Effects of patient-preferred live music on positive and negative affect and pain with adults on a post-surgical oncology unit: A randomized study

Evaluating the Cognitive Effects of Video-Induced Negative Affect in College Students: A Comparative Study between Acute Exercise and Music Listening

Background: Video-induced negative affect may have an impact on cognition. In this study, acute exercise and music listening are used to explore their impact on individual cognition with video-induced negative affect. Method: All the participants were randomly divided into six groups. Group 1 (n = 19, average age = 20.15) was not given any form of acute exercise or music listening; Group 2 (n = 20, average age = 21.33) was given music listening; Group 3 (n = 20, average age = 20.89) was given acute exercise; Group 4 (n = 20, average age = 21.03) only watched a video without being given any acute exercise or music listening; Group 5 (n = 19, average age = 20.68) was given music listening after watching a video; Group 6 (n = 18, average age = 21.32) was given acute exercise after watching a video. Results: In the pre-test, we found that there was no significant difference in negative affect, positive affect, and cognitive performance among the groups (p > .05). The post-test indicated that the negative affect of college students who watched the video (20.16 ± 8.34) was higher than that of college students who did not watch the video (11.12 ± 3.29). Acute exercise and music listening improved the cognitive performance of college students with video-induced negative affect. Acute exercise improved the cognitive performance of college students with non-video-induced negative affect, while music listening did not. Conclusion: The acute decline in the cognitive performance of college students caused by video-induced negative affect can be ameliorated by means of acute exercise and music listening.

Clinical Delivery and Effectiveness of Music Therapy in Hematology and Oncology: An EMMPIRE Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND

Music therapy (MT) has been shown to improve outcomes for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and patients with hematologic and/or oncologic conditions excluding SCD (HemOnc) in prior randomized trials. While few studies have described the clinical delivery (ie, volume, clinical settings, patient characteristics, referrals, and session characteristics) of MT and examined its real-world effectiveness, no studies have compared responses between hematology/oncology populations. The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical delivery and effectiveness of MT at a freestanding academic cancer center and compare the effectiveness of MT on pain, anxiety, and fatigue between adult patients in the HemOnc and SCD groups.

METHODS

A retrospective review was conducted of all MT sessions provided at a freestanding academic cancer center between January 2017 and July 2020. The unadjusted single-session effects of MT on pain, anxiety, and fatigue were assessed among patients reporting symptoms ≥1 out of 10 on a 0 to 10 scale. Adjustments were made for multiple sessions on the same patient using a mixed model to compare pre-session and change scores between the HemOnc and SCD groups. Patients' comments were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

Music therapists provided 4002 sessions to 1152 patients including 1012 in the HemOnc group and 140 in the SCD group. In the combined sample, statistically significant reductions in pain (1.48 units), anxiety (2.58 units), and fatigue (0.84 units) were observed, with changes in pain and anxiety exceeding clinically significant thresholds. After adjustment, the SCD group reported significantly greater pre-session pain (7.22 vs 5.81) and anxiety (6.11 vs 5.17) as well as greater anxiety reduction (2.89 vs 2.23) than the HemOnc group. Patients' comments contained themes including enjoyment, gratitude, and improvements in mood, pain, and anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

This study supports the delivery and clinical effectiveness of MT for addressing the needs of patients throughout their course of treatment at an academic cancer center and justifies the inclusion of individuals with SCD within integrative oncology services.

Research on the effect of different types of short music videos on viewers' psychological emotions

There is now widespread agreement that different types of short music videos can cause viewers to have psychological emotions, and significant new findings have been discovered in the study of how music affects listeners' affective reactions. However, there is still controversy regarding research on the inclinations toward behavior and autonomic neurophysiological reactions of musical emotions. The psychological states of viewers of various types of short music videos are yet unknown and require further study. This study investigates how different types of short music videos affect viewers' psychological responses, placing particular emphasis on the following variables: rhythm type (stable rhythm and flow rhythm) and music short video type (narrative, live, and funny). In an experiment, viewers' psychological responses to several short music videos were investigated to determine the impact of different short music video styles and rhythms on musically induced emotions.

The effects of music & auditory beat stimulation on anxiety: A randomized clinical trial

Background and objectives

Music and auditory beat stimulation (ABS) in the theta frequency range (4–7 Hz) are sound-based anxiety treatments that have been independently investigated in prior studies. Here, the anxiety-reducing potential of calm music combined with theta ABS was examined in a large sample of participants.

Methods

An open-label randomized controlled trial was conducted with participants taking anxiolytics (n = 163). Participants were randomly assigned using the Qualtrics randomizer algorithm, to a single session of sound-based treatment in one of four parallel arms: combined (music & ABS; n = 39), music-alone (n = 36), ABS-alone (n = 41), or pink noise (control; n = 47). Pre- and post-intervention somatic and cognitive state anxiety measures were collected along with trait anxiety, personality measures and musical preferences. The study was completed online using a custom application.

Results

Based on trait anxiety scores participants were separated into moderate and high trait anxiety sub-groups. Among participants with moderate trait anxiety, we observed reductions in somatic anxiety that were greater in combined and music-alone conditions than in the pink noise condition; and reductions in cognitive state anxiety that were greater in the combined condition than in the music-alone, ABS-alone, and pink noise conditions. While we also observed reductions in somatic and cognitive state anxiety in participants with high trait anxiety, the conditions were not well differentiated.

Conclusions

Sound-based treatments are effective in reducing somatic and cognitive state anxiety. For participants with moderate trait anxiety, combined conditions were most efficacious.

Change Mechanisms in Patient-Preferred Live Music: An Exploratory Interpretivist Study

Although there is empirical support for patient-preferred live music (PPLM) in addressing affective states and pain for adults in medical settings, there is a lack of data regarding why PPLM might be effective. Identifying the underlying processes and events of change mechanisms within PPLM has the potential to improve education and clinical training, distinguish music therapy from other music interventions, and augment treatment outcomes for service users. The practitioner's expertise constitutes a component of evidence-based practice and could be used to identify change mechanisms that result in PPLM being effective. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory interpretivist study was to understand practitioners' perceptions of PPLM change mechanisms for adults in medical settings. I conducted in-depth individual semi-structured interviews with 10 practitioners who had provided protocol-based PPLM in adult medical settings as a component of published research projects. Incorporating member checking and trustworthiness, I used an inductive approach to thematic analysis to analyze data. I identified 3 major themes: Choices within PPLM, Music-based aspects of PPLM, and Positive outcomes resultant of PPLM. These themes were supported by 17 subthemes. The subthemes helped to explain relationships between results and I developed a visual model to conceptualize PPLM change mechanisms. While previous objectivist literature has found PPLM to be an effective intervention for adults in medical settings, the results of the current study provide an evidence-based and practitioner-centric approach to PPLM change mechanisms. Implications for clinical practice, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are provided.