Taking gender into account: Brief report on a survey of music therapists’ attitudes to future use of a proposed computer aided evaluation system: The music therapy logbook

Analysis of an international survey of music therapists working in the field of neuro-disability (N = 44) identified differences in attitude between female and male therapists towards future use of a computer-aided recording and analysis system, the main purpose of which is to track changes in a client's and therapist's use of music over time. This article, a follow up report on the original survey ( Streeter, 2010), examines the effects of respondent gender on attitude in order to identify issues that will need to be taken into account during the next phase of research and development. Results indicate that male music therapists may hold more positive opinions about computer-aided practice evaluation than female music therapists. However, the data also shows that female respondents were more concerned than their male counterparts about the ethical and practical issues that might arise if they were to introduce computer-aided evaluation at work. Both genders expressed excitement at the prospect of a specialist system designed to record, store, and quantify changes in music play between a music therapist and a patient.     

Effects of pitch,rhythm, and accompaniment on short- and long-term visual recall in children with autism spectrum disorders

The purpose of the study was to examine paired associate effects of speech, rhythm, pitch, and accompaniment on short- and long-term recall of visual information in children with ASD and in neuro-typical children. The principle investigator (PI) collected phase one data (n = 42 children with ASD) during three separate one-week summer camps and phase two data (n = 14 neuro-typical children) during an academic year at a local religious institution. Participants received the seven-item visual stimuli paired with one of four music conditions (speech, rhythm, pitch, and accompaniment). The PI tested participants in both short- and long-term conditions. Results for phase one were statistically significant for term, with more accurate recall during the short-term phase. Although there were no significant between-condition differences, short- and long-term recall were most accurate during the accompaniment condition and least accurate in the speech condition. Regardless of condition, participants had better recall during sequential positions of primacy and recency. Neuro-typical participants had higher mean recall across all four conditions and two terms than participants with ASD. When delivering visual information to children with ASD, clinicians might consider pairing it with music to facilitate recall. Implications for clinical practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Effects of music therapy with patients on a post-surgical oncology unit: A pilot study determining maintenance of immediate gains

Researchers have found that music therapy can be an effective psychosocial intervention for oncology patients. However, due to shortened inpatient hospital stays and the frequency of surgery for patients with cancer, there is a need to determine maintenance of single-session treatment gains with patients on a post-surgical oncology unit. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate maintenance of immediate music therapy treatment gains concerning relaxation, pain, anxiety, nausea, and perception of music therapy with patients on a surgical oncology unit. Participants were adult oncology inpatients (n = 27) and their caregivers (n = 4) receiving care on a surgical oncology unit. Participants completed five separate 10-point Likert-Type Scales at pretest, posttest, and 30–45-min follow-up. Participants received 20-min music therapy sessions consisting of patient-preferred live music. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) were computed on all patient data and indicated significant differences in relaxation, anxiety, and pain between pretest and posttest and pretest and follow-up measures. However, there were no significant differences from posttest to follow-up, indicating maintenance of treatment gains. Although generalizations are premature due to the lack of a comparison condition, it seems that beneficial effects of a single music therapy session for surgical oncology patients may be maintained in the short-term. Limitations, implications for clinical practice, and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Emotional responses in borderline personality disorder and depression: assessment during an acute crisis and 8 months later

Stability of subjective emotional responses to positive and negative film stimuli was examined in female patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD, n = 30), depressed patients (n = 27) and a non-clinical control group (n = 30). At first assessment (t1) clinical participants were inpatients. The second assessment was conducted 8 months later, when clinical participants were not in an acute crisis. Positive emotions and other-focused negative emotions were successfully induced in all participants. Altogether, more negative baseline emotionality describes both patient groups better than differences in emotional reactivity. Our findings contradict the hypothesis of general emotional hyperreactivity in BPD patients for both positive and negative emotions.     

