Anxiety reduction with music and tempo synchronization on magnetic resonance imaging patients

Abstract

Anxiety and claustrophobic reactions in MRI examinations cause unintentional movements, and such motion artifacts lead to interpretation problems. Furthermore, requested anesthesia makes the process costly. A total of 60 outpatients were examined in the Diagnostic Centre of Pécs, Hungary, to test whether synchronizing recorded music to the gradient pulsation of the MRI device can improve the sedative effect of the music. The patients were assigned to three groups: a nonmusic (control), an original tempo (random) and a synchronized music (synchronous) group. Results showed a significantly decreased state anxiety level after the MRI examination in the random and synchronous groups as compared with the control group. However, there was no difference in the effectiveness of either music conditions regarding state anxiety level after the examination. Participants in the music groups found the examination significantly more pleasant compared with the control group. In conclusion, the present study provides support for the notion that listening to music during an MRI examination significantly reduces patient anxiety, whereas noise attenuating devices do not provide the same effect.