Music-induced analgesia: An adjunct to pain management

Abstract

Increasing evidence shows that music can regulate emotional states and lead to pain reduction, a phenomenon called music-induced analgesia. However, knowledge about which neural circuitry is involved in this effect is still limited. To better understand the efficacy and neural mechanisms of music-induced analgesia, this review highlighted the growing body of literature suggesting music can be considered as an adjunct to pain management. We first conducted a meta-analysis of studies investigating the analgesic effect of music on experimentally induced pain among healthy participants. The meta-analysis result suggests a medium analgesic effect of music on experimentally induced pain, g = 0.52, 95% confidence interval [0.41, 0.63], p < .0001. We then reviewed neuropsychological and neurochemical substrates associated with music-induced analgesia with an emphasis on experimental studies with healthy individuals. We argue that music can modulate pain as a distractor, a mood regulator, a stress reliever, and a reward by briefly summarizing evidence revealing the power of music on pain suppression in a variety of pain conditions. In conclusion, music can be considered as an adjunct to pain management. Pitfalls and promise of music intervention in pain management are discussed in view of current understandings of music-induced analgesia.