A pilot study carried out at the Hospital Universitario de La Princesa has analyzed the responses of the brain to different types of music in sedated people. The six selected patients were five women and one man aged between 53 and 82 years. All of them were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of this Madrid hospital for different pathologies.
The authors of the study, published in the Journal of Integrative Neuroscienceare the head of the Neurophysiology Service jesus shepherdthe neurophysiologist Lorena Vega Zelaya and the head of the UCI Service Alfonso Canabal.
In sedated patients admitted to the ICU, greater changes in brain responses have been observed with heavy metal music than with classical or ten-tone music.
With the authorization of the relatives and to guarantee pain tolerance and maintain cardiorespiratory function, the patients were induced to unconsciousness using sedoanalgesics.
Later, they were exposed to three clearly differentiated types of music: classical by Mozart (Sonata for two pianos in D, K 448), the Schönberg’s dodecaphonic (Piano Stuck Op. 33a) y el Danish heavy metal band Volbeat (The Devil’s Bleeding Crown).
The researchers put them into headphones with fragments of each of the three musical pieces of two minutes long, at the volume of a normal conversation. The sequencing of the sounds was random and different for each one.
The signals were then recorded in electroencefalogramas (EEG), an objective and non-invasive method that determines the brain’s response to stimulation.
The data obtained indicated that the stimulation with heavy metal was the one that produced major changes in brain responseswhile classical music showed a tendency to reduce brain activity.
Neurorehabilitation through music
According to the authors, this article represents a novelty by including other types of music other than classical, such as twelve-tone or heavy metal, in brain stimulation with music.
Different types of music induce heterogeneous brain responses and could be used in the rehabilitation process
It seems clear that different types of music induce heterogeneous responses in the brain, so its use in the rehabilitation process could already be a reality.
It is also possible that heavy metal could be implemented in neurorehabilitation of patients in ICU. This contrast of responses to different types of music can be a useful tool for the rehabilitation of patients.
In addition, after the results obtained, new research in this line is expected, implementing new trials with more patients and in other hospitals.
Reference:
Pastor J. et al. “Pilot Study: The Differential Response to Classical and Heavy Metal Music in Intensive Care Unit Patients under Sedo-Analgesia”. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience (2023)
Hospital October 12
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