Focal Brain Lesions Causing Acquired Amusia Map to a Common Brain Network.

Music is a universal human attribute. The study of amusia, a neurologic music processing deficit, has increasingly elaborated our view on the neural organization of the musical brain. However, lesions causing amusia occur in multiple brain locations and often also cause aphasia, leaving the distinct neural networks for amusia unclear. Here, we utilized lesion network mapping to identify these networks. A systematic literature search was carried out to identify all published case reports of lesion-induced amusia. The reproducibility and specificity of the identified amusia network were then tested in an independent prospective cohort of 97 stroke patients (46 female and 51 male) with repeated structural brain imaging, specifically assessed for both music perception and language abilities. Lesion locations in the case reports were heterogeneous but connected to common brain regions, including bilateral temporoparietal and insular cortices, precentral gyrus, and cingulum. In the prospective cohort, lesions causing amusia mapped to a common brain network, centering on the right superior temporal cortex and clearly distinct from the network causally associated with aphasia. Lesion-induced longitudinal structural effects in the amusia circuit were confirmed as reduction of both gray and white matter volume, which correlated with the severity of amusia. We demonstrate that despite the heterogeneity of lesion locations disrupting music processing, there is a common brain network that is distinct from the language network. These results provide evidence for the distinct neural substrate of music processing, differentiating music-related functions from language, providing a testable target for noninvasive brain stimulation to treat amusia.

Right ventral stream damage underlies both poststroke aprosodia and amusia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study was undertaken to determine and compare lesion patterns and structural dysconnectivity underlying poststroke aprosodia and amusia, using a data-driven multimodal neuroimaging approach. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients with right or left hemisphere stroke were enrolled in a cohort study and tested for linguistic and affective prosody perception and musical pitch and rhythm perception at subacute and 3-month poststroke stages. Participants listened to words spoken with different prosodic stress that changed their meaning, and to words spoken with six different emotions, and chose which meaning or emotion was expressed. In the music tasks, participants judged pairs of short melodies as the same or different in terms of pitch or rhythm. Structural magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired at both stages, and machine learning-based lesion-symptom mapping and deterministic tractography were used to identify lesion patterns and damaged white matter pathways giving rise to aprosodia and amusia. RESULTS: Both aprosodia and amusia were behaviorally strongly correlated and associated with similar lesion patterns in right frontoinsular and striatal areas. In multiple regression models, reduced fractional anisotropy and lower tract volume of the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus were the strongest predictors for both disorders, over time. CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight a common origin of aprosodia and amusia, both arising from damage and disconnection of the right ventral auditory stream integrating rhythmic-melodic acoustic information in prosody and music. Comorbidity of these disabilities may worsen the prognosis and affect rehabilitation success.

Resting-state language network neuroplasticity in post-stroke music listening: A randomized controlled trial.

Recent evidence suggests that post-stroke vocal music listening can aid language recovery, but the network-level functional neuroplasticity mechanisms of this effect are unknown. Here, we sought to determine if improved language recovery observed after post-stroke listening to vocal music is driven by changes in longitudinal resting-state functional connectivity within the language network. Using data from a single-blind randomized controlled trial on stroke patients (N = 38), we compared the effects of daily listening to self-selected vocal music, instrumental music and audio books on changes of the resting-state functional connectivity within the language network and their correlation to improved language skills and verbal memory during the first 3 months post-stroke. From acute to 3-month stage, the vocal music and instrumental music groups increased functional connectivity between a cluster comprising the left inferior parietal areas and the language network more than the audio book group. However, the functional connectivity increase correlated with improved verbal memory only in the vocal music group cluster. This study shows that listening to vocal music post-stroke promotes recovery of verbal memory by inducing changes in longitudinal functional connectivity in the language network. Our results conform to the variable neurodisplacement theory underpinning aphasia recovery.

Complication Burden Index-A tool for comprehensive evaluation of the effect of complications on functional outcome after status epilepticus.

