Music Listening for Mental Health Recovery After Stroke

This study aims to explore whether listening to music intentionally can support the mental health of people recovering from a stroke. The question the investigators aim to answer is: Can intentional music listening improve emotional well-being in stroke survivors? And if so, what kinds of changes might music listening induce in mental health, thinking and memory (cognition), and brain activity? Participants will be randomly assigned to listen to either music or an audiobook for one hour each day, at home, for four weeks. Participants will also attend four in-person sessions with the researchers: at the start of the study (baseline), just before the listening period begins, after the four weeks are complete, and at a follow-up. During these visits, researchers will gather information about participants' mood and mental health (via questionnaires), assess memory and attention (via cognitive tasks), and use MRI scans to look at brain activity.