Staff perceptions of complementary and alternative therapy integration into a child and adolescent psychiatry program

Art, music, yoga, and dance/movement therapies have been researched individually, mostly in adults, but few studies explain the impact of integrating these therapies into the treatment of children with psychiatric illnesses. Given the financial constraints of current healthcare, as well as limitations of verbal and medical therapies, it is important to document the added value of integrating complementary therapies, including creative arts therapies, into childhood mental health and treatment. The present study looked to evaluate views of clinical professionals (n = 23) (i.e. psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers), nurses (n = 17) and milieu staff (mental health counselors; n = 56) within the Psychiatry Department of a large children's hospital on the perceived benefits of integrating Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies within inpatient and day treatment programs. The majority of respondents (96% of clinicians, 100% of nurses, and 82% of milieu staff) reported that CAM positively impacted patient care. Staff indicated that sessions facilitated by masters level creative arts therapists or yoga therapists helped patients by increasing self esteem, increasing motor coordination and body control, providing relaxation, teaching coping skills, decreasing acting out behaviors, developing patient's awareness of emotions or underlying issues, and helping to broach difficult topics or issues for the first time. Milieu staff who participated in CAM groups alongside patients also received personal and professional benefits.     

Effects of single session music therapy on hospitalized patients recovering from a bone marrow transplant: Two studies

The purpose of these studies was to determine the effects of single session music therapy on inpatients in an adult bone marrow transplant unit. In Study 1, the researchers examined the effects of patient-preferred live music on anxiety, nausea, fatigue, pain, and relaxation for hospitalized patients (N = 50) recovering from a bone marrow transplant utilizing a pretest, posttest, and follow-up design with Likert-Type Scales. In Study 2, the researchers utilized a randomized controlled trial with pre and posttests to determine how music therapy might effect fatigue (N = 18). In Study 1, results were significant for relaxation, anxiety, and fatigue from pre to posttest. Although ratings tended to worsen slightly from posttest to follow-up, follow-up measurements maintained an improvement when compared with pretest scores. Results of Study 2 indicated no significant differences between- or within-group differences concerning fatigue. However, analyses of mean fatigue data indicated a slight decrease from pre to posttest for experimental participants and a slight increase from pre to posttest for control participants. Results of both studies indicate that a single music therapy session can have a positive effect on inpatients recovering from bone marrow transplants. Implications for clinical practice, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Effects of music therapy on spirituality with patients on a medical oncology/hematology unit: A mixed-methods approach

Despite considerable interest in the potential relationship between oncology and spirituality, it remains unclear how the spiritual wellbeing of patients is best addressed in health care environments. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of three music therapy doses on spirituality in patients on a medical oncology/hematology unit (N = 17). The researchers measured participants’ faith, peace, and meaning by using the FACIT-Sp. tool ( Brady, Peterman, Fitchett, Mo, & Cella, 1999) at pre- and posttest during a randomized controlled design. The researchers also incorporated interviews from patients concerning potential effects of music therapy and spirituality. Quantitative results indicated significant between-group differences in peace and faith subscales, with participants in the music therapy condition having higher posttest means than participants in the control condition. Qualitative data tended to support the importance of music therapy in meeting spiritual needs: Results of a thematic analysis indicated music therapy helped participants feel closer to God and elevated their moods. Consistent with the literature base, participants noted that that spiritual needs should indeed be addressed during a person's time at the hospital. Limitations of the study, areas for future investigation, and implications for clinical practice are provided.     

A longitudinal study of epilepsy and other central nervous system diseases in individuals with and without a history of infantile autism

Objective: To compare the prevalence and types of epilepsy and other central nervous system (CNS) diseases in a clinical sample of 118 individuals diagnosed as children with infantile autism (IA) with 336 matched controls from the general population. Methods: All participants were screened through the nationwide Danish National Hospital Register (DNHR). The average observation time was 30.3 years (range 27-30 years), and mean age at follow-up was 42.7 years (range 27-57 years). Results: Of the 118 individuals with IA, 29 (24.6%) were registered with at least one epilepsy diagnosis against 5 (1.5%) in the comparison group (p < 0.0001; OR = 21.6; 95% CI 8.1-57.3). Other CNS diseases occurred with low frequency in both groups and only cerebral palsy, unspecified (p = 0.02) was significantly more frequent among participants with a history of IA. Conclusions: Our study lends further support to the notion that epilepsy, but not other CNS diseases, is a common comorbid condition in IA. Low intelligence, but not gender, was a risk factor for epilepsy in IA.     

