{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T04:01:21Z","timestamp":1785124881725,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784678400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":21,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Although the positive effects of music therapy on improving social and emotional issues in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are well-established, the relationship between specific intervention doses and treatment outcomes remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis protocol will quantitatively evaluate the impact of music therapy dosage on social communication skills and emotional regulation functions in children with ASD.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods and analysis<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This protocol is registered with PROSPERO and follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols. We will search PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Medline and China National Knowledge Infrastructure for randomised controlled trials on music therapy dosage in children with ASD from database inception to November 2025. Two independent reviewers will conduct study selection, data extraction and risk-of-bias assessment. A random-effects model will be used for meta-analysis (Stata V.16.0, RevMan V.5.4) with Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation for evidence quality. Subgroup analyses and publication bias tests (funnel plots, Egger\u2019s test) are planned.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Ethics and dissemination<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This research protocol is based on data from published literature and does not involve the collection of new raw data or individual patient data; therefore, no ethical approval is required. The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis are intended for presentation at relevant scientific conferences and will be published in a peer-reviewed academic journal.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>PROSPERO registration number<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>CRD420251063906.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2026-119412","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T03:25:53Z","timestamp":1785122753000},"page":"e119412","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effect of music therapy dosage on social communication and emotion regulation in children with autism spectrum disorder: study protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Yueying","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Physical Education and Training, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-3754-6137","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yingxu","family":"Pan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Physical Education and Training, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dushimimana","family":"Adalbert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Physical Education and Training, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hai","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Physical Education and Training, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.1","unstructured":"World Health Organization . International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 2019. Available: https:\/\/icd.who.int\/"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/AUR.2696"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.15585\/mmwr.ss7204a1"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10803-015-2361-5"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0273669","article-title":"The effect of mother-infant group music classes on postnatal depression-A systematic review protocol","volume":"17","author":"Colella","year":"2022","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0279002","article-title":"Basic emotion recognition of children on the autism spectrum is enhanced in music and typical for faces and voices","volume":"18","author":"Sivathasan","year":"2023","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.7","unstructured":"Li M . The effectiveness of music therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis [Master\u2019s Thesis]. Arizona State University, 2016 Available: https:\/\/search.proquest.com\/docview\/10110260"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2021.643234","article-title":"Music Therapy for Children With Autistic Spectrum Disorder and\/or Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Systematic Review","volume":"12","author":"Mayer-Benarous","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Psychiatry"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.9","first-page":"537","article-title":"[Effect of music therapy on brain function of autistic children based on power spectrum and sample entropy]","volume":"42","author":"Zhao","year":"2025","journal-title":"Sheng Wu Yi Xue Gong Cheng Xue Za Zhi"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"525","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2017.9478","article-title":"Effects of Improvisational Music Therapy vs Enhanced Standard Care on Symptom Severity Among Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: The TIME-A Randomized Clinical Trial","volume":"318","author":"Bieleninik","year":"2017","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.1007\/s40489-021-00246-x","article-title":"Music therapy in autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review","volume":"9","author":"Marquez-Garcia","year":"2022","journal-title":"Rev J Autism Dev Disord"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2022.819473","article-title":"Effects of Three Music Therapy Interventions on the Verbal Expressions of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Combined Single-Subject Design","volume":"13","author":"Attar","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-024-06086-3","article-title":"Study protocol of a randomized control trial on the effectiveness of improvisational music therapy for autistic children","volume":"24","author":"Jaschke","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Psychiatry"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113377","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psychres.2020.113377","article-title":"A randomized controlled trial of 25 sessions comparing music therapy and music listening for children with autism spectrum disorder","volume":"293","author":"Rabeyron","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychiatry Res"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2795","DOI":"10.1007\/s10803-017-3306-y","article-title":"The Therapeutic Relationship as Predictor of Change in Music Therapy with Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder","volume":"49","author":"M\u00f6ssler","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Autism Dev Disord"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19137834","article-title":"Executive Functions in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Family and School Environment","volume":"19","author":"Gentil-Guti\u00e9rrez","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3389\/fnint.2025.1673618","article-title":"The effect of music interventions in autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"19","author":"Navarro","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Integr Neurosci"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"626","DOI":"10.30773\/pi.2021.0382","article-title":"Music and Sound-Based Intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review","volume":"19","author":"Shahrudin","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychiatry Investig"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s13012-019-0899-x","article-title":"Variation in the operationalisation of dose in implementation of health promotion interventions: insights and recommendations from a scoping review","volume":"14","author":"Rowbotham","year":"2019","journal-title":"Implement Sci"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1161\/STROKEAHA.120.032496"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2024.1511920","article-title":"The effectiveness of music therapy in improving behavioral symptoms among children with autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"15","author":"Gao","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Psychiatry"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/cch.12121"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/2046-4053-4-1","article-title":"Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement","volume":"4","author":"Moher","year":"2015","journal-title":"Syst Rev"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.l4898","article-title":"RoB 2: a revised tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials","volume":"366","author":"Sterne","year":"2019","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jphys.2020.07.003"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2288-14-135","article-title":"Estimating the sample mean and standard deviation from the sample size, median, range and\/or interquartile range","volume":"14","author":"Wan","year":"2014","journal-title":"BMC Med Res Methodol"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.313.7066.1200"},{"key":"2026072620254414000_16.7.e119412.28","unstructured":"Miranda S . Music therapy and emotionally disturbed children\u2019s social-emotional development. Master\u2019s Project. Saint Mary\u2019s College of California, Kalmanovitz School of Education, 2022."}],"container-title":["BMJ Open"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/bmjopen-2026-119412","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T03:26:12Z","timestamp":1785122772000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/bmjopen.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/bmjopen-2026-119412"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"references-count":28,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/bmjopen-2026-119412"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmjopen-2026-119412","relation":{},"ISSN":["2044-6055","2044-6055"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2044-6055","type":"print"},{"value":"2044-6055","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}}}