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6 Studies that Show How Making Music Affects the Body

By on March 17, 2010 in Research

A couple of weeks ago, Matt Logan of the Music Therapy Source tweeted a completely “irreverent, hilarious, & surprisingly accurate” article entitled 7 Insane Ways Music Affects the Body (According to Science). While I’m constantly reading up and obsessing myself with research on music’s physiological effects, this article opened my eyes to a new perspective. Stepping away from my music therapist mindset, I can imagine how wild it must seem to find out that music can elicit the dramatic effects on the human body as the research has shown.

I can relate to that article. It is insane how music affects the body!

Here are some of my favorite articles on music-making and changes in the body. I found these articles through Google Scholar. We know that making music:

  1. Fortifies the immune system.
    Koyama M, Wachi M, Utsuyama M, Bittman B, Hirokawa K, Kitagawa M. (2009). Recreational music-making modulates immunological responses and mood states in older adults. Journal of Medical and Dental Sciences, 56(2): 57-70.
  2. Enhances mood, increases cancer-killing white blood cell activity, and reduces stress.
    Wachi M, Koyama M, Utsuyama M, Bittman B, Kitagawa M, Hirokawa K. (2007). Recreational music-making modulates natural killer cell activity, cytokines, and mood states in corporate employees. Medical Science Monitor, 13(2), 57-70.
  3. Reduces stress.
    Bittman B, Berk L, Shannon M, Sharaf M, Westengard J, Guegler KJ, Ruff DW (2005). Recreational music-making modulates the human stress response. Medical Science Monitor.
  4. Reduces burnout, enhances mood, and is cost-effective.
    Bittman B, Snyder C, Bruhn KT, Liebfreid F, Stevens CK, Westengard J, Umbach PO (2004). Recreational music-making: An integrative group intervention for reducing burnout and improving mood states in first year associate degree nursing students: Insights and economic impact. International Journal of Nursing Education and Scholarship, 1(12).
  5. Decreases burnout and enhances mood.
    Bittman B, Bruhn K, Stevens C, Westengard J, Umbach P (2003). Recreational music-making: A cost-effective group interdisciplinary strategy for reducing burnout and improving mood states in long-term care workers. Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, 4-15.
  6. Reduces stress and enhances immune system.
    Bittman B, Berk L, Felten D, Westengard J, Simonton O, Pappas J, Ninehouser M (2001). Composite effects of group drumming music therapy on modulation of neuroendocrine-immune parameters in normal subjects. Journal of Alternative Therapy, 38-47.
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Why does music work: Brain research

By on February 25, 2010 in Music & Wellness, Research

We know about physiological and behavioral effects of music therapy from research published in nursing journals and music therapy journals. I have listed some effects on infants in a NICU. Furthermore, we know of research pertaining to cognition, speech & language, and sensorimotor domains thanks to Dr. Michael Thaut and the  Center for Biomedical Research in Music at Colorado State.

Another great contributor to music and brain studies is Ani Patel, PhD and his book Music, Language, and the Brain. He is Senior Fellow in Theoretical Neurobiology at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, CA. He received an ASCAP Deem Taylor Award for his book alongside Oliver Sacks, MD in 2008. He recently made an appearance on UCSD TV with Barbara Reuer, PhD. You can hear a podcast with Dr. Patel at the Library of Congress. His work is also mentioned by other neuroscientists and even bird lovers! In the following video, he provides an in depth lecture, describing how the brain processes music and language.

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9 research-based effects of music therapy on infants in a NICU

By on February 20, 2010 in NICU Infants, Research

A recent surge in the past 25 years of medical music therapy research has caught the attention of hospital administrators, health care professionals, and the media across the country. On the front page of the July 2008 issue, the American Academy of Pediatrics News published Music as medicine: In neonatal and rehabilitation units, operating rooms and oncology departments, music therapy is helping to calm, energize, encourage and soothe patients. Hospitals that are leaders in patient care, medical research and teaching have noticed and embraced medical music therapy. On the west coast, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA recently released an article about their new “music therapy on wheels” program. A local news station in Orlando wrote about Florida Hospital’s Music Therapy for Preemies program. The same hospital recently published a monograph entitled Music, Medicine & Miracles by the supervising music therapist. NBC News covered a story in 2008 about Deforia Lane, PhD and the Healing Power of Music at the University Hospitals of Cleveland, OH.

