Music Therapy and Disorders of Consciousness: Providing Clinical Data for Differential Diagnosis Between Vegetative State and Minimally Conscious State from Music-centered Music Therapy and Neuroscience Perspectives

Journal

Music Therapy Perspectives

Year

2014

Abstract

A disorder of consciousness resulting from a brain injury can cause the loss or reduction of a wide spectrum of functions and abilities.. Music therapy can provide significant information for a differential diagnosis between a minimally conscious state and a vegetative state in an interdisciplinary assessment. Through a specific approach and personalized interventions, the music therapist can facilitate a patient's purposeful responses. There is a diverse body of research on the links between music and brain function. The processing of musical elements and structures is considered a highly demanding task for the brain, as multiple brain functions occur simultaneously in a highly organized and coordinated process. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the existing literature on differential diagnosis between vegetative state and minimally conscious state through a case report and analysis of music therapy interventions based on clinical improvisation. The article aims to explore how music may be employed as part of a comprehensive, multimodal approach to differential diagnosis and how musical interventions may provide data to determine the potential for rehabilitation of patients with disorders of consciousness (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Music and Health Institute Terms

Hospital Setting; Music Therapy; Rehabilitation Exercises; Traumatic Brain Injury

Indexed Terms

neuroscience; Neurosciences; Traumatic Brain Injury; brain injury; consciousness; Consciousness States; differential diagnosis

Study Type

Editorial, Opinions, Position Papers

Document Type

Article

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