Effects of music therapy on perception of stress,relaxation, mood,and side effects in patients on a solid organ transplant unit: A randomized effectiveness study

Solid organ transplant donors and recipients typically present with a variety of potential stressors at both pre- and posttransplant, which may lead to symptoms such as psychological distress and depression. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of single-session music therapy on stress, relaxation, mood, and perception of side effects in hospitalized solid organ transplant donors and recipients. Participants (N = 38) were randomly assigned to experimental or wait-list control conditions in a pre–posttest single-session design. As sense of control has been associated with positive health outcomes in solid organ transplant patients, participants were offered the choice of receiving either patient-preferred live music or a brief harmonica lesson followed by a blues performance session with guitar accompaniment. Though there were no between-group pretest differences, there were significant between-group posttest differences in relaxation, stress, and mood, with experimental participants having more favorable scores than control participants. Thirty seven participants selected patient-preferred live music while one patient selected the brief harmonica lesson. From the results of this randomized controlled study, it seems that music therapy can be an effective psychosocial intervention concerning relaxation, stress, and mood for solid organ transplant patients. Additionally, most participants selected receptive music therapy in the form of patient-preferred live music rather active music therapy in the form of a brief harmonica lesson. Results are congruent with existing literature. Limitations of the study, suggestions for future research, and implications for clinical practice are provided.     

Music therapy techniques as predictors of change in mental health care

The application of music in therapy is realised through different working modalities which can be categorised into three types of techniques: production, reception, and reproduction. These techniques are commonly used in mental health settings in music therapy practice and previous research suggests that specific working modalities might be important predictors of change in music therapy. However, little is known about which ingredients specifically contribute to the outcomes of music therapy. This study aimed to investigate the application of music therapy techniques and whether they predict changes in clinical outcomes in mental health settings with individuals displaying a low therapy motivation. Participants (N = 31) were assessed before, during, and after participating in individual music therapy. Music therapy techniques were assessed for three selected therapy sessions per participant. Associations between music therapy techniques and outcomes were calculated using linear models with repeated measures. Results showed that reproduction techniques were used most intensely. In addition, relational competencies (interpersonal and social skills) amongst the participants improved when focusing on reproducing music (e.g. singing or playing familiar songs, learning musical skills). Results indicated that reproduction music therapy techniques may foster the development of relational competencies in individuals with low motivation.     

Parental age and assisted reproductive technology in autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Tourette syndrome in a Japanese population

We investigated whether advanced parental age and assisted reproductive technology (ART) are risk factors in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Tourette syndrome (TS). Clinical charts of Japanese outpatients with ASD (n = 552), ADHD (n = 87), and TS (n = 123) were reviewed. Parental age of individuals with ASD, ADHD, or TS was compared with parental age in the general population (GP) of Tokyo after adjusting for year of birth. Paternal and maternal ages were significantly higher in persons with ASD and ADHD, but not those with TS. In final steps of stepwise logistic regression analysis, both maternal and paternal age were associated with ASD after controlling for the other parent's age, gender, and birth order. In cases where the presence or absence of ART could be ascertained (ASD n = 467; ADHD n = 64; TS n = 83), the rate of ART in cases of persons with ASD (4.5%) was 1.8 times the frequency expected in the GP, while ART was not present in cases of persons with ADHD and TS. These preliminary results remain tentative pending replication with larger, community-based samples.     

Ecological momentary assessment in aging research: A critical review

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) gathers respondent data on affective, behavioral, and contextual experiences as close in time to those experiences as possible. Potential advantages of EMA in aging research include reducing memory biases and gathering intra-individual data, yet there is little understanding about implementation. The goal of this critical review was to assess the feasibility and applications of EMA in psychological and behavioral research on aging. Through a comprehensive search of the online electronic databases, Psycinfo and Pubmed, for English-language peer-reviewed journals published between 1990 and 2007, we identified 40 articles using EMA methods in older adults. Studies sampled participants between five times per day over one day to once a week for 210 days. Samples were generally not cognitively impaired, evenly split between healthy and clinical populations, and only 6 of 40 studies focused on psychiatric diagnoses. The most common assessment content solicited ratings on affect (n = 15), activities of daily living (n = 12), physical activities (n = 10), and social exchanges (n = 8). A total of 90% of the studies that reported compliance reported rates over 80%. Uses of EMA varied widely, with research goals including validation of global measures, detection of subtle treatment effects, and for testing hypotheses about causal intra-individual relationships. Although these measures appear feasible and useful in aging research, recommendations for future studies include adapting measures to enable data collection among older participants with cognitive impairments and/or psychopathology, along with greater use of electronic data capture to improve compliance and increase ease of implementation.     

