Individual differences in the effects of musical familiarity and musical features on brain activity during relaxation.

ABSTRACT: Finding a way to relax is increasingly difficult in our overstimulating, modern society. Chronic stress can have severe psychological and physiological consequences. Music is a promising tool to promote relaxation by lowering heart rate, modulating mood and thoughts, and providing a sense of safety. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how music influences brain activity during relaxation with a particular focus on the participants' experience of different types of music. In a 2 × 2 design, 57 participants were scanned while rating how relaxed they felt after listening to 28-s excerpts of either familiar or unfamiliar relaxation music with calm or energetic features. Behaviourally, calm music was the strongest predictor of relaxation, followed by familiar music. Fun

SUBMITTER: Scarratt RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12847162 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature