MSN - Listening to the blues might help reverse your own blue mood

Music alleviates depression, reports a study in the journal Complementary Therapies. Researchers at the National University of Singapore reviewed 17 studies that examined the effects of music on the big D, and found that playing your favorite tunes as little as once a week can help reduce depressive symptoms.

So what's behind the power of the playlist? Valorie Salimpoor, a Ph.D. candidate in psychology and neuroscience at McGill University who has studied the impact of music on mood, says there are three ways music can reduce depression.

"The brain is organized in such a way that thinking about one bad thing recalls another," Salimpoor says. "Music provides a great intrusion and breaks this cycle. When you're concentrating on the music you hear, you don't have the mental resources to focus on other negative thoughts."