The Predominant Role of Musical Valence Over Arousal in Pain Modulation: A Psychophysiological Study

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated the potential capacity of music to induce emotions and manage pain. However, the psychophysiological mechanisms underlying the effects of emotional dimensions (valence and arousal) induced by music on the modulation of pain perception remain poorly understood. In this research, we investigated the impact of the valence and arousal dimensions of music on the perception of pain intensity, aiming to discern which dimension has a greater influence. Healthy young participants were subjected to an acute heat pain stimulus, individually adjusted for each participant, whilst concurrently listening to musical excerpts categorised as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. Pain ratings, the skin conductance response (SCR) and facial electromyographical (EMG) activity of the zygomaticus and corrugator muscles were recorded throughout the experimental task. After the experiment, subjective ratings in the valence and arousal dimensions were collected for each musical excerpt. In general, subjective measures and physiological correlates of emotions showed that selected musical excerpts elicited the expected affective responses. The pain intensity was greater when listening to unpleasant music than when listening to pleasant music. The main finding of the study indicates that the valence of music plays a more predominant role than arousal in pain modulation.