Cardiac Rhythms Synchronize With Music
Music, particularly pieces that contain crescendos or gradual increases in volume, elicits synchronized cardiovascular and respiratory responses in young people that are similar in both musicians and nonmusicians
"We know now that music can affect the cardiovascular system, and if we understand how this works, then we can use it,"
Researchers tracked the cardiovascular and respiratory profile of 24 healthy subjects aged 24 to 26 years old, of whom 12 were experienced choristers and 12 were age- and sex-matched controls with no musical training.
Hooked up to an electrocardiogram (ECG) and with their eyes closed, the subjects listened to various pieces of music with headphones
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
selected these pieces because they contain several changes in music dynamics — for example, crescendos, decrescendos, pianos, and fortes
To measure conscious emotional arousal, subjects were asked to rate the intensity
clipped from: www.medscape.com