Sound is “Washing” over the Scientific Community

    Sound and auditory stimulus used as a form of healthcare and wellness is a growing field. There is minimal research into this idea as it is relatively new, however, scientific discoveries are starting to illuminate many possible ways that resonance frequencies or sounds can benefit the lives of human-kind. Two different fields sound is being tested in are both physically and mentally. One article addresses the physical impact of stochastic resonance electrical stimulation or (altered-frequency sounds and vibrations) while the other focuses on how sound baths can be used to aid with anxiety and depression in many cases.  

    In the research study "Effects of Noise Electrical Stimulation on Proprioception, Force Control, and Corticomuscular Functional Connectivity" by Vincent Chen, Chen explores the impact of stochastic resonance electrical stimulation (vibrations) on the functional connectivity between the brain's cortex and body muscles. This study involved two experiments: one measuring a control group for force control, and the other examining the effects of noise stimulation at different frequencies on corticomuscular connectivity. These findings revealed a correlation between peripheral noise stimulation and enhanced neural responses in the cortex leading to improved movement and force application. This study helps illuminate the idea that frequencies of sound can be used to increase the amount of force and movement someone is capable of using. Additionally, stimulation applied to peripheral nerves, such as those in the fingertips, improved light touch sensation from 40% to 80% of the sensory threshold. These results demonstrate that noise stimulation can enhance proprioception and force control, potentially improving attention in movement-related tasks. In this movement related tasks, studies like this can help to further the idea of improvements in patients with aggressive cases of arthritis and maybe even certain nerve disorders using sound to help create new neurotransmitters to replace those that are damaged or not present. 

    The news article “Can a Sound Bath Wash Away Your Worries?” written Nicole Stock, explores modern health and wellness concepts as they relate to sound baths. Sound baths are now used in the wellness world as a meditative technique that uses resonant sound to aim to help people relax and heal internally. Though this is a relatively new idea with its increase in popularity rising in the past 5 years, it addresses the ideas of using noise stimulation to reduce stress and body tensions. This article specifically references an observational study of 62 participants that showed lower levels of anxiety and depressed mood after one sound bath meditation session. Some participants were recorded as having lower signs of tension in their body both physically and mentally. Though these sound baths are a new and many of these benefits are not yet known or proven by scientific methods, many health practitioners are starting to open their minds to the idea of sound baths suggesting they could lead to lower blood pressures, aid depression, and even repair DNA.

    Both of these articles focus on how noise stimulation of different frequencies can affect the human body. These articles contrast what the sound is affecting such as how sound can improve force proprioception and the other effects how sound can improve mood or anxiety levels. However, both articles discuss using sound to improve the lives of people. Sound is now being used to improve both physical and mental ailments, and with more research and scientific data I believe these sound frequency studies can be used to help repair things such as DNA and certain mental disorders prevalent around the world. This new advancement into the use of sound makes one question what more can it possibly be used for in the future?

Works Cited:

Chou, L. W., Hou, S. L., Lee, H. M., Fregni, F., Yen, A., Chen, V., Wei, S. H., & Kao, C. L. (2023). Effects of Noise Electrical Stimulation on Proprioception, Force Control, and Corticomuscular Functional Connectivity. IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 31, 2518–2524. https://doi.org/10.1109/TNSRE.2023.3277752 

Stock, N. (2024, April 29). Can a sound Bath Wash Away Your Worries?. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/29/well/live/sound-bath-meditate-health-benefits.html?smid=url-share   

The Importance of REM sleep in Processing Traumatic Emotions and Using Music Therapy to Enhance REM Sleep

The concept of dreaming has been explored by humans over the test of time- in methods both abstract and scientific. For the large majority of human history, dreaming was seen as mystical and often associated with some form of divine intervention. However, newer research gives us more direction in the physiological purpose of dreaming, along with newfound methods of studying this phenomenon. In “Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep,” Konkoly et al. explore different studies which suggest the dreamers in REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep retain many more cognitive abilities than previously assumed. Among these abilities, includes lucid dreamers being able to communicate with researchers in real time during REM sleep. While on a very general level, REM sleep is associated with mood regulation and memory consolidation, although the actual mechanisms of this require much more investigation. Konkoly’s research opens up many possibilities to future studies regarding REM sleep, through this method of communication with lucid dreamers during REM sleep. 

The effects of REM sleep are studied in “Restless REM Sleep Impedes Overnight Amygdala Adaptation,” where Wassing et al. found that poor REM sleep is associated with a decreased ability of the amygdala to process emotional memories during sleep. This somewhat unconventional study recorded participants singing karaoke while wearing muffled headphones, preventing them from hearing their own voices. Inevitably, their singing voices tended not to match the tune of the songs (“Silent Night” and the Dutch national anthem). When researchers played these recordings back to participants, greater activation in the amygdalae of these participants suggested feelings of shame after hearing these poor singing performances. For participants that experienced restful sleep after this first day of research, the amygdala response was lessened after hearing their singing the next day. However, for participants who experienced restless sleep (poor quality REM sleep monitored by electroencephalogram (EEG)), their amygdalae were just as sensitive, sometimes more, when hearing their singing during the next day of research. This study suggests that REM sleep plays an important role in processing memories overnight, especially these negative emotions of shame and embarrassment associated with the amygdala. Furthermore, those suffering from REM sleep disorders may be more susceptible to psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

There are many potential therapeutic applications within the intersection of these studies. From Wassing’s research, the importance of REM sleep is emphasized in regard to mood regulation, particularly after traumatic events and in those suffering from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. By employing the communication methods investigated by Konkoly, further strategies can be developed to enhance the quality of REM sleep, potentially reducing the severity of psychological disorders, such as depression. Current research implicates that music therapy during sleep can be beneficial to adults suffering from depression (Lund 2020). This can be combined with the work of Konkoly by providing music therapy to lucid dreamers over the course of several weeks and months, which should provide measurable differences in amygdala activity in response to traumatic events. The goal of this practice would be to increase the duration and quality of REM sleep. This could be an essential therapeutic measure for treating depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Other therapeutic practices should be researched using Konkoly’s methods of communicating with lucid dreamers to enhance REM sleep, ultimately decreasing the severity of amygdala responses to traumatic events (Wasser 2017). 

Konkoly, K., Appel, K., Chabani, E., Mironov, A. Y., Mangiaruga, A., Gott, J., Mallett, R., Caughran, B., Witkowski, S., Whitmore, N., Berent, J., Weber, F., Pipa, G., Türker, B., Maranci, J.-B., Sinin, A., Dorokhov, V., Arnulf, I., Oudiette, D., … Paller, K. (2021). Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during rem sleep. Current Biology, 31(7), R352–R353. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3606772 

Lund, H.N., Pedersen, I.N., Johnsen, S.P. et al. Music to improve sleep quality in adults with depression-related insomnia (MUSTAFI): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials21, 305 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-020-04247-9

Wassing, R., Lakbila-Kamal, O., Ramautar, J. R., Stoffers, D., Schalkwijk, F., & Van Someren, E. J. W. (2019). Restless REM sleep impedes overnight amygdala adaptation. Current Biology, 29(14), 2351–2358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.034 

Zimmer, K. (2019, June 11). Karaoke-sleep study links disrupted REM with poor memory processing. The Scientist Magazine®. Retrieved October 17, 2021, from https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/karaoke-sleep-study-links-disrupted-rem-with-poor-memory-processing-66139.