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The Efficacy of Individualized Music Therapy in Patients With MCS: A Pilot Study on EEG
Xiaoying Zhang1,2, Yunlei Wang1,3, Zuliyaer Talifu4
1School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, ccmu.edu.cn.
Objective:
To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and preliminary effects of individual music therapy (IMT) on electroencephalography (EEG) cortical activation in patients with minimally conscious state (MCS).
Design:
This study was pilot randomized, single-blind, and blank-controlled trial.
Setting:
China Rehabilitation Research Center (CRRC), Beijing, China.
Participants:
Sixty-two MCS patients (diagnosed by Coma Recovery Scale-Revised [CRS-R]) were enrolled between March 2024 and July 2025; 43 completed the trial and were randomized.
Intervention:
The experimental group (n = 22) received 12-week individualized music therapy (30-min sessions, five times per week) delivered by a certified music therapist.
Comparator:
The control group (n = 21) received routine treatment and rehabilitation training without music intervention.
Primary Outcome:
The change in EEG spectral power (alpha band, 8-13 Hz) over right-hemisphere frontocentral regions from baseline (T1) to post-intervention (T2).
Results:
The IMT group showed significantly increased alpha power over the right lateral prefrontal cortex, precentral gyrus, and central sulcus at T2 compared T1 (p < 0.05; descriptive comparison), whereas no such change was observed in the control group. No adverse events occurred in either group.
Conclusion:
IMT is feasible and safe in medically fragile MCS patients and may induce right-hemisphere cortical activation. These pilot findings are hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in larger, adequately powered trials.
Trial Registration:
Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2500114153, MR-11-24-014167.
