Psychophysiological Effects of Music

NCT06516666 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: Music study in China
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 149
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study employed a repeated measure between-subjects design. Two groups (i.e., depressed group and non-depressed group) of participants were recruited. Each participant experienced four stages: baseline, neutral control, sadness induction, and music intervention. The outcome variables were self-reported emotion and Heart Rate Variability features. Emotions were reported at the end of every stage. Electrocardiogram signals were recorded throughout the experiment.

Conditions

Sadness

Keywords

music; depression; emotion; heart rate variability

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM)

  The SAM scale is a brief and widely used tool for assessing emotional states. The scale is a nonverbal self-report measure of emotion, using a set of cartoon-like manikins. The manikins illustrate nine intensity levels for valence (1 = unpleasant; 9 = pleasant), arousal (1 = calm, 9 = excited), and dominance (1 = controlled; 9 = controlling).

  Immediately after the baseline, immediately after the neutral control, immediately after the sadness induction, and immediately after the music intervention.

• Revision of Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS-R)

  The PANAS is another widely used scale to measure mood or emotion. The Chinese version of PANAS is comprised of 18 items, with 9 items measuring positive affect (e.g., joyful, inspired) and 9 items measuring negative affect (e.g., sad, fearful). Because participants were required to report their feelings repeatedly in this study, 18 items would be too long and tiresome. The 18 items plus "calmness" were used as 19 options for participants to choose. They needed to select one of the emotion words to tag their strongest emotion for the stage that they had just experienced. This revision of PANAS allowed us to capture the specific emotion type.

  Immediately after the baseline, immediately after the neutral control, immediately after the sadness induction, and immediately after the music intervention.

• Mean of Normal-to-Normal Intervals (MeanNN)

  MeanNN refers to the average duration between consecutive normal heartbeats, also named inter-beat interval. A higher MeanNN indicates a lower heart rate.

  Throughout the whole experiment, an average of 6 minutes for each stage.

• Standard Deviation of Normal-to-Normal Intervals (SDNN)

  SDNN measures the overall variability of heart rate. Higher SDNN values indicate greater variability.

  Throughout the whole experiment, an average of 6 minutes for each stage.

Study Arms (2)

Depressed group

EXPERIMENTAL

The participants were categorized into two groups using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D). PHQ-9 is a self-report scale. PHQ-9 scores of 5 or higher represent mild and severe depression, while PHQ-9 scores of lower than 5 mean normal condition. HAM-D is a scale administered by a healthcare professional. The cut-off point of the HAM-D scale is 8, which divides normal conditions from depressive conditions. The participants first completed PHQ-9. For those with PHQ-9 scores of 5 or higher, the trained researchers interviewed them and rated their severity of depression on the HAM-D. The participants first completed PHQ-9. For those with PHQ-9 scores ≥ 5, the trained researchers interviewed them and rated their severity of depression on the HAM-D. Those with HAM-D scores \> 8 were classified into the depressed group.

Behavioral: Music

Non-depressed group

EXPERIMENTAL

Those with PHQ-9 scores \< 5 or HAM-D scores ≤ 8 were classified into the non-depressed group.

Behavioral: Music

Interventions

Music BEHAVIORAL

Participants went through four stages. In the rest stage, they were instructed to relax. In the neutral control stage, they watched an informative video about plastic injection molding. In the sadness induction stage, they viewed sad clips from either Hachi: A Dog's Tale or My Brother and Sister, with the order randomized across participants. In the music intervention stage, they listened to the cheerful Cuckoo Waltz. Each stage lasted for about 6 minutes. The interventions for the two groups were exactly same. PS: On the basis of the PHQ-9, this HAMD interview was conducted to further group the participants. So, following the experimental protocol, participants who scored ≥ 5 on the PHQ-9 measure underwent the HAMD interview, while the remaining individuals were simply interviewed about their feelings during the experiment.

Depressed group; Non-depressed group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 30 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Aged 18-30 years
• Right-handed
• No recent illness or medication use
• No history of neurological or psychiatric disorders
• Normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity (myopic participants wore glasses)
• Normal hearing

You may not qualify if:

• Incapable of giving written informed consent to this study
• Acute high suicide risk at baseline assessment
• Psychosis

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Zhejiang University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Shulin Chen

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China

Location

Related Publications (5)

• Bradley MM, Lang PJ. Measuring emotion: the Self-Assessment Manikin and the Semantic Differential. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 1994 Mar;25(1):49-59. doi: 10.1016/0005-7916(94)90063-9.

  PMID: 7962581 BACKGROUND

• Watson D, Clark LA, Tellegen A. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Jun;54(6):1063-70. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063.

  PMID: 3397865 BACKGROUND

• Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001 Sep;16(9):606-13. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x.

  PMID: 11556941 BACKGROUND

• HAMILTON M. A rating scale for depression. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1960 Feb;23(1):56-62. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.23.1.56. No abstract available.

  PMID: 14399272 BACKGROUND

• Wang X, Lu T, Zhou B, Chen W, Zheng J, Chen H, Chen S. Psychophysiological effects of music on sadness in participants with and without depressive symptoms. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2025 Feb 26;25(1):77. doi: 10.1186/s12906-025-04824-y.

  PMID: 40011873 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depression

Interventions

Music Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Sensory Art Therapies; Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Rehabilitation; Aftercare; Continuity of Patient Care; Patient Care; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 1, 2024
• First Posted: July 24, 2024
• Study Start: April 18, 2023
• Primary Completion: June 20, 2023
• Study Completion: June 20, 2023
• Last Updated: July 24, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)