Six-Month Music Practice Versus Psychomotor Interventions in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Behavioral and Hippocampal Outcomes.
7 affiliations
- 1Geneva Musical Minds Lab, Geneva School of Health Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland HES-SO, Geneva, Switzerland.
- 2Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
- 3Geneva School of Social Work, Department of Psychomotricity, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland HES-SO, Geneva, Switzerland.
- 4Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
- 5Leenaards Memory Center, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- 6University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Memory Center, Geneva, Switzerland.
- 7CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, Cognitive and Affective Neuroimaging Section, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Abstract
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is characterized by measurable cognitive decline with largely preserved daily functioning and increased risk of dementia. MCI patients may also exhibit sensorimotor and communication impairments, while hippocampal atrophy and altered functional connectivity are prominent neural features associated with further cognitive decline. Evidence from nonpharmacological interventions integrating cognitive challenge, coordinated movement, and emotional engagement remains limited in early-stage MCI. In this pilot intervention study, we examined whether 6 months of intensive musical instrument training versus psychomotor interventions were associated with changes in cognitive and sensorimotor performance, hippocampal gray matter volume, and functional connectivity. Outcomes were compared between randomized MCI groups, with matched healthy controls as reference for test-retest and age-related neural effects. Improvements in global cognition were modest, reaching marginal significance only in the music group, while both interventions were associated with complementary domain-specific cognitive and sensorimotor gains. Hippocampal gray matter volume remained stable across all three groups, whereas hippocampal functional connectivity declined in healthy controls but remained stable in both intervention groups, consistent with possible functional neural maintenance. These preliminary findings suggest that group-based, low-risk music and psychomotor interventions may support cognitive, sensorimotor, and neural functioning in early MCI, warranting further investigation in larger controlled trials.
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BibTeX
@article{james2026sixmonth,
title = {{Six-Month Music Practice Versus Psychomotor Interventions in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Behavioral and Hippocampal Outcomes.}},
author = {Clara E James and Chantal Junker-Tschopp and Matthias Kliegel and Dimitra Kokkinou and Gilles Allali and Giovanni B Frisoni and Andrea Brioschi Guevara and Damien Marie},
journal = {Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1111/nyas.70433},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42969860},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Six-Month Music Practice Versus Psychomotor Interventions in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Behavioral and Hippocampal Outcomes.
AU - Clara E James
AU - Chantal Junker-Tschopp
AU - Matthias Kliegel
AU - Dimitra Kokkinou
AU - Gilles Allali
AU - Giovanni B Frisoni
AU - Andrea Brioschi Guevara
AU - Damien Marie
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
JO - Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
DO - 10.1111/nyas.70433
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42969860
AB - Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is characterized by measurable cognitive decline with largely preserved daily functioning and increased risk of dementia. MCI patients may also exhibit sensorimotor and communication impairments, while hippocampal atrophy and altered functional connectivity are prominent neural features associated with further cognitive decline. Evidence from nonpharmacological interventions integrating cognitive challenge, coordinated movement, and emotional engagement remains limited in early-stage MCI. In this pilot intervention study, we examined whether 6 months of intensive musical instrument training versus psychomotor interventions were associated with changes in cognitive and sensorimotor performance, hippocampal gray matter volume, and functional connectivity. Outcomes were compared between randomized MCI groups, with matched healthy controls as reference for test-retest and age-related neural effects. Improvements in global cognition were modest, reaching marginal significance only in the music group, while both interventions were associated with complementary domain-specific cognitive and sensorimotor gains. Hippocampal gray matter volume remained stable across all three groups, whereas hippocampal functional connectivity declined in healthy controls but remained stable in both intervention groups, consistent with possible functional neural maintenance. These preliminary findings suggest that group-based, low-risk music and psychomotor interventions may support cognitive, sensorimotor, and neural functioning in early MCI, warranting further investigation in larger controlled trials.
SN - 0077-8923
SN - 1749-6632
ER -