Changes in Music Listening in Post-concussion Syndrome After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Journal

Psychomusicology

Year

2014

Abstract

Mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) has a high incidence and sometimes causes post-concussion syndrome (PCS). Modifications in music listening appear to be a complaint of patients suffering from PCS. In this article, we characterize these changes and evaluate them using both objective and subjective data. After a complete neuropsychological, morphological, and neurophysiological evaluation, 10 patients with PCS fulfilled 2 music-specific assessments: a self-report questionnaire about changes in music listening post-MTBI, and an evaluation of musical abilities derived from the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia consisting of perception subtests, to which were added production and reproduction subtests of different aspects of music (duration, melody, rhythm...). The results were compared with those obtained in a population of healthy subjects. The patients were significantly less accurate than the controls in rhythmic performance (discrimination and reproduction of rhythms). The MTBI patients described a global change in music listening, mainly consisting of a reduction in listening, noise intolerance, and a decrease in pleasure or immersive feelings in music. They also reported subjective impairments, such as modification of time consciousness and thought suspension, which was correlated with MRI anomalies. Modifications of musical abilities may represent an underestimated consequence of MTBI, in addition to the more commonly associated impairments of high-level cognitive activities.

Music and Health Institute Terms

Amusia; Music Listening; Musical Phenomena; Receptive Music Methods; Subjective Measures; Traumatic Brain Injury

Indexed Terms

Psychology; Listening; Comparative analysis; Testing; Music psychology; Traumatic brain injury; Concussion; Post-concussion syndrome

Study Type

Quasi-Experimental Study; Mixed Methods

Document Type

Article

More Info

Share

COinS