Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological effects of music therapy in patients with dementia and their caregivers by using neuropsychological tests and interviews. Seventeen patients (7 who received music therapy and 10 who were untreated controls) and their caregivers (17 individuals) participated in our study. The patients in the music therapy group received music therapy for 6 months. The patients and their caregivers were administered neuropsychological tests and a questionnaire on care burden, respectively on the starting date and after 3 and 6 months of therapy. The numerical values of care burden were reduced only in the music therapy group (p=0.1) Thus, music therapy might be useful to reduce the caregiver’s burden of patients with dementia.
