more alpha brainwaves by listening to the relaxing music with alpha wave binaural beats for a duration of 30 min daily. The results showed that the relaxing music has a long-term psychological and physiological effect on soothing the participants, as can be observed from the increase in alpha power and decrease in physiological measures after each session of training. The training was found to be effective in increasing the alpha power significantly [F(2,12) = 11.5458 and p = 0.0016], but no significant reduction in physiological measures was observed at the significance level of 0.05.

A rehabilitation program based on music practice for patients with unilateral spatial neglect: a single-case study

Two major limitations of unilateral spatial neglect (USN) rehabilitation methods are actually reported: a lack of long-term efficiency and a lack of generalization to daily life. The aim of our case study was to underline how a multisensory method-music practice-could avoid these limitations. Mrs BV suffered from a chronic severe USN. She had rehabilitation sessions of music practice over 8 weeks. An improvement of her USN was found on paper-pencil tests but also in daily activities. Benefits subsisted 4 months after rehabilitation. Music practice seemed to avoid the major limitations of USN rehabilitations and could represent a promising tool.

Music interventions for acquired brain injury

BACKGROUND

Acquired brain injury (ABI) can result in impairments in motor function, language, cognition, and sensory processing, and in emotional disturbances, which can severely reduce a survivor's quality of life. Music interventions have been used in rehabilitation to stimulate brain functions involved in movement, cognition, speech, emotions, and sensory perceptions. An update of the systematic review published in 2010 was needed to gauge the efficacy of music interventions in rehabilitation for people with ABI.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of music interventions for functional outcomes in people with ABI. We expanded the criteria of our existing review to: 1) examine the efficacy of music interventions in addressing recovery in people with ABI including gait, upper extremity function, communication, mood and emotions, cognitive functioning, social skills, pain, behavioural outcomes, activities of daily living, and adverse events; 2) compare the efficacy of music interventions and standard care with a) standard care alone, b) standard care and placebo treatments, or c) standard care and other therapies; 3) compare the efficacy of different types of music interventions (music therapy delivered by trained music therapists versus music interventions delivered by other professionals).

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (January 2016), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2015, Issue 6), MEDLINE (1946 to June 2015), Embase (1980 to June 2015), CINAHL (1982 to June 2015), PsycINFO (1806 to June 2015), LILACS (1982 to January 2016), and AMED (1985 to June 2015). We handsearched music therapy journals and conference proceedings, searched dissertation and specialist music databases, trials and research registers, reference lists, and contacted relevant experts and music therapy associations to identify unpublished research. We imposed no language restriction. We performed the original search in 2009.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included all randomised controlled trials and controlled clinical trials that compared music interventions and standard care with standard care alone or combined with other therapies. We examined studies that included people older than 16 years of age who had ABI of a non-degenerative nature and were participating in treatment programmes offered in hospital, outpatient, or community settings. We included studies in any language, published and unpublished.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. We contacted trial researchers to obtain missing data or for additional information when necessary. Where possible, we presented results for continuous outcomes in meta-analyses using mean differences (MDs) and standardised mean differences (SMDs). We used post-test scores. In cases of significant baseline difference, we used change scores. We conducted a sensitivity analysis to assess the impact of the randomisation method.

