Music and Medicine

The reasons and aims for listening to music while going to sleep: Results from an ESM study

Rory Kirk — 2026-10-31

Current trends in music research are emphasising the importance of contextual factors in the use and effects of listening to music, such as mood, situation, and emotional goals. This undoubtedly has implications for the use of music in therapeutic settings, such as helping with problems going to sleep. Using data previously collected in experience sampling studies, we conducted an exploratory investigation on the choices and reasons why people listen to music to go to sleep with accounts reported in real-life situations at night when participants were going to bed. We found that listeners mainly used music for relaxation, which corresponded with increased valence, varying arousal changes, and relatively intensive and energetic music choices. This novel perspective echoes some previously reported discrepancies in what listeners use and what researchers or commercial applications typically prescribe as music for sleep. The data add granular information on emotional aims and development in context, and particularly highlight the relevance of valence. This initial exploration demonstrates the strong potential for this methodology to study sleep and listening behaviours. One particular avenue for future research is to investigate night-to-night variations in individual experiences.

Development and pilot implementation of a music and rhythm-based cognitive remediation program for individuals with traumatic brain injury

Prathima Alevoor Raghavendra — 2026-10-31

Background: Cognitive remediation (CR) is an evidence-based intervention method targeting cognitive deficits. CR has shown small to moderate levels of efficacy in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Over the past decade, novel approaches to CR have emerged alongside the growth of scientific evidence. Music-based CR is one such approach that has been gaining significant momentum, with growing neuro-scientific evidence for its benefits in cognitive and emotional recovery after TBI, and systematic studies are gathering in this direction.

Aim: To develop ‘CogniTune’, a music and rhythm-based cognitive remediation program for

patients with TBI and examine its effectiveness through a preliminary pilot study.

Method: The intervention was designed using a theory and evidence-driven approach via stepwise, iterative processes. The tasks developed were validated by experts. The refined intervention was pilot tested on five patients with TBI. Neurocognitive and functional outcomes were assessed both before and after the intervention. Feedback was obtained from patients and their caregivers to understand their experiences and the perceived usefulness of the intervention program.

Results: Preliminary findings showed improvement in cognitive function, mood, and quality of life after receiving CogniTune. Patients and caregivers reported positive experiences and perceived the intervention to be beneficial. This pilot study supports our plan to conduct a large-scale study, with control groups, to strengthen the reliability and effectiveness of CogniTune.

Conclusion: CogniTune, a novel music and rhythm-based CR program, provides promising results in improving cognitive functions, mood and quality of life in TBI.

Music therapy for young children with cochlear implants: Facilitating communication, music perception and enjoyment

Dikla Kerem — 2026-10-31

This paper examines the role of music therapy in supporting young children aged 2-4 with severe to profound hearing loss who have received a cochlear implant (CI). While CIs restore audibility, they provide acoustic input that differs from typical hearing, often necessitating a comprehensive habilitation program. Music therapy can serve as a bridge between silence and sound, offering controlled exposure to auditory parameters while fostering pre-verbal communication through playful, non-verbal interactions. Two primary goals are addressed: developing music perception and enjoyment, and enhancing pre-verbal communication skills. Specific interventions include voice work through greeting rituals and vocal exploration; instrument play that encourages turn-taking and choice-making; and tailored listening experiences focused on simple musical parameters. Emphasis is placed on supporting the child's spontaneous communicative interactions rather than therapist-directed responses, with caregiver involvement highly recommended to reinforce acquired skills and reduce the child's stress. By adapting musical experiences to emphasize elements that are easily perceived through CIs, such as rhythm and dynamics, music therapists can establish foundational skills before introducing more complex components like timbre and pitch intervals. This gradual approach enhances music enjoyment, communication, self-confidence, and emotional well-being for children transitioning to the world of sound.

