Music-induced analgesia and dopaminergic gating of pain memory: 2025 neurochemical evidence for auditory therapeutics

Auditory-driven analgesia through music exposure is emerging as a biologically measurable modulator of pain memory rather than a distraction-based coping tool alone. Latest 2025 neurochemical mapping shows that structured music stimuli activate mesolimbic dopamine release, reduce amygdalar pain-trace reconsolidation, and gate nucleus accumbens–periaqueductal gray pain-memory coupling. These effects reshape nociceptive recall strength without pharmacologic replacement, supporting early auditory therapy integration alongside standard analgesic frameworks.