Listening to music while performing mindfulness exercises targets neural and cardiac mechanisms in the brain that may treat symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to a new study led by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

The study, published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, found that both live and virtual music mindfulness sessions also reduced stress and altered participants’ state of consciousness, but only live music sessions fostered social connection between listeners.

“We desperately need community-based, accessible, and affordable treatments for anxiety and depression,” said AZA Allsop, MD, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and the study’s senior author. “Music mindfulness impacts physiology and the psyche in a way that we can leverage to manage symptoms that lead to distress and hospitalization.

“We are excited to test this approach in a more general manner to directly assess its efficacy as a treatment for individuals in the community with mood disorders.”

Allsop is an artist, neuroscientist, and psychiatrist who researches social cognition, music mindfulness, and psychedelics. He is principal investigator at the AZA Lab at Yale School of Medicine. The lab investigates how music, mindfulness, and psychedelics can impact mental health and social behavior.

This study was done in collaboration with BLOOM community center in New Haven and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

Thirty-eight community participants visited BLOOM and wore mobile heart rate and EEG monitors while engaging in music mindfulness sessions with a live facilitator and musician. Allsop said the participants listened to original music composed in his lab while a live musician improvised along with the track.

Based on the heart rate and EEG readings, the researchers concluded that music listening combined with mindfulness exercise increased autonomic nervous system activity, reduced stress, and altered the participants’ state of consciousness. Social connections were enhanced by the live sessions but not when the participants engaged virtually.

The results indicate that music mindfulness effectively engages neural mechanisms in the brain and heart which may contribute to the treatment of anxiety and depression symptoms, according to the researchers.