Creative Music Therapy and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Pre-term Infants at 2 Years: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

• Main Authors: Friederike Barbara Haslbeck (Author), Hans Ulrich Bucher (Author), Dirk Bassler (Author), Cornelia Hagmann (Author), Giancarlo Natalucci (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A., 2021-06-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2296-2360; 10.3389/fped.2021.660393
• Keywords: pre-maturity; creative music therapy; randomized controlled trial; outcome; neurodevelopment; Bayley-III; Pediatrics; RJ1-570
• Source: Frontiers in Pediatrics, Vol 9 (2021)

Impaired neurodevelopment is increasingly recognized as a major health issue in children born prematurely. Creative music therapy (CMT) intends to prevent and or reduce neurobehavioral deficits in pre-term infants using musical stimulation and socio-emotional co-regulation. We conducted a randomized, clinical pilot CMT trial to test feasibility and to examine long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in pre-term infants (NCT02434224: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02434224). Eighty-two pre-term infants were randomized either to CMT or standard care. A specially trained music therapist provided family-integrating CMT via infant-directed singing during hospitalization. Fifty-six infants underwent follow-up at 2 years of corrected age. No significant beneficial nor adverse effects of CMT were identified in routine clinical neurodevelopmental measures (Bayley-III Scales of Infant and Toddler Development and the standardized neurological examination). Longer term follow-up (5 years) and larger future studies are recommended to elucidate possible long-term effects of music in relation to more sensitive outcomes including executive function, detailed language processing and social-emotional development.