The Benefits of Music Listening for Induced State Anxiety: Behavioral and Physiological Evidence

Background: Some clinical studies have indicated that neutral and happy music may relieve state anxiety. However, the brain mechanisms by which these effective interventions in music impact state anxiety remain unknown. Methods: In this study, we selected music with clinical effects for therapy, and 62 subjects were included using the evoked anxiety paradigm. After evoking anxiety with a visual stimulus, all subjects were randomly divided into three groups (listening to happy music, neutral music and a blank stimulus), and EEG signals were acquired. Results: We found that different emotional types of music might have different mechanisms in state anxiety interventions. Neutral music had the effect of alleviating state anxiety. The brain mechanisms supported that neutral music ameliorating state anxiety was associated with decreased power spectral density of the occipital lobe and increased brain functional connectivity between the occipital lobe and frontal lobe. Happy music also had the effect of alleviating state anxiety, and the brain mechanism was associated with enhanced brain functional connectivity between the occipital lobe and right temporal lobe. Conclusions: This study may be important for a deep understanding of the mechanisms associated with state anxiety music interventions and may further contribute to future clinical treatment using nonpharmaceutical interventions.