Neuropsychological assessments to evaluate cognition in music therapy and music-based interventions for mild cognitive impairment and dementia: A descriptive systematic review

Introduction: Interest in the benefits of music therapy (MT) and music-based interventions (MbI) on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia is increasing. However, the results regarding the effects on cognition are inconclusive. Moreover, although neuropsychological assessments can provide greater rigor and more reliable results, there is a lack of research on the most appropriate instruments determining the effects on cognition and different cognitive domains. This review aimed to describe the most frequently administered instruments and the most investigated cognitive domains in literature on MT and MbI. The results will help to establish assessment protocols that benefit both clinical intervention and academic research. Methods: Two researchers independently searched through four databases (WoS, Cochrane, PubMed, and PsycINFO) for English and Spanish quasi-experimental and experimental studies on MT and MbI that used cognitive assessment instruments, and which were published between 2000 and 2022. Results: Twenty-seven out of 1,840 citations met the inclusion criteria. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was mostly used to assess global cognition. The main cognitive domains assessed were executive function, memory, attention, and language. The most frequently used specific neuropsychological instruments were Trail Making Test, Digit Span, Frontal Assessment Battery, Categorical Verbal Fluency Tests, and Progressive Matrices. Discussion: Most studies based their conclusions on global cognition (mainly measured with MMSE test). However, more research and greater consensus are needed in order to establish neuropsychological assessment protocols that obtain more specific and consistent results.