BACKGROUND: Individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD) often suffer from severe distress putting them at greater risk for complications. Music interventions have been used to reduce anxiety and distress and improve physiological functioning in medical patients, however its efficacy for CHD patients needs to be evaluated. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of music interventions with standard care versus standard care alone on psychological and physiological responses in persons with CHD. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, LILACS, Science Citation Index, www.musictherapyworld.net, CAIRSS for Music, Proquest Digital Dissertations, ClinicalTrials.gov, Current Controlled Trials, and the National Research Register (all to May 2008). We handsearched music therapy journals and reference lists, and contacted relevant experts to identify unpublished manuscripts. There was no language restriction. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included all randomized controlled trials that compared music interventions and standard care with standard care alone for persons with CHD. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data were extracted, and methodological quality was assessed, independently by the two reviewers. Additional information was sought from the trial researchers when necessary. Results are presented using weighted mean differences for outcomes measured by the same scale and standardized mean differences for outcomes measured by different scales. Posttest scores were used. In cases of significant baseline difference, we used change scores. MAIN RESULTS: Twenty-three trials (1461 participants) were included. Music listening was the main intervention used, and 21 of the studies did not include a trained music therapist.Results indicated that music listening has a moderate effect on anxiety in patients with CHD, however results were inconsistent across studies. This review did not find strong evidence for reduction of psychological distress. Findings indicated that listening to music reduces heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure. Studies that included two or more music sessions led to a small and consistent pain-reducing effect.No strong evidence was found for peripheral skin temperature. None of the studies considered hormone levels and only one study considered quality of life as an outcome variable. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Music listening may have a beneficial effect on blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, anxiety, and pain in persons with CHD. However, the quality of the evidence is not strong and the clinical significance unclear.Most studies examined the effects of listening to pre-recorded music. More research is needed on the effects of music offered by a trained music therapist.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009 Apr 15;(2):CD006577. Bradt J, Dileo C. Arts and Quality of Life Research Center, Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University, Presser Hall, 2001 North 13 Street, Philadelphia, USA. jbradt@temple.edu

Cognitive deficits are routinely evident in schizophrenia, and are of sufficient magnitude to influence functional outcomes in work, social functioning and illness management. Cognitive remediation is an evidenced-based non-pharmacological treatment for the neurocognitive deficits seen in schizophrenia. Narrowly defined, cognitive remediation is a set of cognitive drills or compensatory interventions designed to enhance cognitive functioning, but from the vantage of the psychiatric rehabilitation field, cognitive remediation is a therapy which engages the patient in learning activities that enhance the neurocognitive skills relevant to their chosen recovery goals. Cognitive remediation programs vary in the extent to which they reflect these narrow or broader perspectives but six meta-analytic studies report moderate range effect sizes on cognitive test performance, and daily functioning. Reciprocal interactions between baseline ability level, the type of instructional techniques used, and motivation provide some explanatory power for the heterogeneity in patient response to cognitive remediation.

Neuropsychol Rev. 2009 May 15. Medalia A, Choi J. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA, amedalia@aol.com.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Marta now lives in South Florida. She has had a private practice for thirty years focusing on women's issues, mind/body healing and relationships. She holds an MS in Counseling Psychology and a BS in Education. In addition, she is a trained hypnotherapist, certified metaphysician, intimacy trainer, emotional-body healer, certified Kaizen Creative Coach and Florida State Mediator. Her personal passion to share, heal and teach, combined with her academic expertise have brought her clients from around the country.

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