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Updated: May 25, 2026

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Published on: January 7, 2020
HRV response of vegetative state patient with music therapy
Yaw-Chern Lee1, Chun-Yang Lei, Yi-Sen Shih
1sense/tcm SOC Lab, Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Abstract:
This case study centered on the effects of Music Therapy (MT) on vegetative state (VS) patients for a continuous 41-day experiment with electrocardiogram (ECG) recorded. Mahler's Second Symphony was used for this MT. There are various elements in Mahler's second symphony, with string, wind, drum, and even voice; providing the subject a strong and dynamic stimulation. There are some significant changes after 14-day stimulation: both standard deviation of all normal RR intervals (SDNN) and root mean square successive differences (RMSSD) in heart rate variability of the subject increased, indicating the activity of the cardiovascular system was enhanced. Although there's only one subject in this experiment, the results are still encouraging.
