(Montreal) Participants in a study carried out by Montreal researchers reported significant pain relief when they were allowed to listen to their favorite music.
Pain relief was more significant when the subject listened to his favorite music (from Mozart to Mötorhead) than when he listened to relaxing music with which he was unfamiliar or a slightly cacophonous melody composed for the study.
“We simply asked the study participants to come (in the laboratory) with excerpts of their favorite music,” explained the author of the study, Professor Mathieu Roy of the psychology department at McGill University. .
“We found that favorite music was more effective (in reducing pain) than relaxing music. This is not surprising in itself, but it was the first time that we could demonstrate it. »
The pain inflicted on the participants in this study was comparable to that of a slightly too hot cup of coffee or tea that is held in the hands for a few seconds before putting it down.
Beyond the musical genre preferred by the participants, it seems that the emotions aroused by music are not all equal when it comes to countering pain.
The researchers thus found that music which arouses more feelings of nostalgia, feelings of happy sadness (“ bittersweet “, in English) or “chills” seemed more effective in reducing the intensity of pain than music considered energizing, relaxing or joyful by the participants.
“We asked participants to tell us if they felt chills when listening to their music,” said Professor Roy. There are some people who will feel this kind of chills going down their spine. There were more thrills for this type of music, and the thrills were associated with greater analgesia. »
Science doesn’t understand exactly what “musical thrills” are, but other studies (including at McGill) have shown that music appears to activate the brain’s reward circuits. These shivers would therefore correspond to a neurophysiological process which effectively blocks pain signals.
Professor Roy and his colleagues are currently conducting a new study to better understand why and how music blocks pain. They will use medical imaging to examine the regions of the brain responsible for the perception of pain.
“We can say that pain is a phenomenon that is opposed to pleasure,” explained Mr. Roy. So perhaps by inducing a feeling of very intense pleasure like when we listen to our favorite music, we can counterbalance and reduce the pain. »
Immediately, the study’s findings are useful for anyone looking for a non-pharmacological solution to pain relief, he added, such as that experienced after a visit to the dentist or the day after. of surgery.
This study was carried out as part of the studies of doctoral student Darius Valevicius. Its findings were published by the medical journal Frontiers in Pain Research.