Application of music therapy for treatment of neurological patients with hemispatial neglect

Based on the work of Michael Thaut on the application of neurologic music therapy, musical neglect training was applied to treat patients with hemispatial neglect after a stroke to the right cerebral hemisphere. Different exercises of active music neglect training were used depending on the degree of hemineglect of the patient and his needs. In the three cases that will be presented, the first one uses piano exercises. The second and third case makes use of xylophone bars with exercises of different difficulty. The sessions were held two to three times a week for 30 minutes, for an average of about 6 weeks. All three patients showed significant improvements in the course of the therapy. However, although there was improvement, spatial hemineglect was still present. Additional studies should be done to assess the long-term effect of neurologic music therapy for neglect treatment.