Review on Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation and Music: Implications for Emotion Dysregulation

Psychophysiological effects of music on sadness in participants with and without depressive symptoms

BACKGROUND

Sadness can be a harbinger of serious medical conditions and a primary manifestation of depressive symptoms. Music is a promising modality for regulating sadness, although its effect on participants, whether with or without long-term depressive symptoms, remains unknown. In this study, the effect of music on sadness regulation was investigated using psychological and physiological indicators between depressed and non-depressed individuals.

METHODS

Data were collected from 149 participants (18 to 29 years old). The participants were divided into two groups (depressed and non-depressed groups) based on their depressive symptoms, experienced sadness induction, and music intervention. Electrocardiogram signals were collected to measure heart rate variability (HRV).

RESULTS

(1) Music alleviated sadness (increasing positive emotions, valence and dominance, while decreasing arousal); (2) sadness increased the duration between consecutive heartbeats, and music decreased this duration; (3) participants with depressive symptoms showed lower HRV than those without, and music enhanced HRV for the depressed group; (4) no significant difference in the effects of music was found between the two groups; and (5) the regulatory impact of music on sadness was not influenced by prior music listening habits.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that listening to music can be beneficial for both healthy and subclinical individuals when managing sadness. The findings underscore the importance of recognizing the role of music in promoting emotional well-being.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This trial was retrospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov PRS (Protocol Registration and Results System) (number NCT06516666) on July 22, 2024 ( https://register.

CLINICALTRIALS

gov/ ).

Effect of Tai Chi combined with music therapy on the cognitive function in older adult individuals with mild cognitive impairment

Background

With the global aging population increasing, cognitive impairment among the older adult, particularly Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), has garnered remarkable attention. MCI, often a precursor to dementia, presents an opportunity for early intervention. This study investigates the effects of Tai Chi combined with music therapy on the cognitive function in older adult individuals with MCI.

Methods

In this randomized controlled trial, 66 older adult participants with MCI were randomly assigned to one of the following three groups: a Control Group (CG), a Tai Chi Group (TCG), and a Tai Chi Combined with Music Group (TCMG), with 22 participants in each group. Cognitive function was evaluated over a 12-week intervention using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Stroop Color and Word Test.

Results

Baseline characteristics showed no significant differences among the groups. The TCG and TCMG exhibited significant improvements after 16-week intervention. The participants with TCG group improved in MoCA score (P = 0.005), attention accuracy (P = 0.031), and delayed recall (P = 0.003). The participants with TCMG showed notable enhancements in MoCA (P = 0.000), MMSE (P = 0.001), attention accuracy (P = 0.025), visuospatial and executive functions (P = 0.001), naming (P = 0.014), abstraction (P = 0.020), and delayed recall (P = 0.006). The CG experienced decreased language repetition ability (P = 0.042) and delayed recall (P = 0.030).

Conclusion

Twelve weeks of Tai Chi combined with music therapy substantially improved cognitive function in older adult individuals with MCI. This combined intervention is more effective than Tai Chi alone, highlighting its potential as a non-pharmacological approach to enhance cognitive health in the aging population.

Radio, Podcasts, and Music Streaming-An Electroencephalography and Physiological Analysis of Listeners' Attitude, Attention, Memory, and Engagement

Whilst radio, podcasts, and music streaming are considered unique audio formats that offer brands different opportunities, limited research has explored this notion. This current study analyses how the brain responds to these formats and suggests that they offer different branding opportunities. Participants' engagement, attitude, attention, memory, and physiological arousal were measured while each audio format was consumed. The results revealed that music streaming elicited more positive attitudes, higher attention, greater levels of memory encoding, and increased physiological arousal compared to either radio or podcasts. This study emphasises the importance for brands of utilising diverse audio channels for unique branding and marketing opportunities.

Subjective cancer-related cognitive impairments and salience network connectivity in breast cancer survivors

PURPOSE

Little is known about the neural basis of subjective cancer-related cognitive changes. The purpose of this study was to explore salience network connectivity in relation to subjective executive and memory dysfunction in breast cancer survivors compared to controls.

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of neuroimaging, subjective cognitive, clinical, and demographic data in chemotherapy-treated primary breast cancer survivors compared to frequency matched controls was used. Functional connectivity within salience network hubs (anterior cingulate, bilateral insula) was determined using resting state functional MRI. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to evaluate group differences and Spearman's rho correlations were examined among the behavioral measures and salience network connectivity.