MAIN RESULTS

We identified 22 new studies for this update. The evidence for this update is based on 29 trials involving 775 participants. A music intervention known as rhythmic auditory stimulation may be beneficial for improving the following gait parameters after stroke. We found a reported increase in gait velocity of 11.34 metres per minute (95% confidence interval (CI) 8.40 to 14.28; 9 trials; 268 participants; P < 0.00001; moderate-quality evidence). Stride length of the affected side may also benefit, with a reported average of 0.12 metres more (95% CI 0.04 to 0.20; 5 trials; 129 participants; P = 0.003; moderate-quality evidence). We found a reported average improvement for general gait of 7.67 units on the Dynamic Gait Index (95% CI 5.67 to 9.67; 2 trials; 48 participants; P < 0.00001). There may also be an improvement in gait cadence, with a reported average increase of 10.77 steps per minute (95% CI 4.36 to 17.18; 7 trials; 223 participants; P = 0.001; low-quality evidence).Music interventions may be beneficial for improving the timing of upper extremity function after stroke as scored by a reduction of 1.08 seconds on the Wolf Motor Function Test (95% CI -1.69 to -0.47; 2 trials; 122 participants; very low-quality evidence).Music interventions may be beneficial for communication outcomes in people with aphasia following stroke. Overall, communication improved by 0.75 standard deviations in the intervention group, a moderate effect (95% CI 0.11 to 1.39; 3 trials; 67 participants; P = 0.02; very low-quality evidence). Naming was reported as improving by 9.79 units on the Aachen Aphasia Test (95% CI 1.37 to 18.21; 2 trials; 35 participants; P = 0.02). Music interventions may have a beneficial effect on speech repetition, reported as an average increase of 8.90 score on the Aachen Aphasia Test (95% CI 3.25 to 14.55; 2 trials; 35 participants; P = 0.002).There may be an improvement in quality of life following stroke using rhythmic auditory stimulation, reported at 0.89 standard deviations improvement on the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale, which is considered to be a large effect (95% CI 0.32 to 1.46; 2 trials; 53 participants; P = 0.002; low-quality evidence). We found no strong evidence for effects on memory and attention. Data were insufficient to examine the effect of music interventions on other outcomes.The majority of studies included in this review update presented a high risk of bias, therefore the quality of the evidence is low.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Music interventions may be beneficial for gait, the timing of upper extremity function, communication outcomes, and quality of life after stroke. These results are encouraging, but more high-quality randomised controlled trials are needed on all outcomes before recommendations can be made for clinical practice.

The effects of music listening interventions on cognition and mood post-stroke: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Music listening may have beneficial psychological effects but there has been no comprehensive synthesis of the available data describing efficacy of music listening in stroke. Areas covered: We performed a systematic review examining the effects of music listening interventions on cognition and mood post-stroke. We found five published trials (n = 169 participants) and four ongoing trials. All studies demonstrated benefits of music listening on at least one measure of cognition or mood. Heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis and all included studies had potential risk of bias. Common reporting or methodological issues including lack of blinding, lack of detail on the intervention and safety reporting. Expert commentary: It is too early to recommend music listening as routine treatment post-stroke, available studies have been under-powered and at risk of bias. Accepting these caveats, music listening may have beneficial effects on both mood and cognition and we await the results of ongoing controlled studies.

The effect of an enriched environment on activity levels in people with stroke in an acute stroke unit: protocol for a before-after pilot study

BACKGROUND

Clinical practice guidelines advocate engaging stroke survivors in as much activity as possible early after stroke. One approach found to increase activity levels during inpatient rehabilitation incorporated an enriched environment (EE), whereby physical, cognitive, and social activity was enhanced. The effect of an EE in an acute stroke unit (ASU) has yet not been explored.

METHODS/DESIGN

We will perform a prospective non-randomized before-after intervention study. The primary aim is to determine if an EE can increase physical, social, and cognitive activity levels of people with stroke in an ASU compared to usual care. Secondary aims are to determine if fewer secondary complications and improved functional outcomes occur within an EE. We will recruit 30 people with stroke to the usual care block and subsequently 30 to the EE block. Participants will be recruited within 24-72 h after onset of stroke, and each block is estimated to last for 12 weeks. In the usual care block current management and rehabilitation within an ASU will occur. In the EE block, the ASU environment will be adapted to promote greater physical, social, and cognitive activity. Three months after the EE block, another 30 participants will be recruited to determine sustainability of this intervention. The primary outcome is change in activity levels measured using behavioral mapping over 12 h (7.30 am to 7.30 pm) across two weekdays and one weekend day within the first 10 days of admission. Secondary outcomes include functional outcome measures, adverse and serious adverse events, stroke survivor, and clinical staff experience.

DISCUSSION

There is a need for effective interventions that starts directly in the ASU. The EE is an innovative intervention that could increase activity levels in stroke survivors across all domains and promote early recovery of stroke survivors in the acute setting.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry, ANZCTN12614000679684.

