title: Maladaptive and adaptive emotion regulation through music: a behavioral and neuroimaging study of males and females.
abstract: Music therapists use guided affect regulation in the treatment of mood disorders. However, self-directed uses of music in affect regulation are not fully understood. Some uses of music may have negative effects on mental health, as can non-music regulation strategies, such as rumination. Psychological testing and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were used explore music listening strategies in relation to mental health. Participants (n = 123) were assessed for depression, anxiety and Neuroticism, and uses of Music in Mood Regulation (MMR). Neural responses to music were measured in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in a subset of participants (n = 56). Discharge, using music to express negative emotions, related to increased anxiety and Neuroticism in all participants and particularly in males. Males high in Discharge showed decreased activity of mPFC during music listening compared with those using less Discharge. Females high in Diversion, using music to distract from negative emotions, showed more mPFC activity than females using less Diversion. These results suggest that the use of Discharge strategy can be associated with maladaptive patterns of emotional regulation, and may even have long-term negative effects on mental health. This finding has real-world applications in psychotherapy and particularly in clinical music therapy.
authors.affiliation: Center for Interdisciplinary Music Research, Department of Music, University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.affiliation: Center for Interdisciplinary Music Research, Department of Music, University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: Suvi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saarikallio
authors.affiliation: Center for Interdisciplinary Music Research, Department of Music, University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: Petri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Toiviainen
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bogert
authors.affiliation: Center for Interdisciplinary Music Research, Department of Music, University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä, Finland ; Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kliuchko
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland ; Helsinki Collegium of Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland ; Advanced Magnetic Imaging (AMI) Center, Aalto University Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brattico
keywords: emotion regulation; fMRI; gender differences; mental health; music; prefrontal cortex