Music Therapy: Listening To Songs Can Make Your Medicines More Effective, Claims Study
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They repeated the music intervention anytime nausea occurred over the five days beyond their chemotherapy treatment. The patients in the study provided a total of 64 events. "When we listen to music, our brains fire all kinds of neurons," Kiernan said.
While Kiernan did see a reduction in the ratings of patients nausea severity and their distress (how much it bothered them to be nauseous), he cautions that it is difficult to isolate whether it was the gradual release of the medication doing its job or the increased benefit of the music.
He aims to do further research on this based on a previously published study that showed an increase in the amount of serotonin, a neurotransmitter -- released by platelets in the blood -- after listening to unpleasant and pleasant music.
"Serotonin is the major neurotransmitter that causes chemotherapy-induced nausea. Cancer patients take medications to block serotonin`s effects," Kiernan said.
Researchers found that patients who listened to pleasant music experienced the lowest levels of serotonin release, indicating that the serotonin stayed in the blood platelets and was not released to circulate throughout the body. Results also showed that after listening to music they found unpleasant, patients experienced greater stress and increased levels of serotonin release.
"This was intriguing because it provides a neurochemical explanation and a possible way to measure serotonin and the blood platelet release of serotonin in my study," Kiernan said.
"In 10 to 20 years, wouldn't it be neat if you could use a nonpharmacological intervention like listening to 10 minutes of your favourite music to complement a medicine?"
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Monday, April 3, 2023 at 8:36 am