Music-Based Interventions for Cognition and Brain Health: the ARM framework
Abstract
Music-based interventions (MBIs) have shown promise in addressing cognitive, motor, and language impairments across neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions. Despite an increasing number of controlled studies that have assessed the potential rehabilitative effects of music, neural mechanisms underlying therapeutic benefits remain poorly understood. Here we present the ARM framework: a neurobiologically-informed model integrating three key systems: Auditory processing networks that encode temporal and spectral features; Reward circuitry activated by musical pleasure and prediction, and Motor systems engaged through auditory-motor coupling and rhythmic entrainment. We examine how specific MBIs leverage these systems to varying degrees and show how understanding these mechanisms is essential for predicting individual treatment response, personalizing interventions, and developing next-generation therapeutic approaches that optimize engagement of specific neural systems.
Related
- Artificial intelligence-generated and algorithmically personalized music interventions and their effects on brain function, behavior, and health: a critical review
- Melodic Modulation of Pain and Cognition: Neurobehavioral Effects of Indian Instrumental Music in Mice
- Public brain health: a framework for action to promote and safeguard brain health
- The Hearing-Cognition Relationship Across the Lifespan: Mechanisms, Interventions and Outcomes.
- Can Music-Induced Brain Plasticity Delay Neurodegenerative Disorders in Musicians? Review and Cases
BibTeX
@misc{loui2026musicbased,
title = {{Music-Based Interventions for Cognition and Brain Health: the ARM framework}},
author = {Psyche Loui and Jonathan E. Peelle and Jessica Grahn},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/2mfzk_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/2mfzk_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Music-Based Interventions for Cognition and Brain Health: the ARM framework
AU - Psyche Loui
AU - Jonathan E. Peelle
AU - Jessica Grahn
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/2mfzk_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/2mfzk_v1/
AB - Music-based interventions (MBIs) have shown promise in addressing cognitive, motor, and language impairments across neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions. Despite an increasing number of controlled studies that have assessed the potential rehabilitative effects of music, neural mechanisms underlying therapeutic benefits remain poorly understood. Here we present the ARM framework: a neurobiologically-informed model integrating three key systems: Auditory processing networks that encode temporal and spectral features; Reward circuitry activated by musical pleasure and prediction, and Motor systems engaged through auditory-motor coupling and rhythmic entrainment. We examine how specific MBIs leverage these systems to varying degrees and show how understanding these mechanisms is essential for predicting individual treatment response, personalizing interventions, and developing next-generation therapeutic approaches that optimize engagement of specific neural systems.
ER -