Live Concerts and the Pathway toward Ventral Vagal Regulation

Live concerts are more than entertainment; they are immersive environments that can support physiological and emotional regulation. This chapter explores the role of live musical performance in stimulating the ventral vagal system, a key mechanism for emotional resilience, social connection, and trauma recovery, as described by polyvagal theory. Drawing from interdisciplinary research in neuroscience, musicology, psychology, and trauma studies, the chapter highlights how music evokes feelings of safety and supports co-regulation. Live concerts are examined as embodied experiences that can shift participants from sympathetic arousal into parasympathetic regulation. The chapter concludes with a proposed mixed-methods research design combining phenomenological inquiry and physiological measurements (e.g., HRV) to evaluate live music&s;s impact on emotional well-being.