Pilot trial of Sound 6D®: reducing anxiety in inpatients with psychosis through audio stimulation

The effects of sound and music in medical patients are a heterogeneous field of research. In the psychiatric setting, sound-based interventions are widely used with varied techniques and patient subpopulations. This thesis reports a pilot study that was conducted to investigate the anxiolytic effects of audio stimulation on a group of inpatients of a therapeutic community affected by psychosis. Background information is provided in the first chapters concerning psychosis and its community treatment, and music therapy and similar sound-based interventions. In the reported study, audio stimulation was produced with the Sound 6D® system, a technology of high-fidelity sound reproduction, in order to provide a deep immersive listening experience. The study was conducted as a crossover trial that compared the effects of two audio tracks, one with verbal content and the other with non-verbal, ambient sounds only. Before and after each listening session, measurement of anxiety was performed with psychometric and biometric tools, such as State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), heart rate and respiratory rate. Results showed that while anxiety decreased consistently with both audio tracks, the verbal intervention had a significantly higher effect, especially in the first listening session.

Studio pilota di Sound 6D®: riduzione dell'ansia in pazienti con psicosi tramite stimolazione sonora