Several hospitals list music therapy as a service on their websites. Medical music therapy is available as a treatment that is cost effective, has no side effects, normalizes the environment, works in conjunction with physical, occupational, and speech therapy goals, and results in positive physiological and behavioral changes. You can read more about NICU music therapy in Dr. Jayne Standley’s book Music Therapy with Premature Infants: Research and Developmental Interventions.

Here are 9 specific, research-based ways that music therapy makes a stay in the NICU easier for the baby, parents, staff, and hospital. The articles are published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals. The referenced studies have shown statistical significance with regards to the specific physiological or behavioral measure.

  1. Increases oxygen saturation levels. (Flowers, McCain, and Hilker, 1999; Moore, Gladstone, and Standley, 1994; Cassidy & Standley, 1995; Coleman, et al, 1997; Standley & Moore, 1995, Collins & Kuck 1991)
  2. Reduces infant distress behaviors. (Whipple, 2000; Collins & Kuck 1991)
  3. Increases infant self-regulatory behaviors. (Arnon et al, 2006)
  4. Decreases length of hospital stay. (Caine, 1992; Standley, 1998)
  5. Encourages appropriate parent/infant interaction. (Whipple, 2000)
  6. Accelerates weight gain. (Coleman et al 1997; Standley, 1998c)
  7. Increases non-nutritive sucking. (Standley, 2000)
  8. Increases feeding rate. (Standley, 2003)
  9. Earlier successful bottle feeding result. (Cevasco & Grant, 2005; Standley et al, 2005)

Here is the research that backs up those 9 claims.

Arnon, S., Shapsa, A., Forman, L., Regev, R., Bauer, S., Litmanovitz, I., & Dolfin, T. (2006). Live music is beneficial to preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unity environment. Birth, 33(2), 131-136.

Caine, J. (1992). The effects of music on the selected stress behaviors, weight, caloric and formula intake, and length of hospital stay of premature and low birth weight neonates in a newborn intensive care unit. Journal of Music Therapy, 28(4), 180-192.

Cassidy, J.W. & Standley, J.M. (1995). The effect of music listening on physiological responses of premature infants in the NICU. Journal of Music Therapy, 32(4), 208-227.

Cevasco, A. & Grant, R. (2005). Effects of the pacifier activated lullaby on weight gain of premature infants. Journal of Music Therapy, 42, 123-139.

Coleman, J.M., Pratt, R.R., Stoddar, R.A., Gerstmann, R., & Abel, H. (1998). The effects of male and female singing and speaking voices on selected physiological and behavioral measures of premature infants in the intensive care unit. International Jounral of Arts Medicine, 5 (8), 4-11.

Collins, S.K. & Kuck, K. (1991). Music therapy in the neonatal intensive care unit. Neonatal Network, 9 (6), 23-26.

Flowers, A., McCain, A., & Hilker, K. (1999). The effects of music listening on premature infants. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting, Society for Research in Child Development, Albuquerque, NM.

Moore, R., Gladstone, I., & Standley, J. (1994, November). Effects of music, maternal voice, intrauterine sounds, and white noise on the oxygen saturation levels of premature infants. Paper presented at the National Association for Music Therapy, Inc., National Conference, Orlando, FL.

Standley, J. M. & Moore, R. S. (1995). Therapeutic effects of music and mother’s voice on premature infants. Pediatric Nursing, 21 (6), 509-512.

Standley, J. M. (1998). The effect of music and multimodal stimulation on responses of premature infants in neonatal intensive care. Pediatric Nursing, 24(6), 532(1-9).

Standley, J. M. (2000). The effect of contingent music to increase non-nutritive sucking of premature infants. Pediatric Nursing, 26 (5), 494-499.

Standley, J. M. (2002). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of music therapy for premature infants. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 17(2), 107-113.

Standley, J. M. (2003). The effect of music-reinforced nonnutritive sucking on feeding rate of premature infants. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 18(3), 169-173.

Standley, J. M. (2005). Medical Music Therapy: A Model Program for Clinical Practice, Education, Training, and Research. Silver Spring, MD: American Music Therapy Association, Inc.

Whipple, J. (2000). The effect of parent training in music and multimodal stimulation on parent-neonate interactions in the neonatal intensive care unit. Journal of Music Therapy, 37(4), 250-268.

If you liked this post, then you’ll love reading An RN’s Perspective of NICU Music Therapy, 46 Hospitals that Provide NICU MT, and Does Music in the NICU Overstimulate Infants?

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