Impact of Different Music Therapy Interventions on Mood and Cognitive Functions in a Healthy Aging Population

This study comprehensively analyses the positive therapeutic benefits of music therapy (MT) on healthy older people's mood, wellbeing, and cognitive function. Three different MT therapies are investigated in this study, which is a five-month randomised control experiment (RCT) that includes one-on-one sessions, small groups, and community groups. Our sample consisted of 48 participants, all aged above 65 years. The research aims to investigate specific questions regarding the extent of MT's impact on cognitive functions, the efficacy of different MT interventions, and the correlation between cognitive reserve levels and improvements in the cognitive behavior of healthy older adults. Pre-post-intervention cognition tests, mood evaluations, and well-being measurements are analysed using a mixed-design ANOVA approach as part of the methodology. The outcomes show that all intervention groups improved consistently, with one-on-one MT pre-post-outperforming the others on cognitive assessments. Notable improvements in mood are indicated by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) scores, especially in the community-group intervention. These results show that MT has the potential to be an effective method that promotes cognitive and emotional health. The study highlights MT as a non-invasive therapeutic approach that can improve cognitive function, promote mood, and improve general well-being in older populations.