Positive and negative effects of music on the brain

There’s little that doubt music can have a positive impact on our health and well-being. We turn it on for motivation when exercising, we choose tunes to help set a certain mood, and we have it playing in the background to help us stay focused. But if we acknowledge the benefits of music, what about the flip side?

A recent article in the Journal of Music Therapyfocused on examining the idea of music-induced harm, or MIH. First, the authors addressed the challenge of defining these two complex concepts. Harm, they wrote, is an idiosyncratic experience impacted by multiple variables. It can be deliberate (or not), self-induced (or not), experienced in different ways (emotionally, cognitively, spiritually, bodily, etc.), and impacted by other factors (such as the immediate situation). Music is also a complex construct. It can be live or recorded, passive or active, and like harm can be experienced in multiple ways—emotionally, socially, and physically, to name a few.

Although t Positive influence of music!