Brain Bee Ideas - Can Music Heal the Brain? Investigating the Effects of Emotionally Powerful Music on Brain Activity Using EEG and NIRS

Brain Bee Ideas - Can Music Heal the Brain? Investigating the Effects of Emotionally Powerful Music on Brain Activity Using EEG and NIRS

Main Research Question:

Can emotionally meaningful music act like a “mini REM dream” while we’re awake — helping the brain process and release emotional overload (anergia)?

 Why Explore This?

Every day we go through challenges — frustrations, anxiety, rejection, fear. Often, we don’t have time (or space) to process all that. It stays stuck in the body and mind. This unexpressed emotional energy is what we call anergia.

But something strange and beautiful happens when we hear that song —
The one that makes us cry. Or gives chills. Or suddenly makes us breathe better.

Could music be reorganizing our brain? Could it help us process our feelings, the same way dreams do during REM sleep?

 What Do We Want to Investigate?

With two amazing tools:

• EEG (Electroencephalography): to track real-time brainwaves related to emotion, memory, and attention.
  
  

• NIRS (Near-Infrared Spectroscopy): to measure how much oxygen-rich blood reaches the brain during different musical moments.
  
  

Experiment Idea:

1. Recruit 15–18-year-old volunteers (students like you!).
   
   

2. Ask each participant to:
   
   

• Pick one deeply emotional song (their “special song”),
  
  

• Pick one neutral song (same tempo, but no emotional connection).
  
  

3. Run a short EEG + NIRS session while the participant listens to:
   
   

• The neutral song (3 minutes),
  
  

• Then the special song (3 minutes).
  
  

4. After listening, ask simple questions:
   
   

• Did you feel anything change?
  
  

• Any memories or emotions come up?
  
  

• Did it feel like relief or release?
  
  

What Do We Expect to See?

• The emotional song activates brain areas linked to memory, identity, and belonging.
  
  

• Increased oxygenation in the prefrontal cortex (measured by NIRS).
  
  

• EEG patterns may resemble REM-like activity (linked to emotional dreaming).
  
  

• Participants may report feeling lighter, more connected, or emotionally reset.
  
  

 Why Does This Matter?

In a world filled with social media pressure, anxiety, and emotional overload, music might be one of our most powerful (and natural) tools for mental health and emotional balance.

This research could help:

  Understand how the brain releases emotional tension;
  Show that music has measurable healing effects;
  Highlight how artists are emotional regulators in society.

Some Great References to Explore:

• Koelsch, S. (2014). Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions.
  
  

• Michel & Koenig (2018). EEG microstates and emotional processing.
  
  

• Blood & Zatorre (2001). Intensely pleasurable responses to music.
  
  

• Jackson Cionek (2025). Music as a Micro-Tensional Self: A Pathway to Belonging.
  
  

  Your Brain Bee Challenge:

Could you be the one to prove that music is more than sound — it’s a cognitive and emotional rebalancing tool that works like dreaming while awake?