NEW YORK, Nov 4, (Agencies): When Michelle Yang put on a pair of headphones to listen to one of her favorite songs, Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer," she experienced an unexpected sensation. A flash of pain shot through her left forearm. However, this wasn't a random occurrence but part of a study conducted by researchers at a Montreal university, aiming to understand how listening to one's preferred music can influence the perception of pain.

For the study, participants like Yang selected their favorite songs, and researchers placed a thermal simulator on their forearms to create a sensation similar to touching a hot cup of coffee. While Taylor Swift's lyrics filled Yang's ears, she felt happy and carefree, almost oblivious to the discomfort. This song, which she often listened to during grocery shopping amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, provided a sense of liberation, and that feeling was rekindled during the study.

Michelle Yang's experience mirrors that of most participants in McGill University's research. Recently published results in the Frontiers journal revealed that listening to one's favorite music can reduce the perception of pain to a degree comparable to taking Advil.

Now, in the study's second phase, researchers are delving into brain activity to pinpoint which parts of the mind create this relieved perception.

Mathieu Roy, one of the study's lead researchers and a psychology professor at McGill University, acknowledges that there is still much mystery surrounding the impact of music on our emotions. He stated, "There is a little bit of a mystery surrounding music. It's not clear why we experience such strong emotional experiences when we listen."

Notably, other researchers have previously found that music can alleviate stress and pain, even in babies. An August 2022 study published in the PLOS One journal demonstrated that acute pain decreased when individuals had control over the music they were listening to. Back in the fall of 2019, McGill University's researchers aimed to build on these findings by examining pain levels in people while listening to their favorite music.

The research team recruited 63 participants, many of whom were psychology students at the university. They were asked to list two songs: their all-time favorite track and a song they would bring to a desert island, with the sole requirement being that the song had to be at least 3 minutes and 20 seconds long.

During the study, participants were seated in front of a computer, where a thermal simulator, a device that emits heat, was programmed to reach temperatures between 113 and 122 degrees. The simulator was moved to different areas of the participants' left forearms. Simultaneously, the participants listened to various types of music and used a computer screen to rate their pain on a scale from zero to 100.

The study unfolded in several phases. Initially, participants enjoyed their favorite songs for nearly seven minutes. Then, they listened to calming tracks from a music therapy app. Subsequently, participants heard shuffled versions of their favorite songs and relaxing songs, with lyrics rearranged and tracks frequently switched. Finally, they sat in silence for approximately seven minutes.

The key takeaway was that participants experienced significant pain relief while listening to their favorite songs. Their reported pain levels were consistently almost 10 points lower on the zero-to-100 scale during this phase compared to when they listened to other types of music. In post-study interviews, researchers discovered that songs that most effectively reduced pain induced various emotions in listeners, including happiness, sadness, feelings of being understood, or empowerment. Participants reported profound connections to the meanings of specific songs, such