Toward Personalized Music-Therapy: A Neurocomputational Modeling Perspective

Music therapy has emerged recently as a successful intervention that improves patient outcomes in a large range of neurological and mood disorders without adverse effects. Brain networks are entrained to music in ways that can be explained both via top-down and bottom-up processes. In particular, the direct interaction of auditory with the motor and the reward system via a predictive framework explains the efficacy of music-based interventions in motor rehabilitation. In this article, we provide a brief overview of current theories of music perception and processing. Subsequently, we summarize the evidence of music-based interventions primarily in motor, emotional, and cardiovascular regulation. We highlight opportunities to improve the quality of life and reduce the stress beyond the clinic environment and in healthy individuals. This relatively unexplored area requires an understanding of how we can personalize and automate music selection processes to fit individual needs and tasks via feedback loops mediated by measurements of neurophysiological responses.