From perception to pleasure: music and its neural substrates. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013;110 Suppl 2:10430-10437. [PMID: 23754373 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1301228110]

Lights on music cognition: A systematic and critical review of fNIRS applications and future perspectives

Research investigating the neural processes related to music perception and production constitutes a well-established field within the cognitive neurosciences. While most neuroimaging tools have limitations in studying the complexity of musical experiences, functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) represents a promising, relatively new tool for studying music processes in both laboratory and ecological settings, which is also suitable for both typical and pathological populations across development. Here we systematically review fNIRS studies on music cognition, highlighting prospects and potentialities. We also include an overview of fNIRS basic theory, together with a brief comparison to characteristics of other neuroimaging tools. Fifty-nine studies meeting inclusion criteria (i.e., using fNIRS with music as the primary stimulus) are presented across five thematic sections. Critical discussion of methodology leads us to propose guidelines of good practices aiming for robust signal analyses and reproducibility. A continuously updated world map is proposed, including basic information from studies meeting the inclusion criteria. It provides an organized, accessible, and updatable reference database, which could serve as a catalyst for future collaborations within the community. In conclusion, fNIRS shows potential for investigating cognitive processes in music, particularly in ecological contexts and with special populations, aligning with current research priorities in music cognition.

Musical Neurofeedback Advancements, Feedback Modalities, and Applications: A Systematic Review

The field of EEG-Neurofeedback (EEG-NF) training has showcased significant promise in treating various mental disorders, while also emerging as a cognitive enhancer across diverse applications. The core principle of EEG-NF involves consciously guiding the brain in desired directions, necessitating active engagement in neurofeedback (NF) tasks over an extended period. Music listening tasks have proven to be effective stimuli for such training, influencing emotions, mood, and brainwave patterns. This has spurred the development of musical NF systems and training protocols. Despite these advancements, there exists a gap in systematic literature that comprehensively explores and discusses the various modalities of feedback mechanisms, its benefits, and the emerging applications. Addressing this gap, our review article presents a thorough literature survey encompassing studies on musical NF conducted over the past decade. This review highlights the several benefits and applications ranging from neurorehabilitation to therapeutic interventions, stress management, diagnostics of neurological disorders, and sports performance enhancement. While acknowledged for advantages and popularity of musical NF, there is an opportunity for growth in the literature in terms of the need for systematic randomized controlled trials to compare its effectiveness with other modalities across different tasks. Addressing this gap will involve developing standardized methodologies for studying protocols and optimizing parameters, presenting an exciting prospect for advancing the field.

The perception of emotion in music by people with hearing loss and people with cochlear implants

Music is an important part of life for many people. It can evoke a wide range of emotions, including sadness, happiness, anger, tension, relief and excitement. People with hearing loss and people with cochlear implants have reduced abilities to discriminate some of the features of musical sounds that may be involved in evoking emotions. This paper reviews these changes in perceptual abilities and describes how they affect the perception of emotion in music. For people with acquired partial hearing loss, it appears that the perception of emotion in music is almost normal, whereas congenital partial hearing loss is associated with impaired perception of music emotion. For people with cochlear implants, the ability to discriminate changes in fundamental frequency (associated with perceived pitch) is much worse than normal and musical harmony is hardly perceived. As a result, people with cochlear implants appear to judge emotion in music primarily using tempo and rhythm cues, and this limits the range of emotions that can be judged. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sensing and feeling: an integrative approach to sensory processing and emotional experience'.

The association between liking, learning and creativity in music

Aesthetic preference is intricately linked to learning and creativity. Previous studies have largely examined the perception of novelty in terms of pleasantness and the generation of novelty via creativity separately. The current study examines the connection between perception and generation of novelty in music; specifically, we investigated how pleasantness judgements and brain responses to musical notes of varying probability (estimated by a computational model of auditory expectation) are linked to learning and creativity. To facilitate learning de novo, 40 non-musicians were trained on an unfamiliar artificial music grammar. After learning, participants evaluated the pleasantness of the final notes of melodies, which varied in probability, while their EEG was recorded. They also composed their own musical pieces using the learned grammar which were subsequently assessed by experts. As expected, there was an inverted U-shaped relationship between liking and probability: participants were more likely to rate the notes with intermediate probabilities as pleasant. Further, intermediate probability notes elicited larger N100 and P200 at posterior and frontal sites, respectively, associated with prediction error processing. Crucially, individuals who produced less creative compositions preferred higher probability notes, whereas individuals who composed more creative pieces preferred notes with intermediate probability. Finally, evoked brain responses to note probability were relatively independent of learning and creativity, suggesting that these higher-level processes are not mediated by brain responses related to performance monitoring. Overall, our findings shed light on the relationship between perception and generation of novelty, offering new insights into aesthetic preference and its neural correlates.

