The Efficacy of Individualized Music Therapy in Patients With MCS: A Pilot Study on EEG

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and preliminary effects of individual music therapy (IMT) on electroencephalography (EEG) cortical activation in patients with minimally conscious state (MCS). DESIGN: This study was pilot randomized, single-blind, and blank-controlled trial. SETTING: China Rehabilitation Research Center (CRRC), Beijing, China. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-two MCS patients (diagnosed by Coma Recovery Scale-Revised [CRS-R]) were enrolled between March 2024 and July 2025; 43 completed the trial and were randomized. INTERVENTION: The experimental group (n = 22) received 12-week individualized music therapy (30-min sessions, five times per week) delivered by a certified music therapist. COMPARATOR: The control group (n = 21) received routine treatment and rehabilitation training without music intervention. PRIMARY OUTCOME: The change in EEG spectral power (alpha band, 8-13 Hz) over right-hemisphere frontocentral regions from baseline (T1) to post-intervention (T2). RESULTS: The IMT group showed significantly increased alpha power over the right lateral prefrontal cortex, precentral gyrus, and central sulcus at T2 compared T1 (p < 0.05; descriptive comparison), whereas no such change was observed in the control group. No adverse events occurred in either group. CONCLUSION: IMT is feasible and safe in medically fragile MCS patients and may induce right-hemisphere cortical activation. These pilot findings are hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in larger, adequately powered trials. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2500114153, MR-11-24-014167.