Also known as: music therapy, active music making, music listening, music
Latest evidence update: 2026-10-04
Strongest in Consistency (92). Held back by Study quality (72).
Solid mix of RCTs with some methodological gaps.
Confirmed across many independent studies with significant findings.
Tens of thousands of participants pooled across studies.
Studies agree on direction of effect.
Healthy mix of recent and established research.
Areas where research points to a consistent direction of effect. The strength of evidence is graded; the size of the effect is not quantified.
Music engages widespread brain networks and triggers dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Listening to preferred music reduces cortisol, anxiety, and pain perception. Playing an instrument builds cognitive reserve and may delay cognitive decline.
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Sensory art therapies reduce Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) scores in patients with high dental anxiety.
No non-pharmacological intervention had a statistically significant impact on pain during endoscopy/colonoscopy procedures.
All types of music reduce systolic blood pressure in perioperative ophthalmic patients.
Self-administered music interventions (SAMIs) significantly improved post-test depression outcomes in people with chronic health conditions.
Music therapy (MT) ranked third for pain reduction on visual analog scale (VAS) in central poststroke pain treatment.