Writing.
It is widely documented that music influences mood. Now, a new study has gone further and shown that classical music has positive effects on the brain, a finding that could serve to help patients with depression resistant to treatment.
- The study, led by Chinese researchers and published this Friday in the journal Cell Reports, has analyzed the neurological effect of music composed by Western composers such as Bach, Beethoven or Mozart and has demonstrated through brain wave measurements and neuroimaging techniques that these compositions have positive effects on the brain.
“Our research integrates the fields of neuroscience, psychiatry and neurosurgery, providing a foundation for any research targeting the interaction between music and emotion,” said senior author Bomin Sun, director and professor of the Center for Functional Neurosurgery at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
“Ultimately, we hope to translate the results of our research into clinical practice, developing convenient and effective music therapy tools and applications.”
A study with thirteen patients
The study was conducted with thirteen patients with depression resistant to treatment to those who had already had electrodes implanted in the brain for the purpose of deep brain stimulation.
These implants are placed in a circuit that connects two areas of the forebrain: the nucleus of the bed of the stria terminalis (BNST) and the nucleus accumbens (NAc).
Using these implants, the team discovered that music generates its effects antidepressants synchronizing neural oscillations between the auditory cortex (responsible for processing sensory information) and the reward circuit (processes emotional information).
“This study reveals that music induces triple temporal locking of neuronal oscillations in the cortical-BNST-NAc circuit through auditory synchronization.”
Several pieces of classical music Western music—a type of music that most participants were unfamiliar with—to avoid any interference that might arise from subjective familiarity.
“We concluded that musical choices during the formal listening process were individualized and unrelated to the emotional background of the music,” Sun said.
“From now on, in collaboration with clinicians, music therapists, computer scientists and engineers, we plan to develop a series of digital health products based on music therapy, such as smartphone applications and wearable devices,” Sun said.
“These products will integrate personalized music recommendations, real-time emotional monitoring and feedback, and multi-sensory virtual reality experiences to provide convenient and effective self-care tools to manage emotions and improve symptoms in everyday life.”
