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Writer's pictureRobert Wallace

Effect of Vibroacoustic Therapy in the Treatment of Patients with Depression

Research purpose:

This study implemented somatosensory music therapy on patients with depressive disorders, and explored the effects of somatosensory music therapy on the degree of depression, positive and negative emotions, intuitive stress and autonomic nervous function of patients.


Research method:

We collected 66 patients diagnosed with depression from the Department of Psychological Medicine of Henan Provincial People’s Hospital, and divided them into a control group and an intervention group according to the random number table, with 33 people in each group. The control group received routine psychiatric treatment and nursing. On the basis of the control group, the intervention group received somatosensory music therapy 3 times a week, 30 min each time, for 4 consecutive weeks. The Hamilton Depression Scale, Positive and Negative Emotion Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Heart Rate Variability Index were collected and analyzed at baseline (T0), 2 weeks after treatment (T1) and 4 weeks after treatment (T2).


Research results:

After 4 weeks of treatment, the HAMD scores of the two groups decreased to varying degrees, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). After 4 weeks of treatment, the scores of positive emotions in both groups increased to varying degrees, and the scores of negative emotions increased to varying degrees. The scores decreased to varying degrees, and there were statistically significant differences between the positive and negative emotion groups (p < 0.05). After 4 weeks of treatment, the CPSS scores of the two groups decreased to varying degrees, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Analyzing the main effect of intervention factors alone, after 4 weeks of treatment, SDNN and RMSSD indexes all increased to varying degrees, and the degree of increase in the intervention group was greater than that in the control group, and the difference between the groups

was statistically significant (p < 0.05).


Research conclusion:

Assisting somatosensory music therapy for patients with depressive disorders can improve depressive symptoms, increase positive emotions, reduce negative emotions, and reduce perceived stress. These are beneficial to restore the balance of autonomic nervous system, and are effective for the treatment of depression.


Effect of somatosensory music therapy on autonomic nervous function in patients with depressive disorder


The autonomic nervous system functions through the dynamic nature of the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves. Among them, HRV is an effective

non-invasive measurement method to assess the autonomic regulation of the heart, which mainly reflects the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic input in

cardiac pacing. A low HRV implies an increase in cardiac sympathetic modulation or a relative decrease in cardiac parasympathetic modulation. A large number of studies

have shown that autonomic imbalance and possibly depression are related. In this study, HRV index was used to evaluate autonomic nervous function, SDNN reflected the

effect of sympathetic nerve, and RMSSD mainly reflected the influence of parasympathetic nerve on heart rate.


After 4 weeks of intervention in this study, compared with the control group, the two indicators of SDNN and RMSSD increased in the intervention group, and the

difference was statistically significant, and the increase in the two indicators was also similar. This is because SDNN is the standard deviation value, and RMSSD is the square root of the mean square deviation, and there is a correlation between the calculation methods of the two indicators.


Several studies have also shown that HRV is reduced in depressed patients with and without cardiovascular disease compared with non-depressed patients [49,50]. The results of this study support the hypothesis that depression may be an altered autonomic regulation of the heart, a state of more sympathetic and less parasympathetic activation. Although our study cannot explain the underlying mechanism of HRV changes in depression, somatosensory music therapy can indirectly reduce the excitability of sympathetic nerves and increase the excitability of parasympathetic nerves to relieve depressive symptoms.


Controversy exists as to whether cardiac autonomic dysfunction is a feature of depression itself or a result of antidepressant drug treatment. The study by Licht et al. [51] supported the reduction of cardiac vagal tone by antidepressants (TCAs, SNRIs and SSRIs). In addition, their study also showed that stopping antidepressant medication

can restore the autonomic regulation of the heart. This suggests that the adverse effects of the drug on cardiac autonomics are (at least partially) reversible. Some studies have also shown that fluoxetine in SSRIs does not affect HRV and heart rate. Consistent conclusions have not been drawn regarding the effects of drugs on autonomic function.


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