Effect of Music on Emotions and Respiration

抄録

In the present study we investigated whether the emotional state induced by music can change respiratory rate (RR), tidal volume (V_T), minute ventilation (V_E), and end-tidal CO₂ concentration (ETCO₂). In a pioneering study investigating the effect of music on respiration, the music of Stockhausen and Chopin was used. In the present study, we examined the effects of the same musical stimuli used in that study on respiration. Each stimulus (Stockhausen, Chopin, and silence) was delivered for 30 s and each stimulus was presented five times in random order. Subjects reported feeling uncomfortable listening to Stockhausen's music, but comfortable during Chopin's music and silence. The respiratory response during exposure to Stockhausen's music was rapid and shallow breathing, resulting in an increase in RR. Although the RR was decreased during silence and Chopin's music by Chopin compared with that during Stockhausen's music, there was no significant difference in RR in response to Chopin's music and Stockhausen's music. Although subjects reported feeling comfortable while listening to Chopin's music, the decrease in RR was not significant. The lack of a significant decrease in RR in response to Chopin's music may be due to a mixture of various emotions that may be interconnected to physiological responses, and this higher processing may be peculiar to humans.