Systemic complications are common in status epilepticus. We have no tools to evaluate total burden of complications and its effect on the outcome of status epilepticus. For Complication Burden Index (CBI) a patient is assessed for 13 complication categories: respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, renal, hepatic, coagulation, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal systems, electrolyte/acid-base balance, infection, hypo-/hyperglycemia, skin/allergic reactions, and mental condition. Maximum CBI is 13. CBI was internally validated in a retrospective cohort of 70 consecutive adult patients with generalized convulsive status epilepticus (GCSE) treated in a tertiary hospital over a period of 2 years. Functional outcome at discharge was defined Poor for Glascow Outcome Scale (GOS) 1-3 or worse-than-baseline condition and Good for GOS >3 or return to baseline condition. Relative risks (RRs) and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) -curves were calculated to obtain optimal cutoff. Functional outcome was poor in 40% and worse-than-baseline in 59%. In-hospital mortality was 7%. Average CBI was 3.8 (range 0-10, median 3). Cutoff value predicting poor functional outcome was a CBI >3 (GOS 1-3 RR 1.84, P = .045, 95% confidence interval [CI 1.01-3.33; ROC-AUC [area under the curve] 0.687, P = .008, sensitivity 64%, specificity 61%; worse-than-baseline condition RR 1.52, P = .04, 95% CI 1.02-2.26; ROC-AUC 0.662, P = .022, sensitivity 56%, specificity 69%). CBI with cutoff >3 and as a continuous variable was associated with GOS1-3 (P = .046, P = .002) and with worse-than-baseline condition (P = .041, P = .004). CBI is a novel tool for comprehensive assessment of status epilepticus complications predicting poor/worse-than-baseline functional outcome with cutoff >3.

Neural Basis of Acquired Amusia and Its Recovery after Stroke.

UNLABELLED: Although acquired amusia is a relatively common disorder after stroke, its precise neuroanatomical basis is still unknown. To evaluate which brain regions form the neural substrate for acquired amusia and its recovery, we performed a voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) and morphometry (VBM) study with 77 human stroke subjects. Structural MRIs were acquired at acute and 6 month poststroke stages. Amusia and aphasia were behaviorally assessed at acute and 3 month poststroke stages using the Scale and Rhythm subtests of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA) and language tests. VLSM analyses indicated that amusia was associated with a lesion area comprising the superior temporal gyrus, Heschl's gyrus, insula, and striatum in the right hemisphere, clearly different from the lesion pattern associated with aphasia. Parametric analyses of MBEA Pitch and Rhythm scores showed extensive lesion overlap in the right striatum, as well as in the right Heschl's gyrus and superior temporal gyrus. Lesions associated with Rhythm scores extended more superiorly and posterolaterally. VBM analysis of volume changes from the acute to the 6 month stage showed a clear decrease in gray matter volume in the right superior and middle temporal gyri in nonrecovered amusic patients compared with nonamusic patients. This increased atrophy was more evident in anterior temporal areas in rhythm amusia and in posterior temporal and temporoparietal areas in pitch amusia. Overall, the results implicate right temporal and subcortical regions as the crucial neural substrate for acquired amusia and highlight the importance of different temporal lobe regions for the recovery of amusia after stroke. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Lesion studies are essential in uncovering the brain regions causally linked to a given behavior or skill. For music perception ability, previous lesion studies of amusia have been methodologically limited in both spatial accuracy and time domain as well as by small sample sizes, providing coarse and equivocal information about which brain areas underlie amusia. By using longitudinal MRI and behavioral data from a large sample of stroke patients coupled with modern voxel-based analyses methods, we were able provide the first systematic evidence for the causal role of right temporal and striatal areas in music perception. Clinically, these results have important implications for the diagnosis and prognosis of amusia after stroke and for rehabilitation planning.

Factors related to delays in pre-hospital management of status epilepticus.

