Musical Dual Task Training to Improve Attention Control for Dementia

Chang Gung Medical Foundation

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Dementia

Treatments: Behavioral: Walking and Talking; Behavioral: Musical Dual Task Training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01709188

20216

101-2201B

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this project is to determine if the Musical Dual Task Training program improves attention control that influences measures of gait performances under dual tasking, balance, fear of falling, and behavioral disturbance in patients with mild to moderate dementia. This Musical Dual Task Training protocol is structured with musical content and patients are required to do musical tasks including singing and playing instruments contingent on visual or auditory cues while walking. This paradigm is designed to include music making because it involves great demands on attention and memory that might elicit experience-dependent plasticity in the brain. Musical Dual Task Training is proposed to strengthen brain networking for attention control that consequently may improve the gait performances in patients with dementia, as indicated by reducing dual task cost on gait.

Enrollment: 30 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 55+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• a mild to moderate dementia diagnosis with Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score: .5, 1, or 2
• ability to walk 10 meters independently without the use of a walker or cane, or the assistance by another person

Exclusion criteria

• other known neurologic disorders such as stroke or Parkinson's disease
• significant orthopedic, visual, and hearing impairment that hinders ambulation

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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30 participants in 2 patient groups

Musical Dual Task Training

Experimental group

Description:

60 minute individual session once a week across 2 months for a total of 8 sessions.Each session will be led by a qualified music therapist. Within the Musical Dual Task Training session, participant will be asked to sing familiar songs, play simple percussive musical instruments such as paddle drums and shakers, sing while walking, and play instruments while walking.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Musical Dual Task Training

Walking and Talking

Active Comparator group

Description:

60 minute individual session once a week across 2 months for a total of 8 sessions.Each session will be led by a qualified music therapist. Within the walking and talking session, participant will be asked to read a newspaper article prior to a walk and have a conversation with the music therapist based on the content of the news while walking.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Walking and Talking