RESULTS

We included 65 breast cancer survivors and 71 controls. Survivors demonstrated greater subjective executive dysfunction and memory complaints (p < .001) and lower salience network connectivity (p < .05) than controls. Executive functioning correlated with bilateral insula and left anterior cingulate connectivity (rho >  - 0.29, p < .05). Distress did not correlate with salience network connectivity.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that salience network connectivity may represent a biomarker of subjective cancer-related cognitive changes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

Subjective cancer-related cognitive changes are common following treatment and associated with objective changes in brain connectivity.

Accurately predicting hit songs using neurophysiology and machine learning

Identifying hit songs is notoriously difficult. Traditionally, song elements have been measured from large databases to identify the lyrical aspects of hits. We took a different methodological approach, measuring neurophysiologic responses to a set of songs provided by a streaming music service that identified hits and flops. We compared several statistical approaches to examine the predictive accuracy of each technique. A linear statistical model using two neural measures identified hits with 69% accuracy. Then, we created a synthetic set data and applied ensemble machine learning to capture inherent non-linearities in neural data. This model classified hit songs with 97% accuracy. Applying machine learning to the neural response to 1st min of songs accurately classified hits 82% of the time showing that the brain rapidly identifies hit music. Our results demonstrate that applying machine learning to neural data can substantially increase classification accuracy for difficult to predict market outcomes.

Music engagement is negatively correlated with depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic via reward-related mechanisms

The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected the mental health of millions of people. We assessed which of many leisure activities correlated with positive mental health outputs, with particular attention to music, which has been reported to be important for coping with the psychological burden of the pandemic. Questionnaire data from about 1000 individuals primarily from Italy, Spain, and the United States during May-June 2020 show that people picked music activities (listening to, playing, singing, etc.) most often as the leisure experiences that helped them the most to cope with psychological distress related with the pandemic. During the pandemic, hours of engagement in music and food-related activities were associated with lower depressive symptoms. The negative correlation between music and depression was mediated by individual differences in sensitivity to reward, whereas the correlation between food-related activities and improved mental health outputs was explained by differences in emotion suppression strategies. Our results, while correlational, suggest that engaging in music activities could be related to improved well-being with the underlying mechanism being related to reward, consistent with neuroscience findings. Our data have practical significance in pointing to effective strategies to cope with mental health issues beyond those related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The "Ifs" and "Hows" of the Role of Music on the Implementation of Emotional Regulation Strategies

Music is believed to aid the implementation of emotion regulation strategies like distraction or reappraisal, but empirical studies have shown null results. However, the moderating role of one’s relation with music (musical sophistication) and/or executive functioning skills has not been considered yet. In addition, little is known about how music acts. In the present study, we induced anger in a group of participants characterized by musical sophistication and executive functioning. We asked them to regulate their emotional state and measured regulation efficacy. Participants were split into four groups, defined by regulation strategy (distraction vs. reappraisal) and music (with vs. without). Results indicated music effects in higher, but not in lower musical sophistication participants. In the former, music benefitted from reappraisal but was an impaired distraction. Two different executive functions—working memory and affective flexibility—had opposite effects: higher, but not lower working memory participants benefited from music; lower, but not higher, effective flexibility participants took advantage of music. Reports of subjective experience suggested that music favors more empathic reappraisals, and that these may be more long-lasting. Our findings support the idea that music effects depend on listeners’ characteristics, and they raise new hypotheses concerning the specificity of emotional regulation aided by music.

The effect of listening to preferred music after a stressful task on performance and psychophysiological responses in collegiate golfers

Background

This study explores whether listening to preferred music after a stressful situation affects putting and swinging performance, heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV), and anxiety among amateur golfers.

Methods

Twenty healthy amateur collegiate golfers voluntarily participated in this study (age 20.1 ± 1.17 yrs., height = 173.8 ± 7.74 cm, body weight = 72.35 ± 12.67 kg). Pre- and post-intervention HR and HRV measurements were taken, along with a self-report of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) and Triple Factor Anxiety Inventory (TFAI). Participants were exposed to a stressful situation through the Stroop Colour and Word Test (SCWT) and then instructed to perform three golf-practice sessions in a golf simulator, separated by 48-72 hours of recovery, under different conditions: control, pre-task music, and synchronised music.

