Music-based intervention as a new therapeutic treatment for executive dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease

Executive dysfunction is a prominent feature of cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease (PD), affecting approximately 42% of patients. Due to the lack of effective treatment options for the executive dysfunction, it may lead to more severe gait disorder, dementia and be difficult to recuperate. Current studies indicate that music-based intervention (MBI) is an innovative and vital treatment for executive dysfunction. This review aims to describe the ideas-MBI for treating executive dysfunction in PD. We summarize the existing protocols and clinical trials of MBI for treating executive dysfunction in PD patients and analyze its potential and shortcomings. At the same time, we try to present its mechanisms, future directions, and existing limitations. In this review, we found that the executive dysfunction is benefit from MBI via acing at auditory-executive brain network and emotion-executive pathway, in which the basal ganglia and frontal lobe play significant roles. While MBI show potential for improving executive dysfunction in PD, further investigation is needed. This should include randomized controlled trials with larger samples and different types of interventions to determine the most effective approach. In addition, electroencephalography and neuroimaging are also needed to explore the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms.