| Rhythm Centre :: Rhythm and Healing :: Research and Studies |
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| "Composite effects of group drumming music therapy on modulation of neuroendocrine-immune parameters in normal subjects." - Page 1 |
:: overview
Context
Drum circles have been part of healing
rituals in many cultures throughout the world since antiquity. Although
drum circles are gaining increased interest as a complementary therapeutic
strategy in the traditional medical arena, limited scientific data documenting
biological benefits associated with percussion activities exist.
Objective
To determine the role of group-drumming
music therapy as a composite activity with potential for alteration of
stress-related hormones and enhancement of specific immunologic measures
associated with natural killer cell activity and cell-mediated immunity.
Design
A single trial experimental intervention
with control groups.
Setting
The Mind-Body Wellness Center, an outpatient
medical facility in Meadville, Pa.
Participants
A total of 111 age-and-sex-matched volunteer
subjects (55 men and 56 women, with a mean age of 30.4years) were recruited.
Intervention
Six preliminary supervised groups were
studied using various control and experimental paradigms designed to separate
drumming components for the ultimate determination of a single experimental
model, including 2 control groups (resting and listening) as well as 4
group-drumming experimental models (basic, impact, shamanic, and composite).
The composite drumming group using a music therapy protocol was selected
based on preliminary statistical analysis, which demonstrated immune modulation
in a direction opposite to that expected with the classical stress response.
The final experimental design included the original composite drumming
group plus 50 additional age- and-sex-matched volunteer subjects who were
randomly assigned to participate in group drumming or control sessions.
Main Outcome Measures
Pre and post intervention measurements
of plasma cortisol, plasma dehydroepiandrosterone, plasma dehydroepiandrosterone-to-cortisol
ratio, natural killer cell activity, lymphokine-activated killer cell
activity, plasma interleukin-2, plasma interferon-gamma, the Beck Anxiety
Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory II.
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| Barry
B. Bittman is CEO and medical director of Meadville Medical
Center's Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, Pa. Lee S. Berk is associate director of the Center for Neuroimmunology and associate research professor of pathology and human anatomy, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, Calif. David L. Felten is director of the Center for Neuroimmunology and professor of pathology and human anatomy and neurology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University. James Westengard is principal research assistant for the Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University. O. Carl Simonton is director of the Simonton Cancer Center in Pacific Palisades, Calif. James Pappas is director of the clinical laboratories at the Loma Linda University Medical Center. Melissa Ninehouser is a student at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and served as the research coordinator at the Mind-Body Wellness Center. |
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| Pythagoras of Samos, a very wise teacher of ancient Greece, knew how to work with sound. In his mystery schools in Delphi and Crotona, he taught his students how certain musical chords and melodies could produce responses within the human organ-ism. He demonstrated that the right sequence of sounds, played musically on an instrument, can change behavior patterns and accelerate the healing process. |
Results
Group drumming resulted in increased dehydroepiandros-terone-to-cortisol ratios, increased natural killer cell activity, and increased lymphokine-activated killer cell activity without alteration in plasma interleukin 2 or interferon-gamma, or in the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory II.
Conclusions
Drumming is a complex composite intervention with the potential to modulate specific neuroendocrine and neuroimmune parameters in a direction opposite to that expected with the classic stress response. (Altern Ther Health Med. 2001;7(l):38-47)
