28 Aug , 11:26
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Music tunes the heart: scientists discover connection between musical phrases and arterial pressure. Researchers from King's College London found that the human cardiovascular system is capable of adapting to predictable structures of musical compositions. The results of the work are published in the authoritative scientific journal Scientific Reports (SR).
92 volunteers with an average age of about 42 years participated in the large-scale experiment. Scientists continuously monitored the participants' blood pressure while listening to classical compositions performed by outstanding pianists. To achieve maximum accuracy of results and eliminate possible distortions, the musical recordings were reproduced on a special grand piano that precisely imitated live performance.
The researchers recorded the most striking effect when listening to Schubert's transcription created by Franz Liszt, in the interpretation of the famous pianist Harold Bauer.
The scientific team established an interesting pattern: the listeners' blood pressure reacted much more actively to changes in music volume than to variations in tempo. The most pronounced effect was observed when listening to compositions with a predictable phrase structure – such works provided a more precise synchronization of the body's biological rhythms.
"Like language, music is built on patterns and phrases that form an expressive structure. Our results show: the more predictable the musical phrases, the more noticeable their impact on the regulation of the cardiovascular system," explained the research leader Professor Elaine Chew.
The authors of the work emphasize that the obtained results open promising possibilities for developing effective music therapy for hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. In the future, music may become an important element of personalized medicine, helping to regulate pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease without the use of pharmaceutical drugs.
