It is well-known that music can elicit strong positive or negative emotions, but this new research shows that music is also linked to unconscious physiological responses, said the study's lead author, Luciano Bernardi, MD, professor of internal medicine at Pavia University, in Italy.
"Here we show, probably for the first time, that there is a continuous interaction between the music dynamics and our cardiovascular system, whether there are conscious emotions or not," Dr. Bernardi said in an interview.
These findings could have implications for the potential use of music as a therapeutic tool, he added. "We know now that music can affect the cardiovascular system, and if we understand how this works, then we can use it," he said.
The research was published online June 22 and in the June 30 issue of Circulation.
Operative Music
Researchers tracked the cardiovascular and respiratory profile of 24 healthy subjects aged 24 to 26 years old, of whom 12 were experienced choristers and 12 were age- and sex-matched controls with no musical training.