INTRODUCTION: This study was designed to identify factors related to delays in pre-hospital management of status epilepticus (SE). METHODS: This retrospective study includes all adult (>16 years of age) patients (N = 82) diagnosed with established SE in the Helsinki University Central Hospital emergency department (ED) over 2 years. SE was defined as a clinically observed episode fulfilling one of the following criteria: (1) continuous seizure lasting over 30 min; (2) recurring seizures without return of consciousness between seizures; (3) occurrence of more than four seizures within any 1 h. We collected 15 variables related to SE type, patient, and SE episode from the medical records, defined and calculated six pre-hospital delay parameters and analyzed their relations using univariate analysis and multivariate linear regression models. RESULTS: In the multivariate regression analysis, the focal SE was significantly associated with a long delay from SE onset to initial treatment (p < 0.05), to diagnosis (p < 0.002), and to anesthesia (p < 0.002). Administration of the initial treatment before emergency medical service arrived was significantly associated with long delay of the first alarm (p < 0.02) and arrival at the first ED (p < 0.04). Primary admission to a healthcare unit other than tertiary hospital caused a significant delay in diagnosis (p < 0.008) and anesthesia (p < 0.02). Surprisingly, univariate analysis revealed that if the SE onset occurred in a healthcare unit, the delays from SE onset to first alarm (p < 0.001), to arrival in first ED (p < 0.001), to arrival in tertiary hospital (p < 0.001), to diagnosis (p < 0.02), and to anesthesia (p < 0.01) were significantly longer than in cases in which SE onset occurred at a public place. CONCLUSION: We found remarkable inadequacy in recognition of SE both among laity and medical professionals. There is an obvious need for increasing awareness of imminent SE and optimizing the pre-hospital management of established SE. SE should be considered as a medical emergency comparable with stroke and cardiac infarction and be allocated with similar resources in the pre-hospital management.

[Neurologic clinical examination at the emergency department]. / Neurologinen statustutkimus päivystyspoliklinikassa.

The aim of emergency neurologic clinical examination is to recognize or exclude any problems of the nervous system requiring immediate action. The nature of the examination depends on the operational environment. At the emergency call service of a community health center a decision must first be made on whether the patient's problem is a neurologic one at all, followed by an assessment of the need of possible emergency actions and referral to hospital. At the specialized care emergency service the questions will more widely focus on the diagnostic examination strategy, selection of treatment methods and their optimally scheduled use in an appropriate operational environment.

[Effectiveness of music in brain rehabilitation. A systematic review]. / Musiikin vaikuttavuus aivojen kuntoutuksessa.

There is no curative treatment for diseases causing brain injury. Music causes extensive activation of the brain, promoting the repair of neural systems. Addition of music listening to rehabilitation enhances the regulation or motor functions in Parkinson and stroke patients, accelerates the recovery of speech disorder and cognitive injuries after stroke, and decreases the behavioral disorders of dementia patients. Music enhances the ability to concentrate and decreases mental confusion. The effect of music can also be observed as structural and functional changes of the brain. The effect is based, among other things, on lessening of physiologic stress and depression and on activation of the dopaminergic mesolimbic system.

Analysis of the delay components in the treatment of status epilepticus.

BACKGROUND: The factors comprising the delays in management of status epilepticus (SE) have not been systematically studied. METHODS: We studied retrospectively all adult patients (N = 82) diagnosed with SE in Helsinki University Central Hospital emergency room over a 2-year period. We analyzed prehospital, diagnostic, treatment, and treatment response delays based on medical records and quantitatively evaluated data availability and accuracy. RESULTS: SE manifested mostly without any warning symptoms, but every fifth case presented a pre-status period. Median prehospital delay was 2 h 4 min, including delays in emergency call, ambulance arrival, and patient transportation. Median delay of diagnosing SE was 2 h 10 min. EEG-based diagnosis was significantly delayed compared to clinical diagnosis. Median delay in recording EEG was 22 h 2 min. Median delay of the first medication was 35 min, and those of second- and third-stage medications were 3 h and 2 h 55 min, respectively. We applied stepwise definition for treatment response and counted delays accordingly: total convulsion period 5 h 52 min, Burst-suppression (BS) 17 h 30 min and return of consciousness 47 h 40 min. Median treatment period in intensive care unit was 2.7 days. Mortality over treatment period (median 7.7 days) was 8.5 %. No post-discharge follow-up was performed. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals unexpectedly and unacceptably long delays in SE management, stressing the importance of commitment to acknowledged management protocol. Delays in the treatment can and need to be shortened markedly by several strategies discussed in this article.

