Dr Sara Ajina on the positive impact of music for people with brain injury
Dr Sara Ajina (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) is a Consultant in neurorehabilitation and helps patients recover after an acquired brain injury, such as a stroke or trauma.
Do patients recovering from complex brain injuries improve differently if music therapy is added to their rehabilitation program compared to standard care? That was the question that Dr Sara Ajina set out to answer in a recent trial at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at UCLH, funded by UCLH Charity with additional funding from The National Brain Appeal.
Although music therapy is suggested to enhance neuroplasticity and recovery in patients with brain injury, it is not routinely commissioned in clinical care due to a lack of supportive data. To address this, Dr Ajina worked with the music therapy charity Nordoff and Robbins to deliver music therapy sessions to patients who were recovering in hospital following conditions brain injury such as stroke and aphasia.
Can you tell us more about how you conducted the trial looking at the impact of music therapy on recovery from brain injury?
We approached this with the aim of conducting the most rigorous research trial we could, given our limited resources. We recruited 75 patients who received either music or control therapy for 10 weeks. Both arms received 1-3 additional therapy sessions per week. After the intervention all participants were given access to the music therapy until they were discharged from hospital.
What role did music therapy play in rehabilitation for people with brain injury?
Music therapy had really quite profound benefits for patients because it addressed multiple aspects of their rehabilitation.
It was a creative outlet for patients and enhanced their overall well-being and mood, and even reduced anxiety for some. And for many, music therapy facilitated social connections, which were often challenging for patients with communication difficulties, such as aphasia. Music served as a medium for meaningful social interactions, whether with therapists, fellow patients, or family members. These shared musical experiences provided a sense of connection that might be otherwise difficult to achieve.
What is next for this research project?
Depending on the results of this study, this work could serve as a foundation for applying for a larger research grant to fund a multi-center study. This would enable us to recruit more participants and involve other hospitals. We hope to collaborate with others interested in music therapy to expand on our trial and explore its potential further.
Some of the quotes from patients (shared with permission):
It helped release the grip of anxiety every time you see a doctor or someone walking around with a syringe. We suddenly walk in here [the music room] and it was our world. The more we put into it, the more we got out of it."
It lifts your spirit, and if you could take that with you, on the way to another session or lesson or whatever, then you’ve already cracked it. You’ve got it ... you’ve made an improvement. And that could stay here all day, or maybe it won’t, but you would get to experience it and you can make a judgment.... And music is very satisfying and... [it] feeds the soul."
It just makes me feel better and takes me to a different place
Biography
Dr Ajina is a Wellcome Trust Clinician Scientist and Honorary Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine (Neurorehabilitation). Dr Ajina helps patients to maximise their recovery after an acquired brain injury of any cause, such as a stroke or trauma. Her research covers many areas of neurorehabilitation, with a particular focus on patients with visual loss after brain injury, the phenomenon of blindsight, and the development of new therapies to recover visual loss.