Unveiling the Mechanisms of Music Therapy

Dr. Mark Jensen, core investigator of the Music4Pain Research Network and Vice Chair for Research in Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington, is collaborating with Dr. Carlene Brown, Professor and Director of the Music Therapy program at Seattle Pacific University on an innovative R21 study, funded by the National Center of Complementary and Integrative Health. The study aims to examine frontal midline theta oscillation power as a potential mechanism of music-based treatments for pain in people with chronic low back pain.

The 3-arm study compares the effects of 1) live music provided by a board-certified music therapist (music therapy), 2) listening to pre-recorded music (music medicine), and 3) listening to non-musical sounds (control) on frontal midline theta oscillation power. The sound source used in this study is the Body Tambura, an instrument that was developed specifically for music therapy and is based on the Tanpura, a musical instrument from India. It is widely used by music therapists in Europe. The team will also evaluate the mediation effects of therapeutic alliance and perceived qualities of music on differences in outcome between live- and audio recording-administered treatments.

The results will inform the design of an R01 clinical trial evaluating the extent to which treatment-related changes in EEG-assessed oscillation power mediate the beneficial effects of music on pain.