Passing the time when in pain: Investigating the role of musical valence.

Abstract

The effective management of pain outside of clinical settings represents a significant challenge to health services. Music listening has been successfully used as a method of pain management, with the greatest benefits to listeners evident if the music is familiar, preferred and has emotional resonance. This study examined the role of self-selected emotion-inducing music used for pain management (pain tolerance, intensity, perceived control, distraction and anxiety reduction) during the cold pressor test. In a repeated-measures design, four cold pressor tests were used to induce short-term, acute pain, whilst 41 participants listened either to happy, sad, relaxing or no music. Findings indicated that music enhanced pain tolerance over no music, and happy and relaxing music increased pain tolerance and altered time perception to a greater extent than sad music. Happy and relaxing music facilitated distraction from pain and enhanced perceived pain control. Relaxing music additionally had anxiolytic properties and reduced pain intensity. Results suggest that music's inclusion in pain management is justified and that music with happy and relaxing components can be used to facilitate coping with pain in a non-clinical context.

Efficacy, Treatment Characteristics, and Biopsychological Mechanisms of Music-Listening Interventions in Reducing Pain (MINTREP): Study Protocol of a Three-Armed Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

“…In addition, emotional engagement with music might explain its pain-reducing effects. Particularly pleasurable music has been shown to induce positive emotions (e.g., joy, pleasure) in the listener and to modulate mood states (e.g., enhance feelings of relaxation, decrease feelings of anxiety) ( 26 – 28 ), which are assumed to be associated with a downregulation of pain experiences ( 29 – 31 ). In addition, research in the fields of neuroscience and psychoneuroendocrinology has revealed that music affects a multitude of cortical und subcortical areas in the brain, many of which are also involved in the processing of pain, indicating that music-induced analgesia involves the descending pain modulation pathway ( 9 , 32 ).…”

“…Self-selected music might increase feelings of emotional and cognitive involvement during music listening ( 31 , 55 , 76 ). Self-selected music in contrast to pre-selected music is assumed to better capture the listener's personal preferences and is therefore thought to be associated with a higher liking of and familiarity with the music, as well as an increased sense of control, all of which have been related to pain-reducing effects ( 29 , 31 , 77 ). However, in some settings (e.g., hospital, rehabilitation), it might be more practical to make use of predetermined music selections.…”

Music Performance Anxiety and Perceived Benefits of Musical Participation Among Older Adults in Community Bands

“…Some research in this area has focused on the therapeutic benefits of music listening for calming patients with dementia displaying agitative behaviors (Skingley & Vella-Burnow, 2010), reducing depression and blood pressure in elderly adults (M.F. Chan, Chan, Mok, & Tse, 2009), improving sleep quality in people with insomnia (E. T. Chan, Lai, Chen, Hsieh, & Lee, 2012), and contributing to enhanced pain tolerance (Finlay & Anil, 2016). Other researchers have found that older adults playing or singing in community ensembles reported improvements in areas such as perceived health, quality of life, mental well-being, self-esteem, self-expression, sense of belonging, social interaction, and memory (Barbeau, 2017;Bruhn, 2002;Coffman, 2002;Hillman, 2002;MacDonald, Kreutz, & Mitchell, 2012;Skingley & Bungay, 2010;Solé, Mercadal-Brotons, Gallego, & Riera, 2010;Varvarigou, Hallam, Creech, & McQueen, 2012).…”

“…Chan, Chan, Mok, & Tse, 2009), improving sleep quality in people with insomnia (E. T. Chan, Lai, Chen, Hsieh, & Lee, 2012), and contributing to enhanced pain tolerance (Finlay & Anil, 2016). Other researchers have found that older adults playing or singing in community ensembles reported improvements in areas such as perceived health, quality of life, mental well-being, self-esteem, self-expression, sense of belonging, social interaction, and memory (Barbeau, 2017; Bruhn, 2002; Coffman, 2002; Creech, Hallam, Gaunt, et al, 2013; Creech, Hallam, Varvarigou, et al, 2013; Hillman, 2002; MacDonald, Kreutz, & Mitchell, 2012; Skingley & Bungay, 2010; Solé, Mercadal-Brotons, Gallego, & Riera, 2010; Varvarigou, Hallam, Creech, & McQueen, 2012).…”

Basic emotions expressed in music: factor analyses on intensity ratings by non-musical professional Chinese university students

“…Music plays an important role in everyday life, such as in commercial sites to stimulate consuming behaviors1 and in leisure activity to regulate individual emotion and mood 2. It is also used as a kind of psychotherapy for pain3 and other emotional problems 4. Indeed, when regarding processing or recognizing a putative emotion selected from a musical source, we are not sure that an emotion is specifically elicited by its putative vector, neither we are sure that an emotion is specifically recognized from its putative vector.…”