The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government by an act of the U.S. Congress, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 29, 1965 (20 U.S.C. 951). The foundation consists of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.The NEA has its offices in Washington, D.C. It was awarded Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 1995, as well as the Special Tony Award in 2016. In 1985, the NEA won an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its work with the American Film Institute in the identification, acquisition, restoration and preservation of historic films. In 2016 and again in 2017, the National Endowment for the Arts received Emmy nominations from the Television Academy in the Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series category.S.C.S.
It has been known for millennia that music can bring joy and ease suffering. An increasing number of researchers from different disciplines are studying the possible mechanisms for music-based interventions (MBIs) and working to establish the effectiveness of these interventions in alleviating the symptoms of neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular, and other disorders. Developments in this field were discussed at a workshop, Music as Medicine: The Science and Clinical Practice, in December, 2023,1 co-chaired by Francis Collins and Renée Fleming and organised collaboratively by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Renée Fleming Foundation.
This editorial provides a background and overview of the interdisciplinary workshop on “The Social and Neural Bases of Creative Movement,” bringing together dancers, choreographers, musicians, artists, kinesiologists and neuroscientists to share perspectives and develop a common language to define and explore the relationship between dance and the brain.
Abstract Among the disabling post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms are irritability, aggressive behavior, distressing memories and general impaired cognition and negative mood. Art therapy interventions, including mask-making, can potentially alleviate these symptoms. We tested the hypothesis that art conveys emotions and predicted that blinded viewers would be able to perceive changes in theoretically derived emotional profiles expressed in art made by military personnel with PTSS from the onset to the end of therapy. Five service members and veterans exhibiting PTSS were enrolled in an 8-session art therapy protocol, during which they artistically transformed papier-mâché masks at the beginning and end of the protocol. We found that blinded viewers without knowledge of the masks' creation stage (onset or end of therapy) read initial masks as conveying more negative emotions (e.g., angry, upset, and challenged) and later masks as conveying more positive emotions (calm and pleasure). Based on the assessments from the blinded evaluators, we infer the emotional transition experienced by the participants was expressed in the masks. In an exploratory arm of the study, we also found that viewers were better able to empathize with the negative emotions experienced by participants with PTSS when asked to explicitly take their perspective.
BACKGROUND:Chronic pain and access to care are identified as critical needs of the Veterans Health Administration. Music imagery and music listening interventions have shown promise as effective nonpharmacological options for pain management. However, most studies have focused on acute pain, passive music experiences, and in-person delivery.OBJECTIVE:In this study, we aimed to examine the feasibility and acceptability of 2 music interventions delivered through telehealth for chronic musculoskeletal pain, trial design, and theoretical model before conducting a fully powered efficacy or comparative effectiveness trial.METHODS:FAMILIA (Feasibility and Acceptability of Music Imagery and Listening Interventions for Analgesia) is a 3-arm, parallel group, pilot trial. A total of 60 veterans will be randomized to one of the three conditions: music imagery, music listening, or usual care. Aim 1 is to test the feasibility and acceptability of a multicomponent, interactive music imagery intervention (8-weekly, individual sessions) and a single-component, minimally interactive music learning intervention (independent music listening). Feasibility metrics related to recruitment, retention, engagement, and completion of the treatment protocol and questionnaires will be assessed. Up to 20 qualitative interviews will be conducted to assess veteran experiences with both interventions, including perceived benefits, acceptability, barriers, and facilitators. Interview transcripts will be coded and analyzed for emergent themes. Aim 2 is to explore the effects of music imagery and music listening versus usual care on pain and associated patient-centered outcomes. These outcomes and potential mediators will be explored through changes from baseline to follow-up assessments at 1, 3, and 4 months. Descriptive statistics will be used to describe outcomes; this pilot study is not powered to detect differences in outcomes.RESULTS:Recruitment for FAMILIA began in March 2022, and as of July 2022, 16 participants have been enrolled. We anticipate that enrollment will be completed by May 2023. We expect that music imagery and music listening will prove acceptable to veterans and that feasibility benchmarks will be reached. We hypothesize that music imagery and music listening will be more effective than usual care on pain and related outcomes.CONCLUSIONS:FAMILIA addresses four limitations in music intervention research for chronic pain: limited studies in veterans, evaluation of a multicomponent music intervention, methodological rigor, and internet-based delivery. Findings from FAMILIA will inform a fully powered trial to identify putative mechanisms and test efficacy.TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05426941; https://tinyurl.com/3jdhx28u.INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID):DERR1-10.2196/38788.
