An interventional study of Music Listening and Silence Control in Pain, Pain Management and Pain Threshold, sponsored by University of Bergen. Completed at 1 site in Norway. Open to participants aged 19 Years to 35 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-05-07.
Sponsored by University of Bergen · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The goal of this clinical trial is to confirm previous findings that actively tapping along to music can reduce pain more than just listening to music. This study aims to replicate the findings of a previous study (NCT05267795), with one change in how mild pain is created for the experiment. This study involves healthy adults.
The main questions the study aims to answer are:
Researchers will compare the amount of pain participants feel in four different situations:
Participants in this study will:
Experience brief moments of mild pain on their forearm. This pain is safely created using a small electrical pulse from a device held gently on the skin by the researcher. (This replaces the pressure method used in the original study).
Sometimes listen to music through headphones, and sometimes sit in silence. Sometimes tap their foot along to the music or a beat, and sometimes rest their foot. Rate how much pain they feel on a number scale after each pain pulse. Answer short questions about their mood during the experiment. Answer questions about how familiar they are with the music and how much they liked it at the end.
This study is a pre-registered replication of a previous trial (NCT05267795) investigating the analgesic effects of sensorimotor synchronization to music. While music listening alone has shown small, albeit reliable, pain-reducing effects, recent theories propose that active synchronization (like tapping or dancing) engages the endogenous opioid system (EOS), potentially leading to stronger analgesia and enhanced social bonding. The original study provided initial evidence supporting this, finding that actively tapping to music significantly reduced experimentally induced pain compared to passive music listening or silence conditions.
This replication study aims to confirm the primary finding that sensorimotor synchronization to music significantly reduces pain perception compared to passive music listening and control conditions. The study employs a 2x2 within-subjects factorial design with two factors: Auditory Condition (Music vs. Silence) and Task Condition (Active Tapping vs. Passive Control). Healthy adult participants will undergo all four conditions.
The primary methodological difference from the original study is the method of pain induction. Instead of pressure algometry, this study will use non-invasive transcutaneous electrical stimulation applied to the participant's forearm via a BIOPAC HSTM01 certified stimulus device. This change was implemented to allow for potentially greater precision and control over the stimulus intensity compared to manual pressure application. Pain intensity will be individually calibrated for each participant based on their pain threshold, ensuring only mild to moderate pain levels are experienced. Safety protocols, including screening for contraindications (e.g., pacemakers, epilepsy, pregnancy, local malignancies) and continuous monitoring, are in place.
Consistent with the original study, perceived pain intensity will be the primary outcome measure, rated on a numerical scale after each stimulus. Secondary measures, including ratings of emotional state (pleasantness, arousal), music familiarity, and music preference, will be collected to explore potential attentional and emotional mechanisms underlying the observed effects, as suggested by the original research. This replication seeks to provide robust evidence regarding the potential for active musical engagement, specifically sensorimotor synchronization, as a tool for pain management.
2,219 studies on the registry are indexed under Pain; 917 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 61 is below the median of 70 across 1,904 interventional studies indexed under Pain.
Browse Pain studies →University of Bergen is the lead sponsor of 141 studies on the registry; 19 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Contraindications for Electrical Stimulation:
Medical/Neurological History:
Medication Use:
Study-Specific:
All participants experience all conditions in a 2x2 within-subjects factorial design. Interventions manipulate two factors: 1. Auditory Condition: Participants listen to selected music (via headphones) or experience silence. 2. Task Condition: Participants perform Active Sensorimotor Synchronization (syncing foot taps/head nods to music or pacing stimulus) or maintain Passive Control (remaining still). Each participant completes trials for all 4 resulting conditions: Music+Active, Music+Passive, Silence+Active, Silence+Passive. Condition order is counterbalanced across participants. During trials, brief non-invasive electrical pain stimuli (BIOPAC system) are delivered to the forearm; intensity is individually calibrated based on pain threshold. Key outcomes (perceived pain, emotional state ratings) are collected.
Other: Music Listening · Other: Silence Control · Other: Active Sensorimotor Synchronization · Other: Passive Control Task
Participants listen to selected instrumental music excerpts presented via headphones during designated experimental trials.
Participants experience periods of silence with no music presented via headphones during designated control trials. This serves as the auditory control condition compared to Music Listening.
Participants actively synchronize movements (such as foot tapping and/or head nodding) by timing them with the rhythm of the presented music or with a pacing stimulus provided during silent trials.
Participants remain still and do not perform specific instructed synchronized movements during designated control trials. This serves as the motor task control condition compared to Active Sensorimotor Synchronization.
Perceived Pain
rated on a scale ranging from 1 to 9 (1 = very little, 5 = medium, 9 = very strong)
Time frame: Time Frame: 40 minutes (duration of time over which each participant is assessed)
Emotional state with regard to felt pleasantness
rated on a scale ranging from 1 to 9 (1 = very uncomfortable, 5 = medium, 9 = very comfortable)
Time frame: Time Frame: 40 minutes (duration of time over which each participant is assessed)
Emotional state with regard to felt arousal
rated on a scale ranging from 1 to 9 (1 = very calm, 5 = medium, 9 = very activated)
Time frame: Time Frame: 40 minutes (duration of time over which each participant is assessed)
Familiarity with the music excerpt (only during trials with music)
rated on a scale ranging from 1 to 9 (1 = not at all, 5 = partially known, 9 = well known)
Time frame: Time Frame: 40 minutes (duration of time over which each participant is assessed)]
Liking ratings for each musical excerpt
rated on a scale ranging from 1 to 9 (1 = strongly disliked, 5 = medium, 9 = strongly liked)
Time frame: Time Frame: 5 min (duration of time over which each participant is assessed)
This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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University of Bergen