The Effects of Music on the Brain: A Literature Review of fNIRS Studies

Year 2025, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 386 - 412, 25.08.2025

Emin Abdülkadir Çolakoğlu

Abstract

This review study examines 40 experimental studies investigating the effects of music on the brain using the fNIRS neuroimaging tool. The study is a narrative review. The studies included were analysed descriptively in terms of various characteristics such as year, country, participant profile, experimental design, devices used, brain regions examined, musical stimuli used, and their durations. Subsequently, a thematic content analysis approach was used to classify the studies under five main themes: the effects of music on cognitive functions, the neurophysiological and emotional effects of music, music therapy and health applications, the social effects of music and interbrain synchronization, methodological innovations and fNIRS analytical approaches. The review results show that fNIRS-based music research has increased in recent years, with studies predominantly concentrated in China, Japan, Brazil, and South Korea. While the studies examined reveal various effects of music on the brain, they also have some methodological limitations. This review aims to summarize the current state and trends in the field, to present the potential of this field to researchers in our country, and to guide future research.

Keywords

Brain , Functional near-infrared spectroscopy , Music

MÜZİĞİN BEYİN ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİLERİ: fNIRS ÇALIŞMALARININ LİTERATÜR DERLEMESİ

Abstract

Bu derleme çalışması, fNIRS nörogörüntüleme aracı kullanılarak müziğin beyindeki etkilerini inceleyen 40 deneysel çalışmayı ele almaktadır. Çalışma, geleneksel anlatı derlemesi (narrative review) türündedir. Ele alınan çalışmalar yıl, ülke, katılımcı profili, deneysel desen, kullanılan cihazlar, incelenen beyin bölgeleri, kullanılan müzikal uyaranlar ve süreleri gibi çeşitli özellikleri açısından betimsel olarak analiz edilmiştir. Ardından tematik bir yaklaşımla içerik analizi gerçekleştirilerek beş ana tema altında sınıflandırılmıştır: müziğin bilişsel işlevler üzerindeki etkileri, müziğin nörofizyolojik ve duygusal etkileri, müzik terapi ve sağlık uygulamaları, müziğin sosyal etkileri ve beyinler arası senkronizasyon, yöntemsel yenilikler ve fNIRS analitik yaklaşımlar. Derleme sonucunda, fNIRS ile yapılan müzik araştırmalarının son yıllarda arttığı, çalışmaların çoğunlukla Çin, Japonya, Brezilya ve Güney Kore’de yoğunlaştığı görülmüştür. İncelenen çalışmalar, müziğin beyin üzerindeki çeşitli etkilerini ortaya koymakla birlikte, bazı metodolojik sınırlılıklar içermektedir. Bu derleme, alandaki mevcut durumu ve eğilimleri özetlemenin yanı sıra ülkemiz araştırmacılarına bu alandaki potansiyeli sunmayı ve gelecekteki araştırmalara yön vermeyi amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

Beyin , fNIRS , Müzik

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