Effects of neurological music therapy on behavioural and emotional recovery after traumatic brain injury: A randomized controlled cross-over trial.

After a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury, people often struggle not just with thinking skills but with regulating their behaviour and emotions day to day. This trial asked whether structured music therapy sessions, twice weekly for three months, could help with that regulation, using a cross-over design where one group received therapy first and the other received it later, allowing each group to eventually act as its own comparison. The main finding was that self-reported everyday behavioural regulation improved more in the group that received music therapy first, an effect that was still present three months after therapy ended. No changes emerged on standard mood or quality of life questionnaires, though written feedback suggested many participants felt the sessions helped their emotional well-being.

The study was small, with 40 participants split across two groups, and relied heavily on self-report, so the findings should be read as encouraging but preliminary rather than conclusive.

If you or someone you love has had a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury, you may know how much everyday self-control, staying calm, adjusting behaviour, managing frustration, can be affected, not just memory or concentration. This study looked at whether music therapy sessions, held twice a week for three months, could help with that kind of everyday regulation. Participants were split into two groups, with one starting therapy right away and the other starting later, so researchers could compare how each group changed.

People who received music therapy earlier showed more improvement in self-reported behavioural regulation, and this benefit was still visible three months later. Standardized mood and quality of life scores did not show clear changes, but many participants described the sessions as helpful for their emotional well-being when asked directly. This was a fairly small study, and much of what was measured relied on people's own reports rather than independent observation, so the results are a promising early signal rather than firm proof.

This is a summary of research, not medical advice. Talk to your own healthcare provider about anything affecting your care.

This cross-over randomized controlled trial enrolled 40 adults with moderate-severe TBI, allocated to receive a 3-month neurological music therapy programme (twice weekly, 60-minute sessions) either first (AB, n=20) or second (BA, n=20) within a 6-month follow-up window, with an additional 18-month assessment. The current analysis focused on self-report and caregiver-report questionnaires of behavioural, emotional, and quality of life outcomes, building on prior reporting from this trial that showed improvements in executive function and set shifting. The key result was a statistically significant improvement in the self-reported Behavioural Regulation Index of the BRIEF-A in the AB group relative to BA from baseline to the 3-month mark, with the effect maintained at 6 months.

No significant changes were detected on mood or quality of life measures. Qualitative content analysis of participant feedback suggested subjective benefits for emotional well-being and activity, though this is exploratory and not a substitute for the null quantitative mood findings. The cross-over design and self-report reliance limit causal certainty, and the modest sample size constrains generalizability.

Caregiver-report and quality of life data did not corroborate the behavioural regulation finding, so replication with larger samples and objective outcome measures would be needed to strengthen confidence.