Exploration Of Effect And Brain Mechanism Of Music Tempo On Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a prevalent neurological disorder caused by changes in the structure and function of the brain.Music intervention is an effective method to assist the epilepsy therapy,with Mozart’s K448 being the most commonly used musical stimulus.However,the specific musical elements of K448 that play a crucial role in epilepsy intervention,and the underlying brain mechanisms they may affect are not yet clear.Tempo is an essential musical element that can produce therapeutic effects by resonating with the human body’s rhythms.Therefore,we hypothesized that music tempo may play a significant role in the effectiveness of music-assisted epilepsy treatment.The present study aimed to further explore the mechanisms of music-assisted therapy for epilepsy and provide clinical references by using music stimuli at different tempos.The data used in this study were collected in collaboration with West China Hospital of Sichuan University.Epileptic patients were randomly assigned to different groups and listened to eight minutes of music(fast,original,slow Mozart and control music)while their EEG was recorded throughout the process.After screening,data from147 patients with epilepsy were included in the study.Results indicated that,except for differences in tempo,the different music stimuli used in this study were similar in other musical elements.Listening to original Mozart significantly reduced the number of Interictal epileptiform discharges(IEDs),which reflects the epileptic state,providing clinical evidence for the effectiveness of music intervention.Furthermore,the results of the EEG power spectrum showed a significant decrease in β power in the frontal,parietal,and occipital lobes.Further analysis of the brain network revealed increased functional connectivity in the frontal lobe,while functional connectivity between the frontal,parietal,temporal,and occipital brain regions decreased.In addition,the results of Phase-amplitude coupling(PAC)also showed a significant decrease in the average PAC of the entire brain,especially in the frontal,parietal,and occipital lobes,after listening to original Mozart,while no such changes were observed for the other music stimuli.These results provide clinical and EEG indicators of the therapeutic effects of original Mozart on epilepsy,and we speculate that the original Mozart may affect the therapeutic effects by regulating the attention network.After proving that the tempo in music has an essential role in the intervention of epilepsy in Mozart K448(the original Mozart has better therapeutic effect compared with other stimuli).Furthermore,we are interested in which subtype of epilepsy is more sensitive to the original Mozart.Therefore,patients were classified into focal and generalized epilepsy according to the origin of the epilepsy.By comparing the power spectrum,PAC,and brain network differences between focal and generalized epilepsy before and after listening to original Mozart,this work aimed to further identify which subtype of epilepsy had a more sensitive response to the music tempo.It is possible to provide more precise support for which epilepsy subtype the music tempo intervenes.The power spectrum results showed that after listening to music,the beta power of generalized epilepsy decreased significantly,mainly in the parietal,occipital,and temporal regions;PAC results showed that overall PAC value decreased,mainly in the temporal,parietal,and occipital regions.However,focal epilepsy showed a trend of increased beta power after listening to music,and with no significant change in the PAC results.These findings suggest that original tempo music is effective in treating generalized epilepsy.Furthermore,the study further explored the correlation between PAC changes and patient age and disease duration,which showed a negative correlation in generalized epilepsy,suggesting that the effectiveness of original tempo music in treating generalized epilepsy decreases with age and disease duration.This work aims to provide ideas for the precise clinical treatment of which subtype of epilepsy is suitable for original tempo music.In summary,the work verified that tempo is an essential factor in musical interventions that assist epilepsy therapy,and found that original Mozart has the best effect.Further analysis revealed that generalized epilepsy was more sensitive to original Mozart intervention.This work contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of music-assisted treatment of epilepsy,and also provides a further reference point for some method that can assist the clinical treatment of epilepsy.