Abstract

The prevalence of stress in today’s society is an increasing concern as it can be detrimental to various aspects of health. This warrants the need for new and accessible treatments, such as music exposure. Previous literature has found that music can be effective in reducing stress as measured through subjective reports and cortisol levels. Music has also been shown to improve executive functioning measured through the Color Word Stroop task. However, the theory that music can reduce stress has not been tested specifically with measures of heart rate or neural substrates related to inhibition control. The current study aimed to replicate and expand research by measuring changes in heart rate, subjective measures, and behavioral and neural responses to the Color Word Stroop Task. Participants first had stressed induced using the MAST and were then split into two groups, a music group and silence group. Results did not elicit any significant differences between the music group and silence group within the physiological and subjective measurements of stress or the behavioral measurements of the Stroop. Neural substrates were measured through changes in the N450. Data elicited a significantly larger N450 in the music group than silence group, but through unexpected changes of amplitudes in response to the congruent condition. These findings do not support the notion that music effectively reduces levels of stress. However, various limitations such as the type of physiological measurement and the type of music used in the experiment provide possible explanations for discrepancies between hypothesis and results. Future research could expand upon this study by using measurements of cortisol or utilizing music preference.

Advisor

Herzmann, Grit

Department

Neuroscience

Disciplines

Cognitive Science | Mental and Social Health | Psychology

Keywords

music, stress, neuroscience, ERP, Stroop

Publication Date

2024

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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