Exploring the power of music to treat pain and disease

There is a science behind our music preferences, and there is a reason you might choose to skip heavy metal music on your way home from work. Maybe it makes you feel stressed in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but it energizes you in your spinning class. And while classical music is generally considered relaxing, you more easily drift off to sleep to the smooth melody of Debussy’s Clair de Lune rather than Bach’s Prelude and Fugue with more rigid staccato notes. There is a sound for every mood.

Listening to music can help us experience a wave of calm, a rush of pleasure and a jolt of motivation. But can music be used as a medical tool to reduce pain, promote wellness or even slow the progression of some diseases?

Current research at the University of Kansas Medical Center’s PROMUS (Power of Music) laboratory addresses this question by combining neuroscience principles with a sophisticated understanding of elements in music. PROMUS is not a traditional laboratory, but rather a collaboration with investigators at multiple sites, with the primary investigator at KU Medical Center.

“Our approach is to combine scientific methodology, imaging technology and music theory to learn how music impacts human physiology, psychology and overall well-being,” said Rebecca Lepping, Ph.D., research assistant professor in KU School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology and director of the PROMUS lab. Lepping has strong roots in both music and science — making her perhaps uniquely qualified to bring together each discipline to gather credible data and inform the future of healing.

Lepping has been a musician since she was five, playing both piano and flute. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wichita State University, followed by a master’s degree in piano performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. Meanwhile, she worked as a brain imaging research scientist. She also worked as a professional musician, but eventually she put aside her music career for life as a scientist. She completed her doctoral dissertation in cognitive psychology at the University of Kansas. She always understood the connection between the disciplines and eventually found a way to formalize her research.

Lepping started the PROMUS lab in 2020. Funding comes from a variety of sources, including a Frontiers Clinical and Translational Science Institute KL2 grant, which supports newly appointed faculty in the development of research — in this case, the use of music in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. A pending National Institutes of Health grant and current pilot study funded by the Division of Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine aim to develop a singing-based treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. “The research focuses on improving lung airflow by manipulating how people sing,” Lepping said. “We measure musical elements like tempo and pitch, then adjust that so they are able to fully exhale and hopefully improve their respiratory function.”

Applying scientific methods to music allows researchers to measure the effects and collect the data. “It’s similar to a drug trial,” Lepping said. “All the pills may look the same … but what is the active ingredient? There are mechanisms in music that can be changed, and by measuring the effects on the body, brain and psychology, we can identify the scientific effects of music.”

The connection between the human body and music is not a new concept, but there is no academic degree specifically for this type of work. The scientific and music communities collaborate to ensure they have the expertise of both and are using the correct methodologies. Lepping said that now there is a surge of community building around the world, and she has attended conferences in the U.K. and Montreal, Canada, that are devoted to this new study of the “neuroarts.”

So how can anybody receive the healing powers of music? “It’s already happening,” Lepping said. “You can see it in the popularity of apps like Calm, Spotify playlists and the use of classical music.”

And she has a dream for the future of PROMUS. “I would like to build a music intervention research center,” she said. “I want the health care community to recognize the benefits of nonmedical activities that promote positive medical outcomes. It requires a shift in the mindset, from a symptom focus to a well-being focus.”