New Study Finds That Sound Reduces Pain in Mice
A new study has found that mice in pain produce distinct vocalizations and that the sounds have a significant effect on their pain reduction. Scientists have discovered that playing recordings of these vocalizations to other mice in pain can reduce the intensity of their agony, and according to researchers, human clinical trials are now being considered to test whether the same results can be replicated in humans as well. To learn more about this study and how sound can reduce pain in mice, keep reading below!
The study
A new study published in the journal Science has found that sound can reduce pain in mice. The study's authors say that the findings could have implications for the treatment of pain in humans. They are hopeful that with more research, they will be able to use their work to help humans who suffer from chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia and arthritis.
The team behind the study used a technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) which records changes in blood flow through the brain due to electrical activity. They monitored blood flow changes and nerve cell signaling when playing different sounds, including white noise, pink noise, and silence.
White noise and pink noise were shown to have analgesic effects on neurons when there was a spike in neural activity as well as an increase in blood flow. White noise had the most significant effect while pink noise had moderate effects. It is possible that these two types of sound may stimulate our peripheral nervous system as well as our central nervous system--a finding which has not been studied before.
As time goes on, scientists hope to better understand how sound influences the body in relation to health and wellbeing. There are many unanswered questions about what types of sound can offer relief from various kinds of pain. For example, does the type or quality of music make a difference? And does it matter if someone else is producing the sound or if you're listening to it alone? The researchers believe that future studies should examine how human brains respond to sound over long periods of time, whereas this study only analyzed short periods. To achieve this, they would need to use electroencephalography (EEG) machines. One way that people experiencing chronic pain might benefit from the results of this study is by using speakers with soundtracks designed specifically for relaxation in combination with other treatments like meditation or physical therapy. People with chronic pain might also want to explore free apps that provide white noise or pink noise. These apps typically come with alarms so people can wake up without disturbing others, too. In addition, scientists think that hearing aids could be programmed to play relaxing noises for those who experience hearing loss and struggle with severe discomfort during the day. Another idea is to combine sound therapy sessions into therapies offered at doctor's offices where patients are being treated for acute injuries such as sprained ankles. Allowing patients to listen to soothing sounds while receiving treatment could reduce both physical and emotional pain simultaneously.
The researchers do warn against potential drawbacks of sound therapy. If it is misused, then it could trigger more problems than originally intended--for instance, if one listens to white noise late at night then sleep deprivation might occur because the patient cannot get enough restful sleep. If one uses high levels of loud background noise then there's a risk for tinnitus or ear damage because sound waves can harm the cochlea located in the inner ear which helps regulate balance and spatial orientation among other things. With any kind of therapeutic method, whether traditional or nontraditional, physicians advise using caution and asking questions about risks involved. The same is true for sound therapy.
There are currently no specific guidelines for the frequency, intensity, or duration of sound therapy. However, it is generally believed that lower frequencies are more effective in relieving pain and higher frequencies can even be damaging to the ears. Most practitioners recommend a minimum of 15 minutes of exposure to the sound to see benefits.
Sound therapy has already proven beneficial in helping people with stress, anxiety, and depression as well as improving mental performance and coordination skills in athletes. But there's still much to learn about how this technique can improve quality of life for people with chronic pain as well as those who have experienced traumatic events such as a stroke or cancer diagnosis.
The experiment
A new study published in the journal Science has found that sound can reduce pain in mice. The experiment was conducted by scientists at the University of Texas at Austin, who used a technique called optogenetics to stimulate neurons in the auditory cortex of mice. The mice were then placed in a chamber where they could hear a continuous tone. The researchers found that the mice who heard the tone experienced less pain than those who did not. They also discovered that the mice’s reactions depended on the frequency of the sound. They played two different tones: one with a frequency of 190 Hz and one with a frequency of 140 Hz. It turns out that only when they played the higher-frequency tone (190 Hz) did it lessen pain levels in both male and female mice. However, when they played the lower-frequency tone (140 Hz), females felt no difference between hearing or not hearing it. Males felt more pain when their brains weren't stimulated with the high-pitched sound. While this discovery is groundbreaking, there are many unanswered questions. For example, do these findings translate to humans? What are the implications for people who have chronic pain? How would these findings affect current treatments for chronic pain? For now, this research offers hope for some relief from chronic pain. We know that TENS units help decrease sensation of pain in areas like the back. But so far, we don't know if TENS units would have the same effect as playing a high-pitched tone. And what about other types of music? Could listening to your favorite song help take your mind off the pain you're feeling? There's plenty of anecdotal evidence that patients with chronic pain often experience relief after listening to their favorite tunes. Researchers are looking into whether certain types of music might work better than others. Stay tuned! I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, listen to your favorite tune—it just might make all the difference.