Gender typicality in children's art development: A cross-cultural study

Gender typicality in children's art development was examined from drawings of a person in an environment. Participants (n = 700) were aged 6–12 (boys, n = 314; girls, n = 386) were from 13 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Central America. Inclusion of vehicles, weapons, animals, sports, ground line, Lowenfeld's stage of development, and principal color were observed and analyzed. Boys incorporated vehicles, weapons, and sports more than girls. Girls used more colors than boys. Significant differences were found between some subgroups and countries. Overall there was a significant difference by gender in the following categories: inclusion of vehicles of transportation (χ² (1, n = 700) = 16.027, p < .01) with boys including vehicles twice as often as girls, inclusion of weapons, no girls included weapons in their images, though some boys did (χ² (1, n = 283) = 14.317, p < .01), inclusion of images of sports: boys were more likely then girls to include images of sports (χ² (1, n = 700) = 1.562, p < .01); principal color choice was (χ² (3, n = 700) = 8.82, p = .032), with boys more likely to use no color and girls were more likely to use equal amounts of warm and cool colors. The data suggests disparity between ages and stages of Lowenfeld's art development (1987) and adds to information on normative development in art and on gender typicality in drawings cross-culturally.     

Prominent brainstem symptoms/signs in patients with neuromyelitis optica in a Taiwanese population

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a severe demyelinating disease defined principally by its selective effect on the optic nerves and spinal cord. Contemporary diagnostic criteria require an absence of any clinical disease outside the optic nerve or spinal cord. However, we frequently encounter patients with NMO who have previously undetected symptomatic brainstem lesions. We investigated the brainstem symptoms/signs in patients with NMO and their corresponding MRI findings in a Taiwanese population. We evaluated the clinical symptoms/signs, anti-aquaporin-4 antibody titer and corresponding brain MRI of 49 patients with NMO; results were obtained from chart reviews and during clinical visits. A total of 18 (37%) patients with NMO had brainstem symptoms/signs, including diplopia (n = 9, 50%), prolonged hiccup and poor appetite (n = 9, 50%). For these patients, most of their brainstem events occurred during the first demyelinating attack in their NMO course. A higher percentage (77.8%) of patients with brainstem NMO had brain lesions with specific NMO patterns, including lesions involving the hypothalamus (n = 6, 33.3%), midbrain or pons (n = 8, 44.4%), periaqueductal regions (n = 5, 27.7%), and medulla (n = 10, 55.6%). Brainstem symptoms/signs and characteristic NMO imaging findings are common in Taiwanese patients with NMO, and should be considered a part of the illness in addition to optic neuritis and myelitis.     

Comparison of coil types in aneurysm recurrence

Objective

Coiling of saccular aneurysms may result in recurrence requiring retreatment. Aneurysm recanalization may depend on coil type. Coil variations include bare platinum, polymer coated (Matrix), and hydrophylic gel coated (HydroCoil) coils. The effect of coil type on aneurysm recurrence was evaluated.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected database of 100 consecutive, 4-15 mm, coiled, ruptured aneurysms. There were 3 groups based on coil type: (1) bare platinum, (2) HydroCoil, and (3) Matrix. Data collected included age, gender, aneurysm location, follow-up, retreatments and angiographic occlusion and recanalization.

Results

There were 42.4% (n = 14) anterior and 57.5% (n = 19) posterior circulation aneurysms in the bare platinum, 61.5% (n = 16) and 38.45% (n = 10) in HydroCoil, and 43.9% (n = 18) and 56.1% (n = 23) in the Matrix groups. Retreatment was required in 4 (12.1%) bare platinum, 9 (21.9%) Matrix, and 3 (11.5%) HydroCoil groups. On follow-up angiography HydroCoil group had the most number of completely occluded and least number of residual aneurysms (P = 0.01), HydroCoils showed the least (n = 4), bare platinum an intermediate (n = 7), and matrix group the greatest tendency (n = 15) to recanalize.

Conclusions

Matrix coils were most likely to need retreatment. Retreatment rates were comparable for bare platinum and HydroCoils. Follow-up angiography demonstrated statistically significant attenuation of residual aneurysms for HydroCoils. Matrix group had the greatest and HydroCoils the least tendency to recanalize. Factors other than coil surface-coating may attenuate aneurysm recurrence.     

