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Music Therapy in Parkinson's Disease

NCT07734181 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 50

Last updated 2026-07-30

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study aims to examine whether individual music therapy - involving the slow, gentle bowing of a string instrument, accompanied by the music therapist's singing and lyre playing - can have a relaxing and calming effect on patients with Parkinson's disease and improve anxiety, quality of life, and autonomic dysfunction such as unstable blood pressure.

People with Parkinson's disease often struggle with anxiety, apathy, and depression, which can severely affect their quality of life. These symptoms are usually difficult to treat adequately with medication. They are frequently associated with dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system and a reduced variability of heart rate. Both are common in Parkinson's disease and can provide clues about stress and well-being. A healthy heart does not beat at completely regular intervals; instead, the time between beats constantly changes slightly. This fluctuation is called heart rate variability (HRV).

Primary study outcome will be anxiety. Motivation, depression, individual quality of life, and severity of autonomic symptoms are also assessed using validated questionnaires.

Physical study measures will be HRV, along with stability of blood pressure, intensity of tremor, ability to walk, and also electroencephalography (EEG) to assess brain activity.

A subproject will explore whether listening to emotionally evocative music can specifically influence the brain in patients with Parkinson's disease (as measured by EEG) and autonomic functions (as measured by HRV). The effectiveness of an emotional response will be measured by a questionnaire (the Geneva Emotional Music Scale).

Conditions

  • Parkinson's Disease (PD)

Interventions

OTHER

Music therapy

Eight weekly individual sessions of music therapy for patients with Parkinson's disease. Part 1 - Listening to lyre music (10 minutes) Participants listen to emotionally stimulating lyre music. Part 2 - Active playing of a string instrument (20 minutes) Participants perform slow, calm bowing of a low string instrument, the Tenor Chrotta (with a pitch range comparable to the cello), guided and supported by the singing of the music therapist.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Siegward -M. Elsas

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Siegward Elsas, Dr. med. · Klinik Arlesheim

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
50 Years
Max Age
79 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-06-02
Primary Completion
2028-09-01
Completion
2028-09-02

Countries

  • Switzerland

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07734181 on ClinicalTrials.gov