The neurobiology of aesthetic chills: How bodily sensations shape emotional experiences

The phenomenon of aesthetic chills-shivers and goosebumps associated with either rewarding or threatening stimuli-offers a unique window into the brain basis of conscious reward because of their universal nature and simultaneous subjective and physical counterparts. Elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying aesthetic chills can reveal fundamental insights about emotion, consciousness, and the embodied mind. What is the precise timing and mechanism of bodily feedback in emotional experience? How are conscious feelings and motivations generated from interoceptive predictions? What is the role of uncertainty and precision signaling in shaping emotions? How does the brain distinguish and balance processing of rewards versus threats? We review neuroimaging evidence and highlight key questions for understanding how bodily sensations shape conscious feelings. This research stands to advance models of brain-body interactions shaping affect and may lead to novel nonpharmacological interventions for disorders of motivation and pleasure.

Visual art- and music-based interventions as adjuvants in the treatment of eating disorders: a systematic review and a theoretical model

AIM

To assess the effect of visual art- and music-based interventions in the treatment of eating disorders.

METHODS

This study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020161503). Six databases (CINAHL, EMBASE, Lilacs, PsycINFO, PubMed and The Cochrane Library) were consulted. The searches were performed on 19 June 2019, and updated on 18 March 2022. No restriction on language, date, or publication status was applied. Methodological quality was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute's instruments. All steps were performed by two independent reviewers and a third participated in the event of disagreement.

RESULTS

Eight studies were included. Few statistically significant results were found. Overall, both interventions might help to reduce negative emotional states.

CONCLUSION

Visual art- and music-based interventions present limited and inconclusive scientific evidence in patients with eating disorders and therefore their effectiveness is currently unknown. A theoretical model is proposed to guide future research. Further studies are needed to clarify their clinical relevance.

The psychophysiology of music-based interventions and the experience of pain

In modern times there is increasing acceptance that music-based interventions are useful aids in the clinical treatment of a range of neurological and psychiatric conditions, including helping to reduce the perception of pain. Indeed, the belief that music, whether listening or performing, can alter human pain experiences has a long history, dating back to the ancient Greeks, and its potential healing properties have long been appreciated by indigenous cultures around the world. The subjective experience of acute or chronic pain is complex, influenced by many intersecting physiological and psychological factors, and it is therefore to be expected that the impact of music therapy on the pain experience may vary from one situation to another, and from one person to another. Where pain persists and becomes chronic, aberrant central processing is a key feature associated with the ongoing pain experience. Nonetheless, beneficial effects of exposure to music on pain relief have been reported across a wide range of acute and chronic conditions, and it has been shown to be effective in neonates, children and adults. In this comprehensive review we examine the various neurochemical, physiological and psychological factors that underpin the impact of music on the pain experience, factors that potentially operate at many levels - the periphery, spinal cord, brainstem, limbic system and multiple areas of cerebral cortex. We discuss the extent to which these factors, individually or in combination, influence how music affects both the quality and intensity of pain, noting that there remains controversy about the respective roles that diverse central and peripheral processes play in this experience. Better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie music's impact on pain perception together with insights into central processing of pain should aid in developing more effective synergistic approaches when music therapy is combined with clinical treatments. The ubiquitous nature of music also facilitates application from the therapeutic environment into daily life, for ongoing individual and social benefit.

Effect of Music Therapy on the Psychological Well-Being of Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients: A Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the management effect of music therapy on the psychological health of patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), with focus on improving levels of depression, anxiety and stress.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of clinical data was conducted for 218 patients with sleep disorders accompanied by hemodialysis (HD) from January 2020 to December 2023. The subjects were categorized into a control group comprising 122 cases and an observational group comprising 96 cases. The observation group received music therapy in addition to routine management for 3 months. The psychological health status of patients was assessed using the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Hemodialysis Stressor Scale (HSS), among other indicators. t Tests, χ2 test and Wilcoxon test were performed.

