The effect of a music therapy protocol on the attentional abilities of stroke patients

This study was a pilot that examined the effect of a music-based attention retraining protocol on the attentional abilities of stroke patients. The primary research question in this study was whether the attentional functioning of stroke patients would improve following the implementation of the protocol. More specifically, the following questions were considered: (1) Will there be a difference in protocol-specific measures of attention? (2) Will the neuropsychological evaluation scores differ from baseline measures following the implementation of the protocol? (3) Will self-report measures of cognitive functioning differ from baseline following the implementation of the protocol?; Four participants who had experienced a stroke resulting in attention deficits were recruited for the current study. Each participant was screened for inclusion and subsequently administered pretest evaluations of attentional functioning. Following pretest measures, each participant received 12 treatment sessions within a 6-week period, involving implementation of the music-based attention retraining protocol. Probe evaluations were administered at the midpoint of the study, and posttest evaluations were administered following the 6-week treatment period.; Results indicated positive trends in neuropsychological scores as well as self-reported measures of cognitive functioning. Additionally, these trends progressed at a similar rate, indicating the effectiveness of the protocol itself. Implications and recommendations for future application and study are discussed.