Results

No significant difference was identified between the experimental conditions for swinging (in terms of total distance (p = 0.116), carry distance (p = 0.608), speed of the ball (p = 0.819), and launch angle (p = 0.550) and putting performance (the number of successful putts on target (p > 0.05) and distance error between the target and ball (p = 0.122). No main effect for condition and time of intervention, as well as no interaction between these two factors was found for HR, HRV, and STAI-S (p = 0.116). However, the pre and post-intervention percentages of physiological items of the TFAI indicated a large, significant difference in synchronised music trial (p = 0.012, pre-task trial = -1.92% < control trial = 0% < synchronised trial = 4.58%).

Conclusions

The results imply that following a stressful situation, listening to preferred music before and/or during golf has no immediate effect on golf performance, anxiety, and psychophysiological responses in collegiate golfers.

Effect of Group Impromptu Music Therapy on Emotional Regulation and Depressive Symptoms of College Students: A Randomized Controlled Study

Difficulty in emotional regulation is significantly correlated with depression. Depression is a psychological disease that seriously affects the physical and mental health of college students. Therefore, it is of great importance to develop diversified preventive interventions such as group impromptu music therapy (GIMT). The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of GIMT on the improvement of emotional regulation ability and the reduction of depressive symptoms in college students. A 71 college students (36 in the experimental group and 35 in the control group) were recruited to carry out randomized controlled trial was used. The experimental group was intervened by GIMT. After the 4th week of intervention, follow-up and scale measurement were carried out. In the experimental group, emotional regulation difficulty scales (DERS) showed significant difference before and after GIMT, implying the improvement in the emotional regulation. But there was no significant improvement in the control group. In addition, the depressive symptoms of experimental group were relieved. All findings showed that GIMT can effectively improve college students’ emotional regulation and reduce depressive symptoms.

Self-awareness in Dementia: a Taxonomy of Processes, Overview of Findings, and Integrative Framework

Purpose of Review

Self-awareness, the capacity of becoming the object of one’s own awareness, has been a frontier of knowledge, but only recently scientific approaches to the theme have advanced. Self-awareness has important clinical implications, and a finer understanding of this concept may improve the clinical management of people with dementia. The current article aims to explore self-awareness, from a neurobiological perspective, in dementia.

Recent Findings

A taxonomy of self-awareness processes is presented, discussing how these can be structured across different levels of cognitive complexity. Findings on self-awareness in dementia are reviewed, indicating the relative preservation of capacities such as body ownership and agency, despite impairments in higher-level cognitive processes, such as autobiographical memory and emotional regulation.

Summary

An integrative framework, based on predictive coding and compensatory abilities linked to the resilience of self-awareness in dementia, is discussed, highlighting possible avenues for future research into the topic.

Altered mesocorticolimbic functional connectivity in chronic low back pain patients at rest and following sad mood induction

Depressive symptoms are common among individuals with chronic pain. Previous work suggests that chronic pain patients have difficulty regulating emotional responses, which is a risk factor for the development of major depressive disorder (MDD). Function of the mesocorticolimbic system, a neural network associated with reward processing, contributes to emotion regulation. This network's dysfunction has been described in chronic pain and MDD research and potentially underlies the relationship among emotion dysregulation, chronic pain, and MDD development. Given that mood induction paradigms have been used to measure emotion regulation, the present study examined intrinsic mesocorticolimbic functional connectivity (FC) after induced sad mood in individuals with and without chronic low back pain (cLBP). Thirty-three MDD-free individuals (17 cLBP) underwent resting-state scanning before and after sad memory-evoked mood induction. A Group [cLBP, healthy control (HC)] x Mood (Neutral, Sadness) repeated measures ANCOVA was conducted on seed-based FC data using a mesolimbic a priori region of interest. Interaction effects were identified in the orbital frontal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus [F_(2,29) = 21.07, p_FDR < .05. h_p² = .5]. Whereas cLBP showed significantly greater FC between these two regions and the mesolimbic seed under neutral mood, FC among these regions increased in HC and decreased in cLBP under sad mood. Exploratory graph theory analyses further describe between-group differences in mesocorticolimbic network properties. Findings support previous literature describing mesocorticolimbic dysfunction in cLBP and demonstrate aberrant function in emotion regulation. Mesocorticolimbic dysfunction during emotion regulation might contribute to the development of certain depressive phenotypes in chronic pain patients.

