Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals
Published on: May 23, 2017
Turning toward dissonance: lessons from art, music, and literature
Suzana K E Makowski1, Ronald M Epstein
1Lois Green Learning Community, Cancer Center of Excellence, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. Suzana.Makowski@gmail.com
Abstract:
Conflict and chaos are prevalent in health care, and perhaps especially in palliative care. Typically, our point of entry into our patients' lives is often at the moment of conflict, discord, or intense suffering. Despite this, little in our formal training as clinicians teaches us how to be present for this suffering. Much has been written about the process of communication with regard to giving bad news, handling family meeting conflicts, and negotiating shifting goals of care, but little has been addressed about how to train the clinician to be present with the dissonance and suffering. In this paper, we explore how music, art, and literature teach us how to stay in moments of tension. In turn, lessons on how to learn to lean into the dissonance of many palliative care encounters are extrapolated.
Related Concept Videos
Cognitive Dissonance
Impression Management Techniques III: Aligning Actions
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects
Framing Effects
Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance
One common type of conflict is the Approach–Approach Conflict. In this case, a person faces two desirable options,...
Standing Waves

