Psychological effects of Music

Music affects the brain in many ways, some of which are just being studied. There have been many clinical research on music and therapeutical benefits. Some studies have shown how music can be effective in treating Alzheimer's disease, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia, stroke, NICU infants, language acquisition, dyslexia, pain management, stress and anxiety, coma, and more. 

In an article by Scott Severance, he explains some studies conducted to show some of the psychological effects music has on the brain. "Torres and Torres discuss a study by G. M. Schreckenberg and H. H. Bird (1988) on mice that demonstrates the widespread effects of music. At birth, 36 mice were divided into three groups: harmonic, disharmonic, and a control group. Around the clock, the harmonic group was exposed to harmonic music and the control group was kept in a relatively quiet environment at 75 decibels. Two months into the study, four mice from each group were killed and preserved for later study. The remaining mice were given three weeks of maze training followed by three weeks of rest during which no training took place. After the rest period, they were tested for another three weeks to determine how much they remembered, then they, too, were killed and their brains were studied along with the previous twelve mice's brains. The results demonstrate that "disharmonic music causes 1) brain nerve damage and 2) behavior degradation" (p. 27).

Several forms of disharmonic music, Rock being one of them, seem to be addictive. In an interview, Schram (1999), an avid popular music listener, said that he is depressed if he goes too long without his preferred style of music. Numerous others have reported this same phenomenon. However, they deny being negatively affected. The "withdrawal" symptoms, such as depression, are probably due largely to the heightened state of arousal caused by the rhythm and tempo of disharmonic music. When some people have changed from disharmonic music to harmonic music, they report feeling better overall after initial withdrawal symptoms."
http://tdlc.ucsd.edu/research/highlights/rh-music-and-brain-2011.html
http://www.scottseverance.us/music/effects_of_music.htm