Isn't There Room for Music in Chronic Pain Management?

Chronic pain with its comorbidities, such as depression, insomnia, and social deprivation, is a major cause of disability and health-economic burden. Insufficient response to pain medication and potentially serious adverse effects have led the majority of chronic pain patients to seek relief from non-pharmacological remedies. Along with this trend, pain research has paid increasing interest in critical evaluation of various complementary treatments. Music-based treatments have emerged as an efficacious and safe means to enhance the management of acute and chronic pain. We review the current position of music-based interventions in the treatment of chronic pain and present explanations for the analgesic effects of music through modulation of the primary nociception and discuss the contribution of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system to the affective component of pain perception. We propose ways to translate the novel theoretical understanding into clinical practice in different health care settings, primary health care in particular, and discuss the preconditions of successful implementation. We argue that music interventions provide low-cost, easily applicable complementary pain treatments not requiring heavy utilization of health care resources. Finally, we provide research and quality improvement frameworks and make suggestions to cover the gaps of existing evidence. PERSPECTIVE: This article addresses the current evidence for analgesic effects of music interventions, discusses its neurobiological basis and evaluates potential use of music in treating chronic pain patients in different health care settings. We also propose directions for future research to cover shortages in the currently published data.

Post-stroke enriched auditory environment induces structural connectome plasticity: secondary analysis from a randomized controlled trial.

Post-stroke neuroplasticity and cognitive recovery can be enhanced by multimodal stimulation via environmental enrichment. In this vein, recent studies have shown that enriched sound environment (i.e., listening to music) during the subacute post-stroke stage improves cognitive outcomes compared to standard care. The beneficial effects of post-stroke music listening are further pronounced when listening to music containing singing, which enhances language recovery coupled with structural and functional connectivity changes within the language network. However, outside the language network, virtually nothing is known about the effects of enriched sound environment on the structural connectome of the recovering post-stroke brain. Here, we report secondary outcomes from a single-blind randomized controlled trial (NCT01749709) in patients with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke (N = 38) who were randomly assigned to listen to vocal music, instrumental music, or audiobooks during the first 3 post-stroke months. Utilizing the longitudinal diffusion-weighted MRI data of the trial, the present study aimed to determine whether the music listening interventions induce changes on structural white matter connectome compared to the control audiobook intervention. Both vocal and instrumental music groups increased quantitative anisotropy longitudinally in multiple left dorsal and ventral tracts as well as in the corpus callosum, and also in the right hemisphere compared to the audiobook group. Audiobook group did not show increased structural connectivity changes compared to both vocal and instrumental music groups. This study shows that listening to music, either vocal or instrumental promotes wide-spread structural connectivity changes in the post-stroke brain, providing a fertile ground for functional restoration.

Headache and quality of life in Finnish female municipal employees.

