Effects of different music on HEK293T cell growth and mitochondrial functions.

Background: Mitochondria are considered a portal to receive, process and integrate external energy and information to maintain cellular homeostasis. Previous studies demonstrated that mitochondrial function and antioxidant capacity of in-vitro cultured mammalian cells is modified by different energetic stimuli including electromagnetic energy, acoustic energy, external Qi and subtle energy emitted by written texts in relatively short time frames. Thus, individual cells can act as a rapid and sensitive biological sensor and act as a platform to evaluate and understand the subtle effect of different biophysical stimuli. Regarding acoustic energy, several different types of music have been reported to produce beneficial effects on human health.

Objective: To compare eastern and western music styles on cell function at the biochemical level to understand the underlying mechanisms involved. Methods In this study, we compared the effects of Chinese five-element music with two types of western music (heavy-metal and classical) on mitochondrial function, oxidative capacity and growth using HEK293T cells (human embryonic kidney cells).

Results: Unlike rock and classical music, exposing cells to five-element music produced several beneficial physiological effects, including statistically significant increases in the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by 17%, glutathione (GSH) by 21% and cell growth rates (14%), as well as a significant reduction in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) by 13%. For the group treated with classical music, there was only a trend toward increased GSH (8%), although the increased growth rates (14%) did reach significance. In sharp contrast, the cells treated with heavy-metal music responded with an opposite and significant 16% increase in ROS and a significant 11% reduction in cell viability.

Conclusions: This study revealed the dramatically different and even opposite effects of different styles of music on specific biochemical measures in cultured human cells. These results help explain the underlying biochemical mechanisms of the effects of the different types of music.