The influence of music and music therapy on pain-induced neuronal oscillations measured by magnetencephalography

Abstract

Modern forms of music therapy are clinically established for various therapeutic or rehabilitative goals, especially in the treatment of chronic pain. However, little is known about the neuronal mechanisms that underlie pain modulation by music. Therefore, we attempted to characterize the effects of music therapy on pain perception by comparing the effects of 2 different therapeutic concepts, referred to as receptive and entrainment methods, on cortical activity recorded by magnetencephalography in combination with laser heat pain. Listening to preferred music within the receptive method yielded a significant reduction of pain ratings associated with a significant power reduction of delta-band activity in the cingulate gyrus, which suggests that participants displaced their focus of attention away from the pain stimulus. On the other hand, listening to self-composed "pain music" and "healing music" within the entrainment method exerted major effects on gamma-band activity in primary and secondary somatosensory cortices. Pain music, in contrast to healing music, increased pain ratings in parallel with an increase in gamma-band activity in somatosensory brain structures. In conclusion, our data suggest that the 2 music therapy approaches operationalized in this study seem to modulate pain perception through at least 2 different mechanisms, involving changes of activity in the delta and gamma bands at different stages of the pain processing system.

The effects of music intervention on burn patients during treatment procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…This theory asserts that stimulation by non-noxious input is able to suppress pain. However, a recent study reported that music therapy modulates pain perception through at least two different mechanisms that involve changes in the activity of delta and gamma bands at different stages of pain processing [49]. These results provided novel insights into the neurological principals that underlie the achievement of pain relief following music therapy.…”

“…More studies are needed to reveal the roles of music intervention, especially music therapy, in severe pain control. However, based on the above-referenced study by Hauck et al [49], the combination of relaxation and distraction with music intervention may help patients cope with pain. Although individual studies have shown that submitting burn patients to music interventions provides some evidence of decreased pain intensity and anxiety, there have been no indications that any specific type of music offers more benefits.…”

Music reduces pain and increases functional mobility in fibromyalgia

“…Mitchell et al (2006) found that preferred music helped participants to tolerate pain longer than with music chosen by the experimenter. It is not yet known which are the specific mechanisms behind music-induced analgesia, however the evidence suggests that the intrinsic and extrinsic properties of the music should have an indirect influence on the effect via cognitive and emotional mechanisms (Roy et al, 2008, 2012; Bernatzky et al, 2011; Hauck et al, 2013). It is culturally and scientifically known that music is a powerful inducer of emotions and a modulator of mood (Baumgartner et al, 2006; Juslin and Västfjäll, 2008; Fritz et al, 2009; Bernatzky et al, 2011), and it is also known that emotions and mood can reduce pain (de Tommaso et al, 2008; Villemure and Bushnell, 2009).…”

Musik und Medizin

“…Wie unmittelbar besonders die subjektiv relevanten musikalischen Stimuli auf die Schmerzverarbeitung von gesunden Probanden Einfluss nehmen, konnte in der neurophysiologischen Studie von Hauck et al (2013) unter Verwendung von MEG-Messungen nachgewiesen werden. Dass therapeutische Interventionen mit musikbezogenen Aktivitäten sogar neuroplastische Umstrukturierungen zur Folge haben können, zeigen eine EEG-Studie mit 32 Schlaganfallpatienten ) sowie eine spezifische MRT-Studie mit 6 Aphasiepatienten (Schlaug et al 2009).…”