Music-Evoked Reward and Emotion: Relative Strengths and Response to Intervention of People With ASD

Abstract

This review presents research findings showing that music is a unique domain to assess perception, reward, emotion, and associated physiological reactions and neural circuitry of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is growing evidence, reported in several studies in this review article, indicating that music is a relative strength of people with ASD including musical pitch perception, musical memory, and identification of music-evoked emotions. Listening to music activates neural circuits of reward and emotion response, which are described. Research presented shows adults with ASD also activate these systems when listening to music, although there may be developmental differences in the physiological and neural response to music in childhood and adolescence alongside typical behavioral response. Nonetheless, studies reviewed lend support to the use of music therapy and education for people with ASD, specifically to improve social skills and communication. Neural correlates of response to music therapy and education are also discussed. Taken together, findings reviewed provide evidence for music as a strength-based approach for ASD to assess reward and emotion response and as a powerful tool for intervention.

Parental responsiveness during musical and non-musical engagement in preschoolers with ASD

“…Parents involved in family-centered music-based intervention programs often report that musical play sessions are enjoyable and accessible for both parents and children, and that they can embed musical activities into everyday routines and play, thus providing opportunities for meaningful parent-child interaction and potentially strengthening the parent-child relationship (Thompson, McFerran, & Gold, 2014;Thompson, 2014Thompson, , 2017Yang, 2015;Schwartzberg & Silverman, 2017;Thompson, Shanahan, & Gordon, 2019). Additionally, music may capitalize on an area of relative strength in children with ASD since musical abilities are often preserved in individuals with ASD and interest in musical stimuli is often high in this population (Thaut, 1987;Heaton, 2009;Janzen & Thaut, 2018, Quintin, 2019.…”

“…Little attention has been given to how musical contexts may impact parent's engagement with their children with ASD despite the central role of parents as a child's play partner (Tomasello & Farrar, 1986), the ubiquity of musical activities in early parent-child interactions (Politimou et al, 2018), the interest in music by children with ASD (Janzen & Thaut, 2018;Quintin, 2019), and the increasing focus on teaching parents' skills to support their child's social engagement during play (Ingersoll & Wainer, 2013;Green et al, 2010;Ingersoll & Gergans, 2007). Recent work has explored the feasibility of incorporating music therapy practices with parent-mediated early intervention programs and has proposed frameworks to conceptualize the role of music as a facilitator in parent-coaching programs (Hernandez-Ruiz, 2017;…”

Links Between the Neurobiology of Oxytocin and Human Musicality

“…As another example, the combined use of music and the anti-nociceptive properties of oxytocin may enhance the therapeutic efficacy of strategies aimed at reducing the perception of chronic (Garza-Villarreal et al, 2017 ; Hilfiger et al, 2020 ; Schneider et al, 2020 ) or peri-operative pain (Nilsson et al, 2005 , 2009 ; Nilsson, 2009 ; Van der Heijden et al, 2015 ). Last but not least, the use of oxytocin in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders (Yamasue and Domes, 2018 ) and other psychiatric conditions (Peled-Avron et al, 2020 ) may benefit from synergistic application with appropriate music-related therapeutic strategies (Quintin, 2019 ).…”

“…Music, via its impact on various regions within the limbic system, is also rewarding, motivating, and facilitates aspects of learning and memory (Zatorre and Salimpoor, 2013 ; Koelsch, 2018 ). Lastly, and no less important, it is increasingly appreciated that musical activities are useful therapeutic tools, aiding in the treatment of some developmental disorders (Quintin, 2019 ), and capable of ameliorating behavioral and psychological symptoms in several neurodegenerative conditions (e.g., Abraha et al, 2017 ; Zhang et al, 2017 ; Särkämö and Sihvonen, 2018 ; Groussard et al, 2019 ; Pereira et al, 2019 ).…”

Let Sing Again. Of Sounds, Songs, and Language in Humans and Birds

“…Adults with ASD while listening to the music show the activation of reward circuits and emotions including NAcc, VTA, striatum, amygdala, prefrontal, and orbitofrontal cortex. In ASD patients, music therapy improves social, communication, and emotional skills [74].…”