Mental Health Implications of Music: Insight from Neuroscientific and Clinical Studies
Journal
Harvard Review of Psychiatry
Year
2011
Abstract
Neuroscientific and clinical studies of music over the past two decades have substantially increased our understanding of its use as a means of therapy. The authors briefly review current literature related to music's effect on people with different mental illnesses, and examine several neurobiological theories that may explain its effectiveness or lack thereof in treating psychiatric disorders. Neuroscientific studies have shown music to be an agent capable of influencing complex neurobiological processes in the brain and suggest that it can potentially play an important role in treatment. Clinical studies provide some evidence that music therapy can be used as an alternative therapy in treating depression, autism, schizophrenia, and dementia, as well as problems of agitation, anxiety, sleeplessness, and substance misuse, though whether it can actually replace other modes of treatment remains undetermined. Future research should include translational studies involving both neuroscience and clinical medicine that investigate the long-term effects of music intervention and that lead to the development of new strategies for music therapy.
Music and Health Institute Terms
Anxiety; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Cal; Depression; Depressive Disorder; Distress; Medication Use; Mental Health; Mood Disorders; Music Listening; Music Medicine; Neurodegenerative Disorders; Psychological Outcomes; Recorded Music Listening; Sleep Quality
Indexed Terms
Auditory Perception; Mental Disorders; Psychoacoustics
Study Type
Editorials, Opinions, Position Papers
PubMed ID
21250895
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Lin, S. T., Yang, P., Lai, C. Y., Su, Y. Y., Yeh, Y. C., Huang, M. F., & Chen, C. C. (2011). Mental Health Implications of Music: Insight from Neuroscientific and Clinical Studies. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 19 (1), 34-46. Retrieved from https://remix.berklee.edu/mhi-citations/817