EEG Analysis of Music Genres and their Effects on Depression Relief

The number of individuals diagnosed with depression continues to rise, with most patients unwilling to pursue medication or electroconvulsive therapy. This study proposes a simple, non-invasive, and side-effect-free approach for alleviating de-pressive emotions through music therapy, utilizing three types of auditory stimuli: Classical music, Baroque music, and ASMR soundscapes. EEG data were record-ed throughout the sessions, and depression levels were evaluated before and after intervention using the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. A total of 38 university students with varying depressive tendencies participated in the experiment. Results revealed that Classical music produced statistically significant and medium-to-large effect sizes, confirming its strong therapeutic potential. Ba-roque music showed moderate improvement, while ASMR yielded minimal and non-significant effects. EEG analyses further indicated that Baroque music en-hanced emotional stabilization through Alpha and Beta band modulation, while overall brain activity gradually shifted toward Delta and Theta frequencies, reflect-ing deep relaxation and stress relief. In addition, music preference emerged as a key factor influencing emotional outcomes, highlighting the importance of person-alized auditory engagement. Overall, the findings support music therapy as an ef-fective non-pharmacological intervention for emotional regulation and depression prevention, offering potential for integration into digital mental health and EEG-based self-regulation systems.