Neurocognitive Music Therapy : Intersecting Music, Medicine and Technology for Health and Well-Being

For thousands of years, music has acted as a powerful medium for evoking emotions, facilitating communication, and nurturing overall well-being. With the advent of new sophisticated neuroimaging technology, human responses to music and music therapy are being viewed through a new lens. As a consequence, new knowledge is being obtained about how music can produce significant improvements in cognitive, social, overt and agitated behaviours. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of neurocognitive music therapy, its impact and implications in the practice of evidence-based music interventions. The book seeks to provide researchers, psychologists, music therapists, musicians and physicians interested in the therapeutic applications of music, with a source of information about current techniques and novel music interventions. It is structured into several chapters, each of them presenting peer-reviewed research and evidence-based procedures carried out in a specific clinical context. Topics covered in the book include: Musical engagement for individuals with motor disabilities Enhancing emotional processing in autism through music Stroke rehabilitation via musical interventions Musical neurofeedback for emotional disorders Emotional modulation with music therapy in palliative care AI-driven personalisation in music interventions The book highlights the profound capacity of music-based interventions to facilitate cognitive and emotional processing, enhance communication, and promote motor rehabilitation. At the same time, the book demonstrates how modern technologies offer new opportunities to evaluate, validate, and potentiate music-based interventions, allowing new and innovative possibilities and more personalised interventions. This book aims to contribute to the growing body of knowledge in this field and inspire further research and innovation in the practice of music therapy. Preface Acknowledgements Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Music for Health and Well-Being 1.2 Music Therapy 1.3 From Notes to Neurons 1.4 Chapter Summary References Chapter 2: Accessible Digital Music Instruments for Motor Disability 2.1 Motor Disabilities 2.2 Music Playing Benefits 2.3 Accessible Digital Music Interfaces 2.4 Gaze-Based Digital Music Interfaces 2.5 The EyeHarp 2.5.1 The Step Sequencer Layer 2.5.2 The Melody Layer 2.5.3 The EyeHarp as a Music Instrument 2.6 The EyeHarp as a Therapeutic Tool for Motor Disabilities 2.6.1 Implications 2.7 Protocol: Music-Based Intervention for People with Motor Disabilities 2.7.1 Objective 2.7.2 Participants 2.7.3 Phases 2.8 Chapter Summary References Chapter 3: Music as a Tool for Improving Emotion Identification in Autistic Children 3.1 Autism, Emotions, and Music 3.2 Research: Music-Enhanced Emotion Identification of Facial Emotions in ASD Children 3.2.1 Participants 3.2.2 Materials 3.2.3 Methods 3.2.4 Results 3.2.5 Discussion 3.3 Protocol for a Music-Based Intervention for Improving Emotion Recognition in Children with ASD (IER-ASD) 3.4 Chapter Summary References Chapter 4: Music and Stroke Rehabilitation 4.1 Stroke 4.2 Music and Stroke Rehabilitation 4.3 Research: Music and Motion Sensing for Stroke Rehabilitation 4.3.1 Participants 4.3.2 Materials 4.3.3 Methods 4.3.4 Results 4.3.5 Discussion 4.4 Protocol: Music-Based Intervention for Stroke Rehabilitation 4.5 Chapter Summary References Chapter 5: Musical Neurofeedback for Emotional Disorders 5.1 Depressive Disorder 5.2 Elderly People, Music, Emotions and Neurofeedback 5.3 Research: Musical Neurofeedback for Depression Treatment in Elderly People 5.3.1 Brain Activity Acquisition 5.3.2 Emotion State Estimation from EEG Data 5.3.3 Musical Neurofeedback 5.3.4 Musical Neurofeedback and Depression: A Pilot Study 5.3.5 Results 5.3.6 Discussion 5.4 Protocol: Musical Neurofeedback for Depression Treatment 5.5 Chapter Summary References Chapter 6: Emotions and Music in Palliative Care 6.1 Palliative Care 6.2 Music and Palliative Care 6.3 Research: Emotions and Music Therapy in Palliative Care – An EEG Study 6.3.1 Participants 6.3.2 Materials 6.3.3 Methods 6.3.4 Results 6.4 Protocol: Music Therapy Intervention for Palliative Care Patients 6.5 Chapter Summary References Chapter 7: Personalizing Music Interventions 7.1 Personalized Music Interventions 7.2 What Is Artificial Intelligence? 7.3 Analysing Music-Based Interventions in Palliative Care with Machine Learning 7.4 Chapter Summary References Index