Theta activity and accuracy while performing melodic-rhythmic passages between students and graduated guitar players

Adrián Poblano — 2026-10-31

Music is conceived as a production of temporal changes of sounds in melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic fashion. The neurophysiological bases of music are still under investigation. Our objective in this study was to compare theta relative power (TRP) during performance of three melodic-rhythmic cells (MRC), between apprentice and graduated guitar players and to score their accuracy during the execution of guitar playing. We compared ten guitar students in a propaedeutic course with ten guitarists with a college degree in music performance. We performed electroencephalographic recordings while they carried-out: arpeggiated, articulated, and legato MRC. The TRP and accuracy of the execution were compared between groups. The propaeduetic group had higher TRP than the graduated group at several EEG sites during the of all three MRC, which was related to hemispheric lateralization. The propaedeutic group also had more entrances during the MRC tasks than the experienced players. In conclusion, our results suggest more cortical effort related to hemispheric lateralization and higher entrances movements in guitar students during learning to play MRC than graduated guitarists.

Efficacy of theta binaural beat stimulation plus music medicine in chronic low back pain: Preliminary findings from a randomized controlled trial

Nuj Tontisirin — 2026-10-31

Background: Binaural beat (BB) stimulation, particularly in the theta frequency range, has been proposed to reduce pain through auditory brainwave entrainment. This study evaluated the effects of combining theta-frequency BB with music medicine (MM) in individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP), compared with MM alone and treatment as usual (TAU).

Methods: In this multicenter, three-arm randomized controlled trial, 84 adults with CLBP were randomized to MM (n = 29), MM plus binaural beats (MM-BB; n = 27), or TAU (n = 28). Participants in the MM and MM-BB groups listened to 20-minute audio recordings daily for two weeks. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and at 2 and 4 weeks. The primary outcome was change in average pain intensity at 2 weeks. Secondary outcomes included worst pain intensity, physical function, anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, ability to participate in social roles and activities, pain interference, global impression of change, treatment satisfaction, and medication use.

Results: At 2 weeks, both MM and MM-BB groups reported significantly greater reductions in average pain intensity than the TAU group (1.27 ± 1.09 and 1.59 ± 1.28 vs. 0.35 ± 1.34; P < 0.01), with effect sizes (Cohen’s d) of 0.75 and 0.95, respectively. The difference between MM-BB and MM was not statistically significant (d = 0.29). At 4 weeks, only the MM-BB group maintained significantly greater improvement in average pain compared with TAU and also demonstrated higher rates of improvement in depression, fatigue, social role participation, global change, and treatment satisfaction.

Conclusions: Both MM and MM-BB were associated with short-term reductions in pain intensity in CLBP. BB-enhanced MM demonstrated a pattern of more sustained benefits, warranting confirmation in larger and longer-term studies.

A music-based digital intervention using superimposed binaural beats reduces systolic blood pressure in stressed working-aged adults: A preliminary randomized crossover trial

Pornsuree Kuvijitsuwan — 2026-10-31

Work-related stress is a significant contributor to cardiovascular risk, necessitating effective and convenient non-pharmacological interventions. This preliminary randomized crossover study investigated the short-term hemodynamic efficacy of a web-based prototype delivering music and superimposed binaural beats (SBB) to inform larger study. Twenty-eight highly stressed office workers (mean and standard deviation of Perceived stress scale-10: 26.5 ± 4.9) completed two 15-minute interventions in randomized order: music with SBB and identical music alone, separated by a 10-minute washout. Primary outcomes were changes in Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) and Heart Rate variability (HRV), alongside secondary outcomes of user feedback. The SBB intervention showed a statistically significant change in SBP compared to the music only condition (median change: -6 mmHg [IQR -11 to 11] vs. 0 mmHg [IQR -5 to 4]; P= 0.024). No statistically significant differences were observed for DBP, HR, or HRV indices. While the System Usability Scale suggested improvement, user satisfaction was rated high (mean 7.4/10). In conclusion, short-term exposure to SBB-embedded music demonstrated acute efficacy in reducing SBP among stressed personnel, supporting the prototype's utilization for immediate physiological stress regulation and providing proof-of-concept data to guide long term, larger-scale clinical trials.

Music at the Intersection of Health, Neuroscience, and Everyday Life

Amy Clements-Cortés — 2026-10-31

This issue of Music & Medicine showcases a diverse collection of studies that together illustrate the expanding reach of music-based interventions across rehabilitation...