OBJECTIVES: Migraine and other specific types of chronic headache impair health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, undefined headache is common in general population and little is known about its impact on QoL. This study addresses the impact of undefined headache symptoms on quality of life in a population of working-age females. METHODS: This cross-sectional study consisted of 633 female municipal employees. Self-reported headache recurrence was defined by asking whether headache was occasional or recurrent. We assessed quality of life with two different instruments, the generic EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index (EUROHIS-8) and the preference-based instrument EuroQoL (EQ-5D) representing health-related QoL. Anxiety, depressive symptoms and work stress were measured using validated questionnaires. Adjusted hypothesis of linearity was evaluated using bootstrap type analysis of covariance with age, education and number of comorbidities as covariates. RESULTS: In the study population, 76% (n=481) had experienced headache during the past year, and of those 38% (n=184) had recurrent headache. The EQ-5D index decreased linearly with increasing headache symptoms and four out of five EQ-5D dimensions were lowest in recurrent headache group. Females with headache had lower QoL on every EUROHIS-8 item except for conditions of living place, compared to females without headache. These results remained statistically significant after adjustment with age, education and number of comorbidities. There were no differences in prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders between study groups. CONCLUSIONS: This cross-sectional, observational study showed that self-reported recurrent headache is common among Finnish women belonging to active work force. Both health-related and general QoL is best in females without headache and lowest in the recurrent headache group. We conclude that recurrent headache, even when the subjects have low anxiety and depressive symptoms scores, is associated with low HRQoL in working-age females. These results underline the importance of headache, a common and neglected symptom deteriorating female employees' wellbeing.

[Botulinum toxins for pain]. / Botuliini kivun hoidossa.

We review the evidence of botulinum toxins in the treatment of pain. Main indications of botulinum toxin treatment, dystonia and spasticity, involve pain. Increasing evidence suggests direct analgesic effects of botulinum. Botulinum inhibits release of pain mediators (substance P, CGRP, excitatory amino acids, ATP, noradrenaline). Clinical trials have consistently shown analgesic effect of botulinum toxin in post-stroke shoulder pain, bladder dysfunction, chronic migraine, neuropathic pain, bruxism and lateral epicondylitis. Other pain conditions have been studied with yet uncertain results. It seems that the number of patients who would benefit from botulinum toxin treatment will increase considerably in the future.

Vocal music listening enhances post-stroke language network reorganization.

Listening to vocal music has been recently shown to improve language recovery in stroke survivors. The neuroplasticity mechanisms supporting this effect are, however, still unknown. Using data from a three-arm single-blind randomized controlled trial including acute stroke patients (N=38) and a 3-month follow-up, we set out to compare the neuroplasticity effects of daily listening to self-selected vocal music, instrumental music, and audiobooks on both brain activity and structural connectivity of the language network. Using deterministic tractography we show that the 3-month intervention induced an enhancement of the microstructural properties of the left frontal aslant tract (FAT) for the vocal music group as compared to the audiobook group. Importantly, this increase in the strength of the structural connectivity of the left FAT correlated with improved language skills. Analyses of stimulus-specific activation changes showed that the vocal music group exhibited increased activations in the frontal termination points of the left FAT during vocal music listening as compared to the audiobook group from acute to 3-month post-stroke stage. The increased activity correlated with the structural neuroplasticity changes in the left FAT. These results suggest that the beneficial effects of vocal music listening on post-stroke language recovery are underpinned by structural neuroplasticity changes within the language network and extend our understanding of music-based interventions in stroke rehabilitation.Significance statementPost-stroke language deficits have a devastating effect on patients and their families. Current treatments yield highly variable outcomes and the evidence for their long-term effects is limited. Patients often receive insufficient treatment that are predominantly given outside the optimal time window for brain plasticity. Post-stroke vocal music listening improves language outcome which is underpinned by neuroplasticity changes within the language network. Vocal music listening provides a complementary rehabilitation strategy which could be safely implemented in the early stages of stroke rehabilitation and seems to specifically target language symptoms and recovering language network.

Music and speech listening enhance the recovery of early sensory processing after stroke.