A short-term musical training affects implicit emotion regulation only in behaviour but not in brain activity

Background

In everyday life, negative emotions can be implicitly regulated by positive stimuli, without any conscious cognitive engagement; however, the effects of such implicit regulation on mood and related neuro-mechanisms, remain poorly investigated in literature. Yet, improving implicit emotional regulation could reduce psychological burden and therefore be clinically relevant for treating psychiatric disorders with strong affective symptomatology.

Results

Music training reduced the negative emotional state elicited by negative odours. However, such change was not reflected at the brain level.

Conclusions

In a context of affective rivalry a musical training enhances implicit regulatory processes. Our findings offer a first base for future studies on implicit emotion regulation in clinical populations.

Does warming up with different music tempos affect physical and psychological responses? The evidence from a chronobiological study

BACKGROUND

This study examined the effects of listening to different music tempos during warm-up on short-term maximal performance and psychological responses, as a function of Times of Day (TOD).

METHODS

Fifteen well trained subjects (93.75% were semi-professional soccer players) randomly performed the 30-s Continuous Jump test (CJ30) during three morning sessions (07h00) and three evening sessions (17h00), separated by 48h of recovery, each after a warmup under three different conditions: without music (NO-M), with music at 60 bpm (LOW-M), and with music at 120-140 bpm (HIGH-M). The maximal jump height (Hmax), mean jump height of all jumps (Hmean), and fatigue index (FI %) were measured during CJ30. Feeling states (FS) were determined after warm-up, and body temperature was controlled before/after warm-up, as well as after CJ30.

RESULTS

Data analysis showed that Hmax, Hmean, and body temperature were higher at 17h00 than 07h00 in all experimental conditions. Moreover, Hmax, Hmean and FS were better after warm-ups with LOW-M and HIGH-M compared to NO-M condition at both TOD, with a higher gain at 07h00. More importantly, Hmax, Hmean and FS were better after warm-up with HIGH-M than with LOW-M at both TOD, with a higher gain at 07h00.

CONCLUSIONS

Although both music tempos were beneficial, warming-up with high music tempo (120-140 bpm) is better than warming-up with low music tempo (60 bpm) for improving short-term maximal performance and psychological responses whatever the TOD, especially in the morning hours.

Music-Based Affect Regulation and Unhealthy Music Use Explain Coping Strategies in Adults with Mental Health Conditions

While people can use music for affect enhancement and self-regulation, there is a dearth of empirical inquiry investigating if music-based affect self-regulatory factors explain coping strategies in adults with mental health conditions (MHC). Due to the relevance of coping strategies for illness management and recovery, the purpose of this study was to explore music-based affect regulation, healthy and unhealthy music use, and coping strategies in adults with MHC on an acute care unit via correlational and multiple regression analyses. Participants (N = 128) completed the Brief Music in Mood Regulation Scale, the Healthy-Unhealthy Music Scale, and the Brief COPE. Correlational and multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine if music-based affect regulation factors were related to and explained coping strategies. There were numerous significant relationships between music-based affect regulation factors, healthy and unhealthy music use, and coping strategies. Regression results indicated that discharge explained humor, mental work explained positive framing, revival explained positive reframing and acceptance, strong sensation explained acceptance and planning, and entertainment explained denial. Unhealthy music use explained denial and behavioral disengagement. Healthy music use did not significantly explain any coping strategy. Practitioners might consider including education specific to music-based affect regulation to augment the likelihood of recovery.

Alterations in brain white matter microstructural properties in patients with Crohn's disease in remission

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have been shown to have abnormal brain morphometry or function, which are associated with psychological symptoms such as stress, depression or anxiety. The present work recruited 20 Crohn’s disease patients in remission (CDs) and 20 age-gender-handedness-education matched healthy controls (HCs) and compared their brain white matter microstructural properties using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). Additionally, we examined the correlations between the microstructural properties and cognition (verbal fluency language task, VF) and affect (anxiety) in both groups as well as disease duration in CDs. Results showed that CDs exhibited significant alterations in microstructural properties compared to HCs in various white matter tracts relevant to language function despite no significant difference in VF scores. Furthermore, CDs’ microstructural changes exhibited correlations with anxiety level and disease duration. These findings suggest that CD patients may experience changes in white matter microstructural properties which may be a biomarker of neuropsychiatric comorbidities of CD.

