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NMT for Parkinson's Disease

Neurologic Music Therapy for Enhancing Fine Motor Control in Parkinson's Disease

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03049033
Enrollment
100
Registered
2017-02-09
Start date
2017-04-26
Completion date
2025-12-31
Last updated
2024-01-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Brief summary

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is defined by characteristic motor symptoms including slow movements, small movements, difficulty with movement initiation and disruptions in timing. Besides gross motor symptoms, fine motor impairments in PD cause difficulties with everyday tasks such as writing, self-care, and fine object manipulation. These activity limitations can lead to disability, social isolation, and a reduced quality of life. In a series of breakthrough studies Michael Thaut and colleagues developed Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) and found it can address many gross motor impairments and improve gait and balance. Other music therapies such as Music-supported Therapy (MST) have proven motor benefits in stroke patients through movement exercises with musical instruments. However, the pathological basal ganglia (BG) in PD brains leads to a reduced supply of those internally generated movements. In contrast, externally cued movements (eg. via a beat or a rhythm) during NMT sessions are instantaneously entrained to the period of a rhythmic stimulus possibly without involvement of the BG. The underlying idea is that rhythm is the essential component relating music specifically to motor behavior. The mechanism of action is called rhythmic entrainment where one system's motion or signal frequency entrains the frequency of another system. The effect of NMT on fine motor function has not been investigated yet. Music activities are important in the lives of many older adults. Notably, the use of music has been associated with increased well-being for older adults, as it fosters social connection and mood regulation. Furthermore, many musical activities have limited physical demands, making them attainable for individuals who are living with mobility impairments or other physical restrictions. Based on the literature and the investigators preliminary studies, the investigators propose to test the efficacy of Neurologic Music Therapy in comparison to Music Supported Therapy and Occupational Therapy (OT) as standard of care on adults in the Parkinson's spectrum. The investigators have defined a working plan using different musical instruments and growing tempo to specifically improve fine motor movements.

Interventions

Neurologic Music Therapy uses rhythms to change brain activity and function.

OTHEROccupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy uses traditional motor training.

OTHERMusic Supported Therapy

Music Supported Therapy uses musical instruments to train fine motor movements.

Sponsors

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
CollaboratorNIH
University of Colorado, Denver
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
45 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Age 45 to 85 * Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease using the UK Brain Bank Criteria * Fine motor impairments (if available, scores 2 and higher on the UPDRS motor examination part III.23 and 24) * Medication stable for at least 30 days.

Exclusion criteria

* Features suggestive of other causes of parkinsonism, including cerebrovascular disease or history of major head trauma * Inability to move fingers or hands * Hoehn and Yahr stage 4 and higher * Ferrous metal implants which may interfere with the MEG data acquisition and/or be an MRI safety concern * Dementia * Participants engaged in other research studies involving music therapies * Participants whose insurance does not cover Occupational Therapy costs or who have no insurance.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Mechanistic Outcome: Neurophysiology 2 (change in auditory-motor functional connectivity using Magnetoencephalography)Baseline and 5 weeksOur second neurophysiology outcome will be a change in auditory-motor functional connectivity using Magnetoencephalography
Clinical Outcome: Motor 1 (change in the Grooved Pegboard Test)Baseline and 5 weeksFirst motor outcome will be a change in the Grooved Pegboard Test.
Quality of Life (QOL) Outcome: QOL 1 (change in the 39-Item Parkinson's Disease)Baseline and 5 weeksFirst QOL outcome will be a change in the 39-Item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire.
Mechanistic Outcome: Neurophysiology 1 (change in motor beta and gamma power using Magnetoencephalography)Baseline and 5 weeksOur first mechanistic outcome will be a change in cortical motor beta and gamma power using Magnetoencephalography.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Clinical Outcome: Motor 2 (change in the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale Part III)Baseline and 5 weeksSecondary motor outcome will be a change in the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale Part III.
Clinical Outcome: Motor 3 (change in the Finger-Thumb opposition from the Neurological Evaluation Scale)Baseline and 5 weeksSecondary motor outcome will be a change in the Finger-Thumb opposition from the Neurological Evaluation Scale.
Quality of Life (QOL) Outcome: QOL 2 (change in the Clinical Global Impression - Improvement Scale)Baseline and 5 weeksSecond QOL outcomes will be a change in the Clinical Global Impression - Improvement Scale .
Quality of Life (QOL) Outcome: QOL 3 (change in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale)Baseline and 5 weeksSecond QOL outcomes will be a change in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactLucas Lattanzio, BA
Lucas.Lattanzio@CUAnschutz.edu303.724.2205
Backup ContactIsabelle Buard, PhD
Isabelle.Buard@CUAnschutz.edu303.724.5973

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 21, 2026