Advances in Effect of Music Therapy in Management of Stress

Stress is a complex psychophysiological response mediated primarily through activation of the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. While acute stress responses are adaptive and essential for survival, prolonged or dysregulated stress leads to allostatic overload, contributing to neuroendocrine imbalance, oxidative stress, immune dysfunction, metabolic disturbances, and behavioural impairments. Owing to the limitations and adverse effects associated with pharmacological stress management, there is growing scientific interest in non-pharmacological and integrative interventions. Among these, music therapy has emerged as a biologically credible and evidence-based approach for stress modulation. This chapter synthesizes current understanding of stress physiology, types of stress, and underlying neuroendocrine mechanisms, with emphasis on the Sympathetic–Adreno–Medullary (SAM) and Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Axis (HPA) axis. It further examines the role of music therapy in modulating autonomic activity, neuroendocrine hormone release, brain network dynamics, emotional processing, and redox balance. Advances in music therapy research, including the use of objective stress biomarkers, neuroimaging techniques, standardized intervention protocols, experimental animal models, and personalized digital approaches, are critically discussed. Collectively, accumulating evidence demonstrates that music therapy exerts multidimensional effects on psychological, physiological, and molecular pathways involved in stress regulation. These findings support the integration of music therapy into clinical, experimental, and community-based frameworks for effective management of stress and stress-related disorders