A Systematic Review on the Neural Effects of Music on Emotion Regulation: Implications for Music Therapy Practice
Abstract
Background: Emotion regulation (ER) is an internal process through
which a person maintains a comfortable state of arousal by modulating
one or more aspects of emotion. The neural correlates underlying ER
suggest an interplay between cognitive control areas and areas involved in
emotional reactivity. Although some studies have suggested that music
may be a useful tool in ER, few studies have examined the links between
music perception/production and the neural mechanisms that underlie ER
and resulting implications for clinical music therapy treatment. Objectives
of this systematic review were to explore and synthesize what is known
about how music and music experiences impact neural structures
implicated in ER, and to consider clinical implications of these findings
for structuring music stimuli to facilitate ER.
Methods: A comprehensive electronic database search resulted in 50
studies that met predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Pertinent data related to the objective were extracted and study
outcomes were analyzed and compared for trends and common
findings.
Results: Results indicated there are certain music characteristics and
experiences that produce desired and undesired neural activation
patterns implicated in ER. Desired activation patterns occurred when
listening to preferred and familiar music, when singing, and (in musicians)
when improvising; undesired activation patterns arose when introducing
complexity, dissonance, and unexpected musical events. Furthermore, the connection between music-influenced changes in attention and its
link to ER was explored.
Conclusions: Implications for music therapy practice are discussed and
preliminary guidelines for how to use music to facilitate ER are shared.
Description
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Article
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Keywords
Music therapy, emotion regulation, neuroscience, amygdala
Citation
Moore, K. S. (2013). A systematic review on the neural effects of music on emotion regulation: implications for music therapy practice. Journal of music therapy, 50(3), 198-242.