The Psychophysiological Effects of Different Tempo Music on Endurance Versus High-Intensity Performances

The use of music during training represents a special paradigm for trainers to stimulate people undertaking different types of exercise. However, the relationship between the tempo of music and perception of effort during different metabolic demands is still unclear. Therefore, the aim of this research was to determine whether high intensity exercise is more sensitive to the beneficial effects of music than endurance exercise. This study assessed 19 active women (age 26.4 ± 2.6 years) during endurance (walking for 10' at 6.5 km/h on a treadmill) and high intensity (80% on 1-RM) exercise under four different randomly assigned conditions: no music (NM), with music at 90-110 bpm (LOW), with music at 130-150 bpm (MED), and with music at 170-190 bpm (HIGH). During each trial, heart rate (HR) and the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were assessed. Repeated analysis of variance measures was used to detect any differences between the four conditions during high intensity and low intensity exercise. RPE showed more substantial changes during the endurance exercises (11%), than during high intensity exercise (6.5%), between HIGH and NM conditions. The metabolic demand during the walking exercise increased between NM and HIGH bpm conditions. This study indicates the benefits of music under stress conditions as well as during endurance and high intensity training. The results demonstrate that the beneficial effects of music are more likely to be seen in endurance exercise. Consequently, music may be considered an important tool to stimulate people engaging in low intensity physical exercise.

When classical music relaxes the brain: An experimental study using Ultrasound Brain Tissue Pulsatility Imaging

INTRODUCTION

Recent evidence suggests that biomechanical parameters of the brain, such as Brain Tissue Pulsatility (BTP), could be involved in emotional reactivity. However, no study has investigated the impact of an emotional task on BTP. We used the ultrasound method of Tissue Pulsatility Imaging (TPI) to assess changes in BTP to exciting and relaxing classical music, in a musical perception task, as a validated paradigm to assess emotional reactivity.

METHODS

25 healthy volunteers were exposed via earphones to four 5-minute musical excerpts (two exciting and two relaxing musical excerpts) presented in a randomized order and intersected by 5 silence periods. Measures of BTP, Heart Rate (HR) and Skin Conductance (SC) were collected during the entire task.

RESULTS

The BTP significantly decreased with relaxing music compared to silence, and especially with the excerpt 'Entrance of the Shades' by Minkus. The HR and SC, but not Heart Rate Variability, were also decreased with relaxing music. We found no significant effect of exciting music.

DISCUSSION

We report, for the first time, that classical relaxing music decreases the amplitude of the brain pulsatile movements related to cerebral blood flow and mechanical properties of the brain parenchyma, which provides further evidence of the involvement of BTP in emotional reactivity. In addition, we validate the use of TPI as a non-invasive, portable and low cost tool for studies in psychophysiology, with the potential to be implemented as a biomarker in musicotherapy trials notably.

Music Therapy With Military Populations: A Scoping Review

Music therapy treatment is increasingly being used to promote health, enhance quality of life, and improve functioning in military personnel, but evidence on the use of music interventions with military service members is still emerging. The purpose of this scoping review was to synthesize the available literature regarding music therapy treatment with military personnel by identifying the types of information available, key characteristics, and gaps in the knowledge base. The review was completed using the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley. A total of 27 publications met the criteria for review. The results included anecdotal reports, white papers/ briefs, case studies, historical reviews, clinical program descriptions, and research studies. Both active duty and veteran service members were represented in the literature, and post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury were the most commonly listed conditions among those served. Music therapy services were offered in both group and individual formats, and drumming was the most common music intervention cited. Most publications accurately represented music therapy, and the historical reviews highlighted the connection between the development of the field of music therapy and the use of music with military personnel. Several gaps were identified, including a lack of specificity in reporting, low levels of evidence, and limited inclusion of women service members.

