PainRelief.com Interview with:
Mathieu Roy PhD
Associate Professor, Dept. of Psychology, McGill University
Canada Research Chair (tier 2) on brain imaging of pain

PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: While it is well-established that music can reduce pain, the selection of music for pain relief has largely been based on intuition rather than scientific principles. This study aimed to investigate the role of tempo in music-induced analgesia, ie, pain reduction. Specifically, we hypothesized that a tempo matched to an individual’s spontaneous production rate (SPR)—the natural pace at which a person produces music through singing, clapping, or playing an instrument—would yield stronger pain-reducing effects.

Spontaneous production rate reflect the output of an internal neural oscillator, with frequencies that vary between individuals. Essentially, everyone has a unique internal rhythm. According to theoretical models of temporal dynamics, entrainment to music should be most effective when the external rhythm aligns with an individual’s SPR. Based on this, we predicted that music presented at a person’s SPR would optimize pain relief.