Music therapy during surgery reduces anesthetic use and stress responses, study finds

A study published in the journal Music and Medicine demonstrates that intraoperative music therapy significantly reduces the amount of propofol and fentanyl required during laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed under general anesthesia. Patients exposed to therapeutic music also experienced smoother awakenings and lower physiological stress, as measured by decreased perioperative cortisol levels.

“These findings show that this is more than just simple background music, rather an integration of a novel intervention into anesthetic practice,” said Dr. Tanvi Goel, principal investigator and anesthesiologist at Lok Nayak Hospital and Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, India.

“By delivering intraoperative music, we’re engaging the patient’s nervous system even under anesthesia—blunting the neuroendocrine stress response when the body is most vulnerable,” added Dr. Farah Husain, co-investigator and certified music therapist.

“The auditory environment under anesthesia is often neglected, but sound—when delivered with therapeutic intent—may accelerate healing, reduce stress, and improve recovery in ways we are only beginning to quantify,” noted Dr. Sonia Wadhawan, Director Professor of Anesthesia and Intensive Care at Maulana Azad Medical College.

“This study adds to the growing empirical evidence that the neural effects of patient-preferred music translate to behavioral benefits,” said Wendy L. Magee, Ph.D., Professor of Music Therapy at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance.

“For people with disorders of consciousness following brain injury, patient-preferred music improves arousal and cognition. This research furthers the evidence that music with personal meaning enhances salience and emotional impact—maximizing music’s neural effects and supporting recovery.”

“This study shows the real potential of music to improve anesthetic care, but we must go further,” said Joseph J. Schlesinger, MD, FCCM, Professor of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, Hearing & Speech Sciences, and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“To truly understand how music affects the brain during surgery, we need multimodal EEG and a broader view of the perioperative sound environment that includes both patient outcomes and provider safety.”

Provided by
International Association for Music and Medicine