Effect of Music Interventions on Cognitive Function in Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review.

The included studies used very different music interventions, session lengths, frequencies, cognitive tests and outcome domains, so the review could not combine them into one overall result. Dancing accounted for more than one half of the included studies, so it was hard to say which type of music intervention helped which cognitive domain. Many studies had small samples and missing outcome data, and some randomized trials had concerns about dropout or withdrawal. Non-randomized studies had moderate risk of bias from confounding and outcome measurement. No included study reported adverse events, so safety is not established. Only one study accounted for participants' music preferences, and daily background music exposure was not controlled in most studies. The review searched four databases and English peer-reviewed articles only, so relevant studies from other databases or languages could have been missed.

Do not conclude that music listening alone improves cognition in mild cognitive impairment. Most included studies used active music therapy such as dancing, and one study found similar gains with the same exercises without music, so movement may explain part of the effect.