Epilepsy
Conditions
Keywords
Epilepsy, seizure disorder
Brief summary
Participation in music therapy will result in improvement in cognitive functioning, as measured by neuropsychological testing 9-12 months following surgery.
Detailed description
Music therapy could have a significant impact on clinical outcomes for patients with epilepsy. One study found that epilepsy patients who received music therapy for six months or greater had a significant reduction in number of seizures and could potentially aid in decreasing medication dosage. The investigators would like to contribute to this sort of research, but focus on what effect music therapy has on a patient's cognitive recovery after undergoing epilepsy surgery. Although research exists regarding music therapy on memory and communication, its overall effect on this patient population is unclear. The Dell Children's Epilepsy program hopes that this research project on memory and communication will have a positive effect on their patients with epilepsy.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMusic Therapy
Will consist of meeting with the music therapists, Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS), or Child Life Assistants (CLA) for either music therapy for about 45 minutes, twice per week, for Weeks 1-8. The Music Therapy group will partake in interventions such as singing and playing musical instruments. All brain surgery candidates receive a neuropsychological assessment before and after surgery (9-12 months after surgery). In addition, patients who agree to participate in the study will receive cognitive screening and a music therapy evaluation prior to surgery (Baseline 1). These evaluations will also be given within 3 days of epilepsy surgery (Baseline 2), 8 weeks after surgery (Baseline 3), and 9-12 months after surgery (Baseline 4.)
Sponsors
Seton Healthcare Family
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
6 Years to 16 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Between 6-16 years of age * Will undergo either a brain resection or lobectomy
Exclusion criteria
* Pre-surgical Full Scale IQ below 70 * Primary language is not English * Hearing or vision impairments * Parental consent cannot be obtained
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Participation in music therapy will result in improvement in neuropsychological scores 12 months following surgery for music therapy study group. | 12 months post surgery | All brain surgery candidates receive a neuropsychological assessment before and after surgery (9-12 months after surgery). This is the standard of care for all brain surgery patients. The results of this assessment and will be used in this research study. In addition, patients who agree to participate in the study will receive cognitive screening and a music therapy evaluation prior to surgery (Baseline 1). These evaluations will also be given within 3 days of epilepsy surgery (Baseline 2), 8 weeks after surgery (Baseline 3), and 9-12 months after surgery (Baseline 4.) |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed