---
title: Enriched Music-Supported Therapy to Restore Motor Deficits After Stroke
nct_id: NCT04507542
overall_status: UNKNOWN
phase: NA
sponsor: University of Barcelona
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
primary_condition: Stroke
countries: Spain
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/agent/trials/NCT04507542.md"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04507542"
ct_last_update_post_date: 2020-08-11
last_seen_at: "2026-05-12T06:17:26.685Z"
source: ClinicalTrials.gov (mirrored, no enrichment)
---
# Enriched Music-Supported Therapy to Restore Motor Deficits After Stroke

**Official Title:** Playing and Singing for the Recovering Brain: Efficacy of Enriched Social-Motivational Musical Interventions in Stroke Rehabilitation

**NCT ID:** [NCT04507542](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04507542)

## Key Facts

- **Status:** UNKNOWN
- **Phase:** NA
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Target Enrollment:** 60
- **Lead Sponsor:** University of Barcelona
- **Collaborators:** Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, Spanish National Research Council, University of Helsinki
- **Conditions:** Stroke
- **Start Date:** 2020-09-01
- **Completion Date:** 2022-07-01
- **CT.gov Last Update:** 2020-08-11

## Brief Summary

Music-Supported Therapy (MST) is a rehabilitation technique to improve the upper extremity motor function of stroke patients through playing musical instruments. A modified version of the MST protocol has been created (hereafter, referred as enriched MST, eMST) to include (i) a home-based self-training program using an app for electronic tablets and (ii) weekly group sessions of musical playing strengthening the motivational and emotional components of music playing. A randomised controlled trial will be conducted to test the effectiveness of this enriched MST (eMST) protocol in improving motor functions, cognition, emotional well-being and quality of life when compared to a program of home-based exercises utilizing the Graded Repetitive Arm Supplementary Program (GRASP). Sixty stroke patients will be recruited and randomly allocated to an eMST group (n=30) or a control GRASP intervention group (n=30). Patients will be evaluated before and after a 10-week intervention, as well as at 3-month follow-up. The primary outcome of the study is the functionality of the paretic upper limb measured with the Action Research Arm Test. Secondary outcomes include other motor and cognitive functions, emotional well-being and quality of life measures as well as self-regulation and self-efficacy outcomes. We hypothesize that patients treated with eMST will show larger improvements in their motor and cognitive functions, emotional well-being and quality of life than patients treated with a home-based GRASP intervention.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 18 Years
- **Sex:** ALL
- **Healthy Volunteers:** No

```
Inclusion criteria:

* Presence of mild-to-moderate paresis of the upper extremity after a stroke (having a score between 1 and 4 in the Medical Research Council Scale for Muscle Strength at the distal muscles of the upper extremity);
* More than 6 months post-stroke;
* Completion of formal rehabilitation programs.

Exclusion criteria:

* Major language or cognitive deficits affecting comprehension (Mini-Mental State Examination \< 24);
* Neurological or psychiatric co-morbidity;
* Other musculoskeletal condition affecting upper extremity motor function (e.g. fracture or arthritis).
```

## Arms

- **Enriched Music-Supported Therapy group** (EXPERIMENTAL) — Participants in the eMST-group will follow a 10-week program of Enriched Music-Supported Therapy. The program comprises 3 individual self-training sessions and 1 group session per week (total program duration: 40 hours).
- **Control group** (ACTIVE_COMPARATOR) — Participants in the control intervention group will follow the Graded Repetitive Arm Supplementary Program (GRASP, Harris et al., 2009). They will be asked to complete 4 weekly one-hour session for 10 weeks (total program duration: 40 hours).

## Interventions

- **Enriched Music-Supported Therapy** (BEHAVIORAL) — Home-based rehabilitation program for stroke patients aimed at improving the upper extremity motor function. The program is based on musical training, combining self-training sessions of music playing using an app for electronic tablets and music therapy group sessions.
- **Graded Repetitive Arm Supplementary Program** (BEHAVIORAL) — Home-based rehabilitation program for stroke patients aimed at improving the upper extremity motor function. The program comprises self-training sessions of mass repetition of movements and task-specific exercises for the upper extremity.

## Primary Outcomes

- **Change in Action Research Arm Test** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_ — Upper extremity function measure. The measure is a 19-item test divided into four subtests (grasp, grip, pinch and gross movement). For each item, the patient is asked to perform a simple task that involves a functional movement of the affected upper limb. Each task is rated using a 4-point ordinal scale. The maximum possible score is 57 and the minimal clinically important difference is 5.7 points.
- **Change in Action Research Arm Test** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_ — Upper extremity function measure. The measure is a 19-item test divided into four subtests (grasp, grip, pinch and gross movement). For each item, the patient is asked to perform a simple task that involves a functional movement of the affected upper limb. Each task is rated using a 4-point ordinal scale. The maximum possible score is 57 and the minimal clinically important difference is 5.7 points.

## Secondary Outcomes

- **Change in Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Motor Recovery after Stroke** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Motor Recovery after Stroke** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Grip Strength in Kgs** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Grip Strength in Kgs** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Box and Block Test** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Box and Block Test** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Nine Hole Pegboard Test** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Nine Hole Pegboard Test** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Sustained Attention to Response Task** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Sustained Attention to Response Task** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Figural Memory Subtest** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Figural Memory Subtest** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Fluency Test** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Fluency Test** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Beck Depression Inventory-II** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Beck Depression Inventory-II** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Apathy Evaluation Scale** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Apathy Evaluation Scale** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Profile of Mood States** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Profile of Mood States** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_
- **Change in Stroke Impact Scale** _(time frame: immediately after the intervention)_
- **Change in Stroke Impact Scale** _(time frame: 3 months after completing the intervention)_

## Locations (1)

- Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain

## Recent Field Changes (last 30 days)

- `status.overallStatus` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `status.primaryCompletionDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `status.completionDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `status.lastUpdatePostDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `design.phases` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `design.enrollmentCount` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `eligibility.criteria` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `eligibility.minAge` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `eligibility.sex` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `outcomes.primary` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `outcomes.secondary` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `armsInterventions.arms` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `armsInterventions.interventions` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `sponsor.lead` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `sponsor.collaborators` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `results.hasResults` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `locations.bellvitge biomedical research institute|l'hospitalet de llobregat|barcelona|spain` — added _(2026-05-12)_

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/agent/trials/NCT04507542.md*  
*Source data (authoritative): https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04507542*  
*This page is a raw mirror with no AI summary, no editorial enrichment, and no Parkinson's-specific filtering.*