Music-4-MS to Improve Cognition in People Living with Multiple Sclerosis: A Feasibility Study

About This Grant

Project Abstract Over the past 10 years, the rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) have nearly doubled in the United States. This chronic, neuroinflammatory, and neurodegenerative disease is most often diagnosed between the ages of 20-40. In many countries, it is the main cause of nontraumatic disability in young adults. Cognitive impairment affects up to 70% of those with MS, in whom the incidence of early onset dementia is 7 times higher than it is in adults without MS. Cognitive- based rehabilitation, however, can improve memory and learning as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety, which may reinforce cognition. Traditional approaches to cognitive rehabilitation use restorative (drill and practice) and compensatory (management) strategies. Yet most cognitive interventions for persons with MS are predominantly visual or speech focused, which eliminates the possibility of stimulating multiple senses. Playing a musical instrument provides multisensory stimulation and feedback to enhance neuroplasticity in the learning process making it superior to traditional cognitive rehabilitation strategies. Music training is a multimodal activity that involves coordinating of sensory and motor sequences with planned actions that require higher cognitive resources. Music training has been associated with frontal lobe function and higher visuospatial, working memory and executive function performance across the life span. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of Music-4-MS, a 12-week music-based, eHealth intervention. The specific aims are to 1) determine the feasibility and acceptability of delivering the Music-4-MS eHealth intervention among individuals with MS over 12 weeks; 2) evaluate the preliminary effect of Music-4-MS on cognitive (objective performance, subjective function), psychosocial (anxiety, depression, social function), and functional (physical function, fatigue, hand dexterity) well-being over time compared to an active control group; and 3) explore participants’ perceptions of the motivation, engagement, connection, and usefulness of Music-4-MS in their daily lives.