Can specially crafted music soothe the anxious mind in Alzheimer's?
NCT ID NCT05477862
First seen Aug 10, 2026 · Last updated Aug 11, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study explores whether a type of improvised music, designed with calming sound parameters, can reduce anxiety in people with Alzheimer's disease and in healthy adults. Researchers will measure changes in anxiety scores, blood pressure, and heart rate before and after listening. The goal is to see if this music-based approach offers a simple, non-drug way to promote calmness.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Clinically Designed Improvisatory Music (CDIM), a form of improvised music built on calm-inducing sound parameters
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this music-based approach could offer a drug-free way to reduce anxiety in people with Alzheimer's and others.
- What could go wrong
- The trial is small (30 participants) and early, so results may not apply broadly. Music's calming effect can vary greatly between individuals.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2023
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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55 to 100 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Cognitively healthy individuals Cognitively healthy control participants evaluated through the Northwestern Mesulam Center. BAI \> 8. Exclusion Criteria: hearing loss 2. Individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease This group will similarly be recruited through the Mesulam Center. All individuals recruited by the research Core at the center are well characterized tests standardized across all NIH funded Alzheimer Centers across the nation. Individuals with mild to moderate neurocognitive disorder due to AD will have an MMSE greater than \>15 and Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) between 0.5 and 2.. They will also have a history of neurocognitive-related agitation/anxiety, and a Beck Anxiety Index (BAI) or Rating for Anxiety in Dementia (RAID) greater than 8, suggestive of at least a mild level of anxiety. Exclusion criteria: MMSE\<15, CDR\>2, hearing loss
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease
Chicago, Illinois, 60611, United States
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