By John Salak –
Classical music—whether Bach, Beethoven or Mozart—beats the blues, at least when it comes to overcoming depression and lifting listeners’ moods.
Music, of course, has always been seen as an uplifting force. However Chinese scientists recently confirmed that brainwave measurements and neural imaging techniques show how Western classical music elicits its positive effects on the brain.
The results are not just uplifting and underscore the power of music, they may clear the way for music to more effectively activate the brain in those who otherwise don’t respond to various depression treatments.
“Our research integrates the fields of neuroscience, psychiatry and neurosurgery, providing a foundation for any research targeting the interaction between music and emotion,” reported senior author Bomin Sun, director and professor of the Center for Functional Neurosurgery at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. “Ultimately, we hope to translate our research findings into clinical practice, developing convenient and effective music therapy tools and applications.”
The university’s work centered on 13 patients with treatment-resistant depression who already had electrodes implanted in their brains for the purpose of deep-brain stimulation. These implants allowed the researchers to discover how music generates its antidepressant effects by synchronizing the neural oscillations between the auditory cortex, which is responsible for processing sensory information, and the rewards circuit, which is responsible for processing emotional information.
The study broke participants into two groups: one with low music appreciation and the other with high music appreciation. Those in the high music appreciation group demonstrated more significant neural synchronization and better antidepressant effects, while those in the low music appreciation group showed poorer results.
The researchers noted that by grouping the patients, they were able to study the antidepressant mechanisms of music more precisely and propose personalized music therapy plans that would improve treatment outcomes.
One challenge to maximizing the impact of applying classical music to depressed patients is getting a handle on those who appreciate the music and who subsequently will have a better response to the tunes.
In some respects, classical music traditionally is one of the least favorite types, with about one percent of adults reporting it to be their favorite type of music. Recently, however, the interest in the likes of Mozart and his colleagues has increased, with about a quarter of adults claiming to enjoy it and about 70 percent noting they listen to classics at least once a year.
This increased interest and awareness bodes well for the Chinese researchers who are committed to a deeper examination of its impact on mood and depression. The team’s future research, in fact, will focus on several areas.
It aims to study how the interaction between music and the deep structures of the brain plays a role in depressive disorders. The team will also introduce other forms of sensory stimuli, including visual images, to investigate the potential combined therapeutic effects of multi-sensory stimulation on depression.
“By collaborating 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 says.
“These products will integrate personalized music recommendations, real-time emotional monitoring and feedback, and virtual-reality multi-sensory experiences to provide convenient and effective self-help tools for managing emotions and improving symptoms in daily life.”