Music-induced changes in functional cerebral asymmetries

After decades of research, it remains unclear whether emotion lateralization occurs because one hemisphere is dominant for processing the emotional content of the stimuli, or whether emotional stimuli activate lateralised networks associated with the subjective emotional experience. By using emotion-induction procedures, we investigated the effect of listening to happy and sad music on three well-established lateralization tasks. In a prestudy, Mozart's piano sonata (K. 448) and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata were rated as the most happy and sad excerpts, respectively. Participants listened to either one emotional excerpt, or sat in silence before completing an emotional chimeric faces task (Experiment 1), visual line bisection task (Experiment 2) and a dichotic listening task (Experiment 3 and 4). Listening to happy music resulted in a reduced right hemispheric bias in facial emotion recognition (Experiment 1) and visuospatial attention (Experiment 2) and increased left hemispheric bias in language lateralization (Experiments 3 and 4). Although Experiments 1-3 revealed an increased positive emotional state after listening to happy music, mediation analyses revealed that the effect on hemispheric asymmetries was not mediated by music-induced emotional changes. The direct effect of music listening on lateralization was investigated in Experiment 4 in which tempo of the happy excerpt was manipulated by controlling for other acoustic features. However, the results of Experiment 4 made it rather unlikely that tempo is the critical cue accounting for the effects. We conclude that listening to music can affect functional cerebral asymmetries in well-established emotional and cognitive laterality tasks, independent of music-induced changes in the emotion state.

New framework for rehabilitation - fusion of cognitive and physical rehabilitation: the hope for dancing

Neurorehabilitation programs are commonly employed with the goal to help restore functionality in patients. However, many of these therapies report only having a small impact. In response to the need for more effective and innovative approaches, rehabilitative methods that take advantage of the neuroplastic properties of the brain have been used to aid with both physical and cognitive impairments. Following this path of reasoning, there has been a particular interest in the use of physical exercise as well as musical related activities. Although such therapies demonstrate potential, they also have limitations that may affect their use, calling for further exploration. Here, we propose dance as a potential parallel to physical and music therapies. Dance may be able to aid with both physical and cognitive impairments, particularly due to it combined nature of including both physical and cognitive stimulation. Not only does it incorporate physical and motor skill related activities, but it can also engage various cognitive functions such as perception, emotion, and memory, all while done in an enriched environment. Other more practical benefits, such as promoting adherence due to being enjoyable, are also discussed, along with the current literature on the application of dance as an intervention tool, as well as future directions required to evaluate the potential of dance as an alternative therapy in neurorehabilitation.

Hearing and music in unilateral spatial neglect neuro-rehabilitation

Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is an attention deficit in the contralesional side of space which occurs after a cerebral stroke, mainly located in the right hemisphere. USN patients are disabled in all daily activities. USN is an important negative prognostic factor of functional recovery and of socio-professional reinsertion. Thus, patient rehabilitation is a major challenge. As this deficit has been described in many sensory modalities (including hearing), many sensory and poly-sensory rehabilitation methods have been proposed to USN patients. They are mainly based on visual, tactile modalities and on motor abilities. However, these methods appear to be quite task-specific and difficult to transfer to functional activities. Very few studies have focused on the hearing modality and even fewer studies have been conducted in music as a way of improving spatial attention. Therefore, more research on such retraining needs is neccessary in order to make reliable conclusions on its efficiency in long-term rehabilitation. Nevertheless, some evidence suggests that music could be a promising tool to enhance spatial attention and to rehabilitate USN patients. In fact, music is a material closely linked to space, involving common anatomical and functional networks. The present paper aims firstly at briefly reviewing the different procedures of sensory retraining proposed in USN, including auditory retraining, and their limits. Secondly, it aims to present the recent scientific evidence that makes music a good candidate for USN patients’ neuro-rehabilitation.

Moving Toward 2017: Progress in Rehabilitation Intervention Effectiveness Research

Halfway into the 10-yr American Occupational Therapy Association Centennial Vision initiative, occupational therapy has made notable progress in establishing itself as a science-driven profession. Through the diligent work of many talented occupational therapy scholars, 42 research studies exploring interventions used in rehabilitation research were published in the past 5 years. A variety of both novel and established intervention strategies were investigated using diverse research designs and measurement tools. A predominant number of studies were conducted with the poststroke population. Moving forward to 2017 and building on our success, we can recognize our full potential by fostering knowledge translation, expanding participant numbers, exploring less-studied populations, increasing the volume of systematic reviews published, and reporting occupation-centered outcomes, the unique and defining component of our profession.

State of the Journal, 2013

The American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT) has developed into a solid research journal, increasingly disseminating evidence-based research able to inform practice.