Study finds music therapy may help ease drug and alcohol cravings

By Stephen Beech

Music may help tackle drug and alcohol addiction by reducing cravings, suggests a new study.

Researchers found that music therapy alters the brain processing of emotions for addicts receiving treatment.

The study, published in the journal Addiction Neuroscience, is the first to investigate the brain activity of people taking part in music therapy sessions to treat substance use disorders.

A team from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) combined electroencephalography (EEG) recordings with questionnaires and interviews with participants.

They found that people taking part in music therapy reported lower levels of craving immediately after the sessions.

The participants also showed different patterns of brain activity linked to emotional and motivational processing.

Music and addictive substances both activate the brain's reward system and can produce immediate changes in mood and emotion.

Previous studies have shown that music is capable of euphoric responses that resemble those associated with addictive substances.

ARU researchers investigated whether music therapy can reduce drink and drug cravings and support recovery from addiction.

The pilot study involved 16 adults receiving treatment for alcohol and drug use — including heroin, cocaine and cannabis — through a London community addiction service.

Participants either received six weekly music therapy sessions alongside their standard treatment or standard treatment alone.

Music therapy was delivered in both group and one-to-one sessions, with the research team creating a temporary music studio and brain lab at the treatment center.

Participants used physical instruments — including drum pads, guitar, keyboard and percussion — as well as computer-based music software.

Study lead author Clemens Maidhof said: "Craving is a main symptom of substance addiction.

"Using a self-reported Craving Thermometer scale, participants who received music therapy reported less 'present moment' craving immediately following the sessions.

"Alongside this, EEG recordings showed that these participants had lower levels of frontal beta activity compared to the control group.

"More beta waves, relative to other frequency ranges, is associated with craving.

"And crucially, using a measure called frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), the study also identified important differences in the frontal areas of the brain responsible for the processing of positive and negative emotions."

Along with the results of a response task, the researchers say the FAA data suggests that those receiving music therapy might be better able to control emotions such as anger and frustration that could otherwise overwhelm their behavior.

Study senior author Jorg Fachner, co-director of ARU's Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research, said: "We know that substance use is often accompanied by cognitive and behavioral challenges, including difficulties with emotional regulation and symptoms such as depression and anxiety.

"Our review into the use of music therapy for people with substance use disorders highlighted how it can reduce cravings and improve people's motivation for change.

"What makes our new study particularly important is that, for the first time, we combined participants' own experiences with recordings of brain activity, allowing us to see how the therapy is influencing those neural processes that are associated with recovery.

"The results suggest that music therapy could help people process their negative emotions, which is relevant to managing cravings and supporting motivation to change their behavior, as well as be better able to inhibit or control their emotional responses, such as anger or frustration."

Fachner added: "Overall, it provides encouraging evidence for the role of music therapy in addiction treatment and supports the value of combining psychometric, qualitative and EEG measures when studying music therapy in substance use disorders.

"However, given the small sample size of this pilot study, the trends we found require confirmation in longer and larger-scale investigations."