Pr

1
Effects of emotion induced by music on
experimental pain Roy, Mathieu (1), Peretz,
Isabelle (1), Rainville, Pierre (2) (1)
Département de psychologie, (2) Départment de
stomatologie, Université de Montréal
RESULTS 1. The sad and happy music and the
silence condition have different effects on pain
ratings.
INTRODUCTION Pain is a complex experience not
only made up of the initial pain sensation, but
also of the emotional reactions associated.
Emotional states can also influence our pain
perception in an important way (Keefe, 2001). By
its capacity to influence our emotional states,
music seems to be specifically suited to modify
our pain experience. Many studies have observed
an analgesic effect of music (Maslar, 1986).
However, most of these study cannot determine
wich mecanisms are responsible for this effect.
On one hand, music could reduce pain perception
by disraction. On the other hand, the various
emotions induced by music could differently
modify pain perception. In order to assess the
influence of the emotions conveyed by music on
pain perception, we compared the effects of sad
and happy music on experimental pain intensity
and unpleasantness.  
3. Pain INT but not UNP decreases with reductions
in arousal whereas pain UNP but not INT decreases
with augmentations in pleasantness.
METHODS Participants - 10 musicians (5 males, 5
females) Experimental conditions - 15 min. of
happy music selected on an individual basis
-
15 min. of sad music selected on an indivudual
basis
- 15 min. of silence Pain stimulation -
32 stimulations (40C, 45C, 47C et 49C
length counterbalanced orders).
- duration 4 sec.
- Inter-stimulus
interval gt 10 sec.
- Location 4 spots on te volar surface of
each forearm Evaluation of stimuli - Thermal -
non-painful warmth scale (0 to 100 100 pain
treshold)
- painful 1. pain intensity
scale (0 to 100)
2. pain
unpleasantness scale (0 to 100)
- Music - happiness (0 to
10)
- sadness (0 to 10)
- arousal (A to I,
converted to 0-relaxing to 9-stimulating)
-
valence (A to I, converted to 0-pleasant to
9-unpleasant) Procedure Throughout 3
experimental sessions, sequences of 32 thermal
stimulations were administered to the
participants during the last ten minutes of each
experimental conditions (happy, sad, silence
orders counterbalanced). Participants had to
evaluate separately pain intensity (INT) and
unpleasantness (UNP) for stimulations that were
perceived as painful and the warmth of the
stimulations for the remaining. After each
condition, subject rated the music or silence on
four dimensions happiness, sadness, arousal and
emotional valence.
Fig. 3. Correlation between the change
(musicsilence) in pain intensity and the
differences (musique-silence) in arousal and
valence ratings.
Fig 1. An ANOVA (3 factors experimental
condition (Sad, Happy, Silence), temperature (40,
45, 47, 49), pain ratings (INT or UNP)) revealed
a main effect of temperature (F(3, 27) 66,175
plt0.01), pain ratings being higher for higher
temperature. A main effect of the experimental
condition was also observed (F(2, 18) 5,618
plt0.05), pain ratings being higher during the
presentation of sad music than happy music
(F(1,9)10,363, plt0.05).
CONCLUSION The difference observed between the
effects on pain ratings of sad and happy musics
cannot be explained by a non-specific distracting
effect of music on pain. Thus, these results
suggest a role of the emotion conveyed by music
in the modulating effects of music on pain. The
correlation between the valence of the emotions
induced by music and pain unpleasantness suggests
that this dimension of music is determinant in
the effects observed. However, the ambiguity of
the emotional valence of sad music (pleasant but
sad) might mask this effect. Music with a
pleasant valence and low arousal may better
relieve pain.
2. Changes in pain ratings, but not warmth
ratings, are higher during the presentation of
sad music than during the presentation of happy
music.

REFERENCES Keefe, F.J., et al. (2001), Pain and
emotion New research directions, Journal of
Clinical Psychology, 57(4), pp. 587-607. Maslar,
P..M. (1986), The effects of music on the
reduction of pain A review of the litterature,
The Arts in Psychotherapy, 13, pp. 215-219.
Fig 2. Difference in pain ratings between each
music condition and the silence condition were
calculated for each temperature. An ANOVA (3
factors music (happy-silence, sad-silence),
temperature (40, 45, 47, 49) and pain ratings
(INT or UNP)) revealed a main effect of music
(F(1,9) 7,812 plt0.05). Differences in pain INT
are similar to the differences in pain UNP
represented above (F(1,9) 11,596 plt0.01).
However, changes in warmth ratings were not
different for sad and happy music (t (9)0.108
p0,916). Mean warmth ratings for the silence
condition (X axis) was 21,986.