01What was studied
A network meta-analysis of 71 randomised trials involving 6,692 people with mild cognitive impairment or dementia. It compared music, singing, dance, visual art, games, creative storytelling and combined activities.
02Main finding
Benefits varied by modality and outcome. Visual art was associated with improvements in global cognition, language and verbal fluency, processing speed and quality of life; creative storytelling stood out for attention. This does not mean that one activity works for everyone.
03Quality of the evidence
Medium. The large number of randomised trials and formal confidence assessment strengthen the review, but several comparisons are indirect and the participants and interventions were heterogeneous.
04Why it matters for NEYREL
It supports designing a future NEYREL Senior pilot around specific aims—attention, communication, expression or participation—instead of treating creativity as one generic intervention.
05Practical application
Connect each exercise with one observable objective and record participation, language, attention, choice and quality of life separately. Work with gerontology and neuropsychology professionals when studying people with cognitive impairment.
06Important limitations
The analysis combines mild cognitive impairment with different types and stages of dementia. It does not show that art prevents or slows Alzheimer’s disease, and its effect sizes cannot be transferred directly to NEYREL.