Publications from the audioanalgesia Research Network and its partner networks in the NIH Music and Health Consortium.
Publications
September 2026 · Frontiers in Psychology
A taxonomic framework of music-based intervention components to guide research: recommendations from the NIH U24 music research networks
A shared vocabulary for describing music-based interventions, organized into seven core constructs and validated against 200 clinical and laboratory studies.
Robb SL, Harman E, Burns DS, Dusek JA, Johnson JK, Rodgers-Melnick SN, et al. Front Psychol. 2026;17:1876240. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1876240
July 2026 · Pain Reports
A scoping review of music-based pain treatment mechanism research
A map of 57 studies testing how music-based interventions reduce pain, with converging evidence for several candidate mechanisms and recommendations for future research.
Bradt J, Hirsh A, Jensen MP, Desbarats E, Burns DS, Dusek JA, et al. Pain Rep. 2026;11(4):e1467. doi:10.1097/PR9.0000000000001467
2025 · Leonardo
A collaborative approach in mechanistic music-based intervention and pain research: NCCIH research networks
How the NCCIH-funded music research networks coordinate their work on the mechanisms of music-based pain interventions.
Burns DS, Bradt J, Dusek JA. Leonardo. 2025;58(6):618–622. doi:10.1162/leon.a.2555
More publications from our partner networks are listed on the Music4Pain network publications page.
Join Our Network
Music-Based Interventions and Pain
This project establishes a collaborative network of scientists and clinicians from various disciplines—music therapy, psychology, biomedical engineering, medicine, integrative therapies, molecular toxicology—to address major gaps in our understanding of music-based interventions (MBIs) in chronic pain. By bridging gaps in basic, applied, and clinical research, the project aims to optimize MBI research and accelerate its programs.
The efforts of this Research Network will result in new collaborations, new understandings of the mechanisms of MBIs, and new innovative technologies to measure pain outcomes. Additionally, we will carry out a pilot study program to address important gaps in knowledge related to psychosocial, behavioral, and/or neurophysiological factors related to MBIs’ influence on pain.
This project is made possible by Grant Number U24AT012602 from National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NCCIH, NEA, or the National Institutes of Health.
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