Our surrounding auditory environment has a dramatic influence on the development of basic auditory and cognitive skills, but little is known about how it influences the recovery of these skills after neural damage. Here, we studied the long-term effects of daily music and speech listening on auditory sensory memory after middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke. In the acute recovery phase, 60 patients who had middle cerebral artery stroke were randomly assigned to a music listening group, an audio book listening group, or a control group. Auditory sensory memory, as indexed by the magnetic MMN (MMNm) response to changes in sound frequency and duration, was measured 1 week (baseline), 3 months, and 6 months after the stroke with whole-head magnetoencephalography recordings. Fifty-four patients completed the study. Results showed that the amplitude of the frequency MMNm increased significantly more in both music and audio book groups than in the control group during the 6-month poststroke period. In contrast, the duration MMNm amplitude increased more in the audio book group than in the other groups. Moreover, changes in the frequency MMNm amplitude correlated significantly with the behavioral improvement of verbal memory and focused attention induced by music listening. These findings demonstrate that merely listening to music and speech after neural damage can induce long-term plastic changes in early sensory processing, which, in turn, may facilitate the recovery of higher cognitive functions. The neural mechanisms potentially underlying this effect are discussed.

The Impact of Self-Reported Recurrent Headache on Absenteeism and Presenteeism at Work Among Finnish Municipal Female Employees.

PURPOSE: The aim of this cross-sectional, observational study was to determine the impact of self-reported headache on absenteeism and presenteeism in a female working-age population. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 594 Finnish female municipal employees, who answered self-administered questionnaires including sociodemographic, lifestyle, health, and work-related data. Sickness absence days were obtained from the official records of the employer. Headache recurrence was defined by asking whether headache was occasional or recurrent. Headache impact was measured by the HIT-6. RESULTS: In our study, 456 (77%) females had headache, and headache was recurrent in 178 (39%). The self-reported recurrence of headache was related to age, AUDIT-C, health-rated quality-of-life, self-rated work ability, depressive symptoms, and work stress (P for linearity <0.001). They also had more depressive symptoms and work stress (P for linearity <0.001). Mental work load was highest in those with recurrent headache (P=0.042), and work engagement was highest in those without headache (P=0.038). There was no statistically significant difference in absenteeism days between the headache groups when adjusted with confounding variables. Presenteeism was associated with the recurrence of headache (P for linearity <0.001). Presenteeism and the HIT-6 score were significantly associated in the recurrent headache group (P=0.009). CONCLUSION: Headache was not related to absenteeism, but the self-reported recurrence of headache was clearly associated with presenteeism in this female working-age population.

Vocal music enhances memory and language recovery after stroke: pooled results from two RCTs.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies suggest that daily music listening can aid stroke recovery, but little is known about the stimulus-dependent and neural mechanisms driving this effect. Building on neuroimaging evidence that vocal music engages extensive and bilateral networks in the brain, we sought to determine if it would be more effective for enhancing cognitive and language recovery and neuroplasticity than instrumental music or speech after stroke. METHODS: Using data pooled from two single-blind randomized controlled trials in stroke patients (N = 83), we compared the effects of daily listening to self-selected vocal music, instrumental music, and audiobooks during the first 3 poststroke months. Outcome measures comprised neuropsychological tests of verbal memory (primary outcome), language, and attention and a mood questionnaire performed at acute, 3-month, and 6-month stages and structural and functional MRI at acute and 6-month stages. RESULTS: Listening to vocal music enhanced verbal memory recovery more than instrumental music or audiobooks and language recovery more than audiobooks, especially in aphasic patients. Voxel-based morphometry and resting-state and task-based fMRI results showed that vocal music listening selectively increased gray matter volume in left temporal areas and functional connectivity in the default mode network. INTERPRETATION: Vocal music listening is an effective and easily applicable tool to support cognitive recovery after stroke as well as to enhance early language recovery in aphasia. The rehabilitative effects of vocal music are driven by both structural and functional plasticity changes in temporoparietal networks crucial for emotional processing, language, and memory.

Telestroke networking offers multiple benefits beyond thrombolysis.

Patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) require immediate attention and stroke expertise, which is rarely offered by community hospitals. Telestroke networks were originally established for delivering thrombolysis to inhabitants of underserved regions where stroke expertise was not available 24/7. Rapidly expanding experience addresses the fact that thrombolysis, when given using telestroke consultation, is as safe and effective as when it is given in a stroke center. Telestroke, without a doubt, increases the number of patients receiving thrombolysis, and thus improves patient outcomes, but additionally these networks together with a comprehensive organization of acute stroke care could bring many other benefits which so far are heavily underused in neurology. These benefits include: shortening hospital stay of patients through advanced care, avoiding a large number of unnecessary patient transfers, identifying specific stroke patients who require urgent interventions or surgery (such as subarachnoid hemorrhage, intraventricular hemorrhage, candidates for craniectomy, or basilar artery occlusion), leading to establishment of stroke units and stroke teams in spoke hospitals and overall improvement of stroke care in spoke hospitals, early diagnosis and proper treatment of stroke and nonstroke patients. Further benefits may be: to facilitate staff recruitment to spoke hospitals, to deliver expertise to developing countries, participation of spoke hospitals to acute stroke treatment trials and stroke prevention trials, and environmental effects. The magnitude of these benefits will become more obvious in the near future because this exciting field is progressing fast. The Finnish experience suggests that telestroke is a versatile tool for improving acute stroke care of inhabitants in underserved regions and it should be made more widely available.

Music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke.

We know from animal studies that a stimulating and enriched environment can enhance recovery after stroke, but little is known about the effects of an enriched sound environment on recovery from neural damage in humans. In humans, music listening activates a wide-spread bilateral network of brain regions related to attention, semantic processing, memory, motor functions, and emotional processing. Music exposure also enhances emotional and cognitive functioning in healthy subjects and in various clinical patient groups. The potential role of music in neurological rehabilitation, however, has not been systematically investigated. This single-blind, randomized, and controlled trial was designed to determine whether everyday music listening can facilitate the recovery of cognitive functions and mood after stroke. In the acute recovery phase, 60 patients with a left or right hemisphere middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke were randomly assigned to a music group, a language group, or a control group. During the following two months, the music and language groups listened daily to self-selected music or audio books, respectively, while the control group received no listening material. In addition, all patients received standard medical care and rehabilitation. All patients underwent an extensive neuropsychological assessment, which included a wide range of cognitive tests as well as mood and quality of life questionnaires, one week (baseline), 3 months, and 6 months after the stroke. Fifty-four patients completed the study. Results showed that recovery in the domains of verbal memory and focused attention improved significantly more in the music group than in the language and control groups. The music group also experienced less depressed and confused mood than the control group. These findings demonstrate for the first time that music listening during the early post-stroke stage can enhance cognitive recovery and prevent negative mood. The neural mechanisms potentially underlying these effects are discussed.

The role of psychosocial risk factors in the burden of headache.

Purpose: Psychosocial risk factors are common in headache patients and affect the impact of headache in multiple ways. The aim of our study was to assess how psychosocial risk factors correlate with the headache impact test-6 (HIT-6). To our knowledge this is the first study to evaluate the impact of several psychosocial factors on the HIT-6 score. Patients and methods: Our study population consisted of 469 Finnish female employees reporting headache during the past year. Psychosocial risk factors were assessed using validated, self-administered questionnaires: the generalized anxiety disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) for anxiety, the major depression inventory (MDI) for depressive symptoms, the ENRICHD short social support instrument (ESSI) for social isolation, the cynical distrust scale for hostility and the Bergen burnout indicator (BBI-15) for work stress. Results: Exploratory factor analysis of the HIT-6 scores revealed two factors, one describing psychological and quality of life aspects affected by headache and the other describing severity of pain and functional decline. Internal consistency of the HIT-6 was 0.87 (95%CI: 0.85-0.89). Correlations between the total HIT-6 score and all measured psychosocial risk factors except for hostility were weak, but statistically significant. Conclusion: The HIT-6 questionnaire has good construct validity and it describes reliably and independently the impact of headache without interference of psychosocial factors in general working-aged female population.