Current Issue : January-March Volume : 2026 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
Background and Objectives: Music therapy has a long tradition in palliative care, and recent studies have investigated its Neuro-Psycho-Endocrine-Immunological (NPEI) effects in terminally ill patients. Despite numerous published articles, there is a lack of a compendium connecting the physiological basis of music therapy with the specific musical elements most effective in end-of-life settings. This narrative review aims to synthesize current evidence on the physiological mechanisms underlying responses to music, with a focus on terminal patients and implications for nursing practice. Materials and Methods: For quality and possible reproducibility, a narrative review was conducted in accordance with Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA) guidelines. The review targeted articles from the past five years indexed in PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycInfo, supplemented by additional relevant references identified through manual searching. The PICOS framework was performed to structure the search strategy and study selection, focusing on studies relevant to the biological effects of music therapy in end-of-life care and their practical implications for nursing care. Results: The neurophysiology of music perception in terminal patients is complex, involving a wide array of clinical and cultural factors. Key musical elements—such as rhythm, melody, harmony, tempo, and mode—can influence physiological and psycho-emotional responses. Music therapy interventions, when tailored to the individual’s preferences and cultural background, may modulate parameters like heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormone levels, and pain perception. Evidence supports the need for individualized approaches and highlights the NPEI rationale for integrating music therapy into end-of-life care. Conclusions: A deeper understanding of the scientific mechanisms discussed in this narrative review can enhance the effectiveness of music therapy interventions in end-of-life settings. Nursing practice can benefit by integrating evidence-based selection of musical pieces and personalizing interventions to the clinical and cultural profile of each patient.Further interdisciplinary research is needed to establish standardized criteria for music therapy in palliative care and to optimize outcomes for terminally ill patients....
Background: Speech and Language Impairment (SLI) significantly affects children’s communication skills, limiting their social and academic development. Case Information: This single-case study evaluates the effects of a personalized intervention in a 9-year-old child diagnosed with SLI, integrating linguistic and cognitive strategies to remediate core deficits typically observed in children with SLI. Two main objectives were established: (1) to assess the child’s psycholinguistic competencies and cognitive processes and (2) to analyze the impact of the intervention on skills such as phonology, semantics, syntax, executive functions, and emotional well-being. The longitudinal and personalized design included pre- and post-intervention assessments conducted over two and a half years using tools such as the ITPA and Peabody Vocabulary Test. The intervention sessions were structured into linguistic and cognitive activities, with a frequency of two weekly language sessions and one cognitive functions session. Statistical analysis included ANOVA to evaluate significant changes. Conclusions: The results showed significant improvements in linguistic areas such as auditory comprehension (from 3–5 to 10 years) and verbal expression (from 5–10 to 9–6), as well as in cognitive aspects such as visuomotor sequential memory and visual comprehension, which exceeded the expected values for the child’s age. However, skills such as grammatical integration and auditory association did not show significant progress. This demonstrates that personalized and multidisciplinary interventions can considerably improve linguistic and cognitive abilities in children with SLI, although some areas require more specific approaches. The findings highlight implications for designing tailored intervention strategies, emphasizing the need for further research with larger samples and control groups to generalize the results. This case reaffirms the importance of comprehensive approaches in the treatment of SLI to maximize the academic and social development of affected children....
This paper presents a comprehensive investigation about the use of electroencephalography (EEG) signals for classifying music stimuli through an artificial neural network (ANN). Employing the 16-channel OpenBCI CytonDaisy sensor, EEG data were gathered from participants while they listened to a variety of music tracks. This study examines the impact of varying time window lengths on classification accuracy, evaluates the neural network’s performance with different time- and frequency-domain features, analyzes the influence of diverse music on brain activity patterns, and reveals how songs of different styles affect various subjects. For the five subjects involved in the study, the recognition rate of the model fluctuated between 61% and 96%. The findings indicate that longer time windows, particularly 30 s, result in the highest classification accuracy. Despite the relatively high recognition rate, this study also highlights the issue of intra-individual variability. A substantial decline in performance can be observed when testing the model on data collected from the same person on a different day, underscoring the challenges posed by inter-session variability....
In 1973, British musician, social anthropologist, and ethnomusicologist John Blacking published his seminal work, How Musical is Man? In this book, Blacking describes his 1950s ethnographic study of the Venda people in South Africa, which explores how humans develop and interact with music. For this transcendent autoethnography, I transform Blacking’s book title into a transcendent research question and ask, “How musical is God?” Springboarding off four of Blacking’s principles, I answer this question from the perspective of a Christian and music educator who believes the Bible is the foundation of truth. I explore the mystery of God, humans, and music by referring to the account of the creation in Genesis 1 and 2 and other related verses in the Bible. The exploration encompasses the sonic order wisely created by God, the cognitive system that reflects humans as God’s image bearers, how music is structured reality for things unseen and necessary for faith, and beauty as a God-ordained component for rest. I conclude the paper by answering, “How musical is God?” by reconciling my response to biblical truth in the Christian tradition....
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the diagnosis, treatment, and management of speech-language disorders through advances in speech recognition, natural language processing, automated assessments, and personalized intervention. These tools have the potential to enhance clinical decision-making, improve diagnostic accuracy, and increase access to services for individuals with speech and language disorders, particularly in underserved populations. Despite this progress, adoption is challenged by data bias, lack of transparency, and limited integration into clinical workflows. To realize the potential of AI in communication sciences, both technical development and ethical safeguards are required. This paper outlines core applications, emerging opportunities, and major challenges in applying AI to speech-language pathology and proposes ethical principles for its responsible use....
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