Music Intervention Reduces Persistent Fibromyalgia Pain and Alters Functional Connectivity Between the Insula and Default Mode Network.

Objective: The aims of the present study were to examine the effects of short-term music interventions among patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and to clarify the alterations in functional connectivity and persistent pain.

Design: Pilot study.

Setting: All participants were evaluated at Juntendo University from November 2017 to January 2019.

Subjects: We enrolled female patients who had been clinically diagnosed with FM (N = 23).

Methods: All participants listened to Mozart's Duo for Violin and Viola No. 1, K. 423, in a quiet room for 17 minutes. We compared the degree of pain using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and the numeric rating scale before and after listening to music.

Results: Pain scores were significantly reduced after listening to music. Further, we observed there was a significant difference in connectivity between the right insular cortex (IC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/precuneus (PCu) before and after listening to music. We also found that the difference between the right IC-PCu connectivity and the difference in pain scores were significantly correlated.

Conclusions: We found that a short period of music intervention reduced chronic pain and altered functional IC-default mode network connectivity. Furthermore, music potentially normalized the neural network via IC-default mode network connectivity, yielding temporary pain relief in patients with FM. Further longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm these results.