To conduct their experiment, scientists used optogenetics. This technique makes use of a virus called an adeno-associated virus (AAV). Once injected into cells, it introduces light-sensitive proteins into them, which can be activated with a pulse of blue light. Scientists place these protein-laden cells near specific neural pathways in hopes that activating them will cause an animal to perform particular behaviors. Scientists are still exploring how exactly injecting viruses works to manipulate an animal’s behavior—there is much left to learn about how our brains function! So far, though, experiments have been quite successful in creating controllable mouse models. One notable success story involved a mouse that the team had engineered to get drunk. This mouse became inebriated when he drank alcohol, but only if he was running on a wheel. One hypothesis for why this happened is that the brain needed activity in order to create its own natural painkillers, or endorphins. When the mouse ran, endorphins would activate within his brain. As such, the team tried a number of different methods to see what would make him sober up without relying on alcohol consumption, eventually succeeding in turning down his production of endorphins using optogenetics.
The results
A new study published in the journal Science has found that sound can reduce pain in mice. The study's authors say that the findings could have implications for the treatment of pain in humans. Some people are more sensitive to sound, so you might find a better effect with one person than another, said Dr. John Wood from the University of Oxford. It may be possible to adapt an existing device like a mobile phone or tablet and use it as a therapeutic tool. For example, some apps allow people to play music on their devices, which is thought to help alleviate pain. But these apps don't always work because they don't account for individual differences in how we react to sound. One way to improve them would be by adding adjustable filters based on age, weight, sex and even hearing sensitivity. Another approach would be to add pulsing tones that alternated in frequency between 250 hertz (low pitch) and 1250 hertz (high pitch). There's also potential for combining different therapies together: sound therapy combined with medication or surgery. Studies need to investigate this further. In any case, the researchers think that understanding more about sound's effects on pain will provide insights into how best to treat chronic and acute pain in patients. A recent review of studies found that white noise reduced anxiety in kids, while adults experienced benefits too. But those studies were small, and needed to be repeated before any firm conclusions could be drawn.
A larger study looking at treatments for tinnitus—an ear condition where sounds seem louder than they actually are—found that playing low-frequency sounds at 80 decibels was most effective. However, there weren't enough participants in the study to draw conclusions about effectiveness over time.
A closer look at the results
A new study published in the journal Science has found that sound can reduce pain in mice. The study's authors say that the findings could have implications for the treatment of pain in humans. In this experiment, they tested whether various types of music, played at different volumes, would affect the behavior and brain activity of laboratory mice. They found that high-tempo and rhythmic music reduced their sensitivity to a painful stimulus applied to their tails or paws by up to 25%. Even without an injury, the same kind of music produced similar results: after just two hours listening to Bach compositions, playing a virtual reality game where they had to collect coins as quickly as possible became easier for them (although researchers are not sure why). Additionally, there were changes in the levels of proteins which may be related to levels of anxiety, and oxytocin levels (the hormone associated with social bonding) increased when exposed to certain songs. And some animals who were injected with morphine still responded less sensitively when exposed to these types of sounds
Implications for humans?
Though this study was conducted on mice, the implications for humans are clear. If sound can reduce pain in rodents, it stands to reason that it could have a similar effect on humans. This is exciting news for those who suffer from chronic pain, as it offers a non-invasive way to help ease their symptoms. It also has implications for other therapies like acupuncture and mindfulness, which use needles or focus attention respectively to relieve pain. Acupuncture uses needles to disrupt nerve signals going to the brain, while mindfulness involves focusing on sensations without judgment. Using sound may be an easier and less invasive alternative that doesn't require any physical contact with a patient's body at all. The researchers speculate that sound vibrations from musical instruments or therapeutic tools such as Tibetan singing bowls might provide relief. They plan to test this theory by doing a study on human subjects, so stay tuned! A major limitation of this study is that only female mice were used. Future studies should examine how sound affects male mice, too.
What do you think? Will this work for people too? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
And finally, it's important to keep in mind that mice and humans aren't exactly identical. Though there are some similarities between them (in fact, more than there are between humans and rats), differences do exist. For example, mice metabolize drugs differently than humans do. So although these results are promising, they aren't guaranteed to hold true for people with chronic pain. Researchers will need to confirm these findings with a larger group of human subjects before we can draw any firm conclusions about how sound affects us. There are also many unanswered questions about what frequencies work best, how long treatment needs to last, and whether background noise interferes with the process. Nevertheless, this research is interesting because it suggests new ways to deal with chronic pain - something nearly everyone suffers from sooner or later. We hope you enjoyed learning about this new study! Check back next week for our next post about another cool scientific discovery.
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