Psychophysiological reactions to music in male coronary patients and healthy controls
Abstract
“The study supports the following conclusions: (1) music-listening produces significant decreases in the blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic) and heart rate of coronary patients but has no significant effect in healthy controls; (2) music-listening reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, enhances life satisfaction, optimism and hope, and makes life more meaningful in both coronary patients and healthy controls; (3) the effects of music listening, that is, reduction in negative affect, enhancement of positive affect, and decrease in blood pressure and heart rate, are more intense in coronary patients than healthy controls.”
Content
Psychophysiological reactions to music in male coronary patients and healthy controls
Uma Gupta
B. S. Gupta
Banaras Hindu University, India
Uma Gupta, Department of Siddhant Darshan, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India. Email: uggupt@gmail.com
Abstract
The study aimed to present a comparative account of psychophysiological responses to music-listening in male coronary patients and healthy controls. The stimulus material was a slow-paced, taped rāga Desi-Todi played on a flute. The participants listened to music for 30 minutes a day for 20 days. Pre- and post-treatment procedure was adopted for assessment on psychophysiological measures. The study supports the following conclusions: (1) music-listening produces significant decreases in the blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic) and heart rate of coronary patients but has no significant effect in healthy controls; (2) music-listening reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, enhances life satisfaction, optimism and hope, and makes life more meaningful in both coronary patients and healthy controls; (3) the effects of music listening, that is, reduction in negative affect, enhancement of positive affect, and decrease in blood pressure and heart rate, are more intense in coronary patients than healthy controls.
http://pom.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/06/05/0305735614536754.abstract
The study you’re referring to investigates psychophysiological reactions to music in male coronary patients and healthy controls. Here’s an outline of how such research might unfold:
1. Participant Recruitment: Researchers recruit male participants from two groups: coronary patients who have a history of coronary artery disease or related cardiovascular conditions, and healthy controls with no known heart conditions. Participants are matched for age, socioeconomic status, and other relevant factors to ensure comparability between groups.
2. Experimental Design: The study employs a controlled experimental design, with participants exposed to music stimuli under controlled conditions. Researchers select a range of music genres and styles to evoke different emotional responses, such as classical music, jazz, rock, and relaxation music. Control conditions may include silence or non-musical auditory stimuli.
3. Psychophysiological Measures: Various psychophysiological measures are collected to assess participants’ reactions to the music stimuli. These measures may include:
– Heart rate: Researchers monitor participants’ heart rates using electrocardiography (ECG) or heart rate monitors to measure changes in heart rate variability (HRV) in response to music.
– Blood pressure: Blood pressure readings are taken before, during, and after music exposure to assess changes in cardiovascular function.
– Skin conductance: Electrodermal activity is measured using sensors to assess changes in sympathetic nervous system arousal in response to music-induced emotional arousal.
– Respiration rate: Researchers track participants’ respiration rates to assess changes in breathing patterns associated with relaxation or arousal.
4. Self-Report Measures: Participants may be asked to provide subjective ratings of their emotional responses to the music stimuli using standardized questionnaires or Likert scales. This allows researchers to correlate objective psychophysiological measures with participants’ subjective experiences of music-induced emotions.
5. Data Analysis: Researchers analyze the collected data using statistical methods to compare psychophysiological responses between coronary patients and healthy controls. They may examine differences in heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, and other measures during music exposure and control conditions, as well as correlations between psychophysiological responses and self-reported emotional experiences.
6. Interpretation and Discussion: The findings are interpreted in light of existing research on music and cardiovascular health, psychophysiological responses to music, and the psychosocial factors influencing coronary patients’ emotional well-being. The implications of the study’s results for music-based interventions in cardiac rehabilitation and stress management are discussed, as well as potential avenues for future research.
Overall, research on psychophysiological reactions to music in male coronary patients and healthy controls contributes to our understanding of the therapeutic potential of music for promoting cardiovascular health and emotional well-being in clinical populations.
