Music and Medicine 

About: Music and Medicine is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Music therapy & Active listening. Over the lifetime, 360 publications have been published receiving 2707 citations.

Reporting Guidelines for Music-based Interventions

Abstract: Music-based interventions are used to address a variety of problems experienced by individuals across the developmental lifespan (infants to elderly adults). In order to improve the transparency and specificity of reporting music-based interventions, a set of specific reporting guidelines is recommended. Recommendations pertain to reporting seven different components of music-based interventions including intervention theory, intervention content, intervention delivery schedule, interventionist, treatment fidelity, setting, and unit of delivery. Recommendations are intended to support CONSORT and TREND statements for transparent reporting of interventions while taking into account the variety, complexity, and uniqueness of music-based interventions.

Does Singing Facilitate Social Bonding

Abstract: Psychobiological effects of amateur choral singing were studied in a naturalistic controlled within-subjects trial. A mixed group of novice and experienced singers (N = 21) filled out brief ad hoc questionnaires of psychological wellbeing and gave samples of saliva for measuring levels of salivary oxytocin, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosteron (DHEA) at the beginning of 2 rehearsal sessions and 30 minutes later. The singing condition included warm-up vocal exercises and repertoire pieces. In the chatting condition, dyads of participants talked to each other about recent positive life experiences. Within-subjects, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) on self-reported and physiological measures revealed significant Time X Condition interactions for psychological wellbeing and oxytocin. Comparisons of mean scores showed patterns of changes favouring singing over chatting. There were no significant interactions for cortisol, DHEA as well as for the cortisol-DHEA-ratio. These results suggest that singing enhances individual psychological wellbeing as well as induces a socio-biological bonding response.

Emotional and Neurohumoral Responses to Dancing Tango Argentino: The Effects of Music and Partner

Abstract: The present study examines the emotional and hormonal responses to tango dancing and the specific influences of the presence of music and partner on these responses. Twenty-two tango dancers were assessed within four conditions, in which the presence of music and a dance partner while dancing were varied in a 2

Brain-Computer Music Interfacing (BCMI): From Basic Research to the Real World of Special Needs

Abstract: This paper reports on the development of a proof-of-concept brain-computer music interfacing system (BCMI), which we built to be tested with a patient with Locked-in Syndrome at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, in London. The system uses the Steady State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP) method, whereby targets are presented to a user on a computer monitor representing actions available to perform with the system. Each target is encoded by a flashing visual pattern reversing at a unique frequency. In order to make a selection, the user must direct her gaze at the target corresponding to the action she would like to perform. The patient grasped the concept quickly and rapidly demonstrated her skill at controlling the system with minimal practice. She was able to vary the intensity of her gaze, thus changing the amplitude of her EEG and vary the consequent musical parameters. We have proved the concept that such a BCMI system is cost-effective to build, viable, and useful. However, ergonomic and design aspects of the system require further refinement in order to make it more practical for clinical usage. For instance, the system at present requires a therapist to place individual electrodes and calibrate a user’s response to each stimulus, which can be time consuming. A new version of the system will require just positioning of a headset and, due to advanced algorithms, will require no calibration.

Music Hath Charms: The Effects of Valence and Arousal on Recovery Following an Acute Stressor

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the valence and arousal dimensions of music over the time course of physiological (skin conductance level and heart rate) and subjective (Subjective Unit of Discomfort score) recovery from an acute stressor. Participants experienced stress after being told to prepare a speech, and were then exposed to happy, peaceful, sad, or agitated music. Music with a positive valence promoted both subjective and physiological recovery better than music with a negative valence, and low-arousal music was more effective than high-arousal music. Repeated measures analyses found that the emotion conveyed by the music affected skin conductance level recovery immediately following the stressor, whereas it affected heart rate recovery in a more sustained fashion. Follow-up tests found that positively valenced low-arousal (i.e., peaceful) music was more effective across the time course than an emotionally neutral control (white noise). Keywords arousal, emotion, music, stress, valence