Electroencephalography reflects the activity of sub-cortical brain regions during approach-withdrawal behaviour while listening to music

The ability of music to evoke activity changes in the core brain structures that underlie the experience of emotion suggests that it has the potential to be used in therapies for emotion disorders. A large volume of research has identified a network of sub-cortical brain regions underlying music-induced emotions. Additionally, separate evidence from electroencephalography (EEG) studies suggests that prefrontal asymmetry in the EEG reflects the approach-withdrawal response to music-induced emotion. However, fMRI and EEG measure quite different brain processes and we do not have a detailed understanding of the functional relationships between them in relation to music-induced emotion. We employ a joint EEG – fMRI paradigm to explore how EEG-based neural correlates of the approach-withdrawal response to music reflect activity changes in the sub-cortical emotional response network. The neural correlates examined are asymmetry in the prefrontal EEG, and the degree of disorder in that asymmetry over time, as measured by entropy. Participants’ EEG and fMRI were recorded simultaneously while the participants listened to music that had been specifically generated to target the elicitation of a wide range of affective states. While listening to this music, participants also continuously reported their felt affective states. Here we report on co-variations in the dynamics of these self-reports, the EEG, and the sub-cortical brain activity. We find that a set of sub-cortical brain regions in the emotional response network exhibits activity that significantly relates to prefrontal EEG asymmetry. Specifically, EEG in the pre-frontal cortex reflects not only cortical activity, but also changes in activity in the amygdala, posterior temporal cortex, and cerebellum. We also find that, while the magnitude of the asymmetry reflects activity in parts of the limbic and paralimbic systems, the entropy of that asymmetry reflects activity in parts of the autonomic response network such as the auditory cortex. This suggests that asymmetry magnitude reflects affective responses to music, while asymmetry entropy reflects autonomic responses to music. Thus, we demonstrate that it is possible to infer activity in the limbic and paralimbic systems from pre-frontal EEG asymmetry. These results show how EEG can be used to measure and monitor changes in the limbic and paralimbic systems. Specifically, they suggest that EEG asymmetry acts as an indicator of sub-cortical changes in activity induced by music. This shows that EEG may be used as a measure of the effectiveness of music therapy to evoke changes in activity in the sub-cortical emotion response network. This is also the first time that the activity of sub-cortical regions, normally considered “invisible” to EEG, has been shown to be characterisable directly from EEG dynamics measured during music listening.

Sami yoik, Sami history, Sami health: a narrative review

Music as a possible health-promoting agent has attained increasing academic and scientific interest over the last decades. Nonetheless, possible connections between indigenous singing traditions and health beyond traditional ceremonial healing practices are still under-researched worldwide.

The Sami, the indigenous people living in Northern Fennoscandia, have a distinct ancient vocal music tradition called “yoik” practiced from immemorial times. The Sami share a history of assimilation with many indigenous people. During this period of nearly 400 years, yoik alongside other cultural markers was under hard pressure and even banned at times.

Compared to other indigenous people in the Arctic, Sami public health shows few significant unfavourable differences to the majority population. The potential role of yoik as a protective health and resilience factor within the Sami culture is the topic of this review. We suggest a two stage model for the health promoting effects of yoik through i) emotion regulation and stress relief on the level of the individual, and ii) as a socio-cultural resilience factors within the Sami population. This review is to be understood as theory-building review article striving for a scholarly review of the literature.

Feasibility of the Musical Contour Regulation Facilitation (MCRF) Intervention for Preschooler Emotion Regulation Development: A Mixed Methods Study

Emotion regulation (ER) describes the goal-directed ability to manage and shape the dynamics and timing of one's emotional experiences and expressions, an ability that develops early in life. Though development of maladaptive ER skills can significantly impact developmental outcomes, interventions for at-risk children are limited. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the Musical Contour Regulation Facilitation (MCRF) intervention, a multi-session strategy for promoting ER development in preschoolers, with a focus on typically developing preschoolers as a preliminary exploration of a novel intervention. Eight typically developing children (M = 3.88 years) participated in the 11-session MCRF intervention across four weeks. ER-related behaviors were assessed pre- and post-intervention, and teacher interviews were conducted post-intervention. Teachers noted positive change in children's behavior following the intervention in terms of their emotion skills and peer interactions. Furthermore, they believed in the importance of music for developmental outcomes. Large and medium effects sizes in ER-related abilities were noted, and acceptability and integration of the intervention into the regular daycare environment was supported by interview data. Findings support further refinement and examination of the MCRF intervention in children who are at risk.