Examining the Effects of Processed Music on Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is a common ailment in aging populations and often co-occurs with altered
regulation of the autonomic nervous system. Nociceptive pathways (i.e., those that transmit
pain signals) are integrated with autonomic circuits throughout the body and therapies that
are successful in reducing pain concurrently alter autonomic functions, even when they are
not directly designed to do so. It is possible that interventions that target the autonomic
circuits that regulate pain responses may help reduce pain in chronic pain sufferers. The
proposed study will examine whether an intervention that targets the autonomic nervous system
via filtered music can reduce pain, a hypothesis derived from the Polyvagal Theory.

The Polyvagal Theory describes how function and structure of the vertebrate autonomic nervous
system changed during evolution. The theory is named for the vagus, a major cranial nerve
that regulates bodily state. An evolutionary "old" branch of this nerve innervates structures
below the diaphragm and its dysfunction is linked to lower body organ and tissue pain.
Regulation of the vagus nerve is linked with specific auditory cues based on our evolutionary
heritage and the physics of the middle ear. This study is designed to test whether processed
music designed to stimulate vagal function can decrease chronic pain. The Listening Project
Protocol, the processed music used in this intervention, has previously been shown to
effectively stimulate the function of the vagus nerve (see stimulus description below).

Specific Aims:

Aim I: To examine whether The Listening Project Protocol, a non-invasive audio intervention,
can be effective for reducing chronic pain in a sample of older adults.

Hypothesis: Five 1-hour sessions of the Listening Project Protocol will reduce pain

Aim II: To examine whether increased regulation via the autonomic nervous system accounts for
the decrease in pain if the intervention is successful.

Hypothesis: Pain reduction will coincide with improved autonomic function by the myelinated
vagus nerve (measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia, see below) as well as decrease in the
reactivity of autonomic functions in everyday experiences (measured by the Body Perception
Questionnaire, see below)