Effects of a Special Olympics Unified Sports soccer program on psycho-social attributes of youth with and without intellectual disability

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of a Special Olympics (SO) Unified Sports (UNS) soccer program on psycho-social attributes of youth with and without intellectual disabilities (ID). Participants were 76 male youth with (n = 38) and without (n = 38) ID. Participants with ID were randomly allocated into a SO athletes group (n = 23, mean age = 14.5; SD = 1.2 years) and a control group (CG) (n = 15, mean age = 14.5; SD = .8 years). Twenty-three randomly selected youth without ID formed the partner group (mean age = 14.1; SD = .9 years) and 15 youth without ID (mean age = 13.8; SD = .5 years) formed the CG. Instruments included the Friendship Activity Scale (FAS) (Siperstein, 1980), the Adjective Checklist (Siperstein, 1980), and the Children Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991). The soccer training program lasted eight weeks, 1.5 h per session, three times per week, in addition to school physical education (PE). The CG did not participate in any sports in addition to PE. The findings showed that the UNS program was effective in decreasing the problem behaviors of youth with ID and increasing their social competence and FAS scores. In addition, the program was found to be effective in improving the attitude of youth without disabilities toward participants with disabilities. In conclusion, the present findings demonstrate the utility of a UNS program for both youth with and without disabilities.     

Immediate effects of group-based wellness drumming on affective states in university students

Researchers have found recreational music making to have positive impacts and that active music-making may have benefits that extend beyond passive music listening or receptive music-based interventions. The purpose of this study was to determine the immediate effects of a single 45-min group-based wellness drumming session on the affective states of university students. Participants (N = 50) were undergraduate and graduate university students from a variety of majors. Students in beginning classical guitar classes served as control participants. Experimental participants received a 45-min group-based wellness drumming protocol. The researchers utilized the Quick Mood Scale at pre- and posttest to assess a number of state affective components and collected qualitative data in the form of post-session comments to determine participants’ perceptions of the wellness drumming intervention. Results indicated statistically significant between-group posttest differences for wide awake/drowsy, relaxed/anxious, cheerful/depressed, friendly/aggressive, and clear-headed/confused. In all affective variables, the experimental condition had higher posttest means than the control condition. General results of this controlled effectiveness study tended to support the use of group wellness drumming based on the specific wellness drumming protocol for university students. Implications for on-campus wellness programs, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are included.     

The effects of music listening and art production on negative mood: A randomized, controlled trial

A large literature now exists to examine the effects of music listening on negative mood. However, few studies both isolate music as the active ingredient in mood improvement and compare music to a placebo condition designed to reduce demand effects. In the present study, 60 adult participants recruited from the local community were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: music listening + art production (drawing), music listening + art sorting, no music + art production, or no music + art sorting. By giving participants in all four groups an “arts” task, we intended to equate expectations of improvement and thereby better rule out demand effects as a source of group differences. Self-report measures of negative mood were collected before and after the 10 min intervention period. Participants in the two music listening conditions showed greater mood enhancement compared to the two non-music conditions. However, there were no significant effects of the art conditions (production vs. sorting). These results document that music listening has specific efficacy in enhancing mood even when expectations of improvement are equated across groups.     

fMRI brain activation during a delay discounting task in HIV-positive adults with and without cocaine dependence

Cocaine use is associated with poorer HIV clinical outcomes and may contribute to neurobiological impairments associated with impulsive decision making. This study examined the effect of cocaine dependence on brain activation during a delay discounting task involving choices between smaller immediate rewards and larger delayed ones. Participants were 39 HIV-positive adults on antiretroviral therapy who had current cocaine dependence (“active,” n = 15), past cocaine dependence (“recovered,” n = 13), or no lifetime substance dependence (“naïve,” n = 11). Based on responses on a traditional delay discounting task, three types of choices were individualized for presentation during functional magnetic resonance imaging: hard (similarly valued), easy (disparately valued), and no (single option). Active participants had significantly smaller increases in activation than naïve participants during hard versus easy choices bilaterally in the precentral gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex and in the right frontal pole (including dorsolateral, ventrolateral, and orbitofrontal cortex). During hard and easy choices relative to no choices, active participants had smaller increases in activation compared to naïve participants in frontoparietal cortical regions. These deficits in the executive network during delay discounting choices may contribute to impulsive decision making among HIV-positive cocaine users, with implications for risk behaviors associated with disease transmission and progression.