Neuropsychological and Clinical Effects of Indian Classical Ragas: A Narrative Review
G. Adi Seshu
Department of Botany, St. Ann’s Degree College for Women(A), Malkapuram, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
G. Lalitha Reddy
Department of History, St. Ann’s Degree College for Women(A), Malkapuram, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Ch. Prasanthi *
Department of Microbiology, St. Ann’s Degree College for Women(A), Malkapuram, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Raga Therapy plays a crucial role in therapy sessions by helping people calm their mind and relieve from stress. Indian classical ragas have long been claimed to affect mood and behaviour. Listening to a Raga continuously for a longer period of time has considerably reduced the Systolic and Diastolic Blood pressure and Pulse rate. Recent neurophysiological and clinical studies provide growing empirical evidence that ragas can modulate brain rhythms, autonomic activity, attention, and affective states. This narrative review summarizes contemporary findings on the neuropsychological effects of Indian classical ragas, outlines mechanisms proposed by neuroscience research, and discusses clinical and community applications — with attention to the research and practice context in Visakhapatnam. Key gaps and recommendations for future local research are provided.
Keywords: Raga, Indian classical music, EEG, attention, emotion regulation, music therapy, Visakhapatnam