RESULTS

After 3 months, the SDS and SAS scores of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The scores for the "psychological stressors," "physiological stressors" and "social stressors" dimensions of HSS were also significantly lower in the observation group compared with those in the control group (P < 0.05). The overall satisfaction rate of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (96.88% vs. 88.52%, P = 0.022).

CONCLUSION

Music therapy exerted a positive effect on improving the psychological health of HD patients, particularly in reducing stress levels. This study provides clinical evidence for music therapy as a low-cost and effective adjunctive treatment.

The underlying roles and neurobiological mechanisms of music-based intervention in Alzheimer's disease: A comprehensive review

Non-pharmacological therapy has gained popularity in the intervention of Alzheimer's disease (AD) due to its apparent therapeutic effectiveness and the limitation of biological drug. A wealth of research indicates that music interventions can enhance cognition, mood and behavior in individuals with AD. Nonetheless, the underlying mechanisms behind these improvements have yet to be fully and systematically delineated. This review aims to holistically review how music-based intervention (MBI) ameliorates abnormal emotion, cognition decline, and behavioral changes in AD patients. We cover several key dimensions: the regulation of MBIs on cerebral blood flow (CBF), their impact on neurotransmission (including GABAergic and monoaminergic transmissions), modulation of synaptic plasticity, and hormonal release. Additionally, we summarize the clinical applications and limitations of active music-based intervention (AMBI), passive music-based intervention (PMBI), and hybrid music-based intervention (HMBI). This thorough analysis enhances our understanding of the role of MBI in AD and supports the development of non-pharmacological therapeutic strategies.

Neural correlates of musical familiarity: a functional magnetic resonance study

Existing neuroimaging studies on neural correlates of musical familiarity often employ a familiar vs. unfamiliar contrast analysis. This singular analytical approach reveals associations between explicit musical memory and musical familiarity. However, is the neural activity associated with musical familiarity solely related to explicit musical memory, or could it also be related to implicit musical memory? To address this, we presented 130 song excerpts of varying familiarity to 21 participants. While acquiring their brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we asked the participants to rate the familiarity of each song on a five-point scale. To comprehensively analyze the neural correlates of musical familiarity, we examined it from four perspectives: the intensity of local neural activity, patterns of local neural activity, global neural activity patterns, and functional connectivity. The results from these four approaches were consistent and revealed that musical familiarity is related to the activity of both explicit and implicit musical memory networks. Our findings suggest that: (1) musical familiarity is also associated with implicit musical memory, and (2) there is a cooperative and competitive interaction between the two types of musical memory in the perception of music.

Muddy, muddled, or muffled? Understanding the perception of audio quality in music by hearing aid users

Introduction

Previous work on audio quality evaluation has demonstrated a developing convergence of the key perceptual attributes underlying judgments of quality, such as timbral, spatial and technical attributes. However, across existing research there remains a limited understanding of the crucial perceptual attributes that inform audio quality evaluation for people with hearing loss, and those who use hearing aids. This is especially the case with music, given the unique problems it presents in contrast to human speech.

Method

This paper presents a sensory evaluation study utilising descriptive analysis methods, in which a panel of hearing aid users collaborated, through consensus, to identify the most important perceptual attributes of music audio quality and developed a series of rating scales for future listening tests. Participants (N = 12), with a hearing loss ranging from mild to severe, first completed an online elicitation task, providing single-word terms to describe the audio quality of original and processed music samples; this was completed twice by each participant, once with hearing aids, and once without. Participants were then guided in discussing these raw terms across three focus groups, in which they reduced the term space, identified important perceptual groupings of terms, and developed perceptual attributes from these groups (including rating scales and definitions for each).

Results

Findings show that there were seven key perceptual dimensions underlying music audio quality (clarity, harshness, distortion, spaciousness, treble strength, middle strength, and bass strength), alongside a music audio quality attribute and possible alternative frequency balance attributes.

Discussion

We outline how these perceptual attributes align with extant literature, how attribute rating instruments might be used in future work, and the importance of better understanding the music listening difficulties of people with varied profiles of hearing loss.

The transformative power of music: Insights into neuroplasticity, health, and disease

Music is a universal language that can elicit profound emotional and cognitive responses. In this literature review, we explore the intricate relationship between music and the brain, from how it is decoded by the nervous system to its therapeutic potential in various disorders. Music engages a diverse network of brain regions and circuits, including sensory-motor processing, cognitive, memory, and emotional components. Music-induced brain network oscillations occur in specific frequency bands, and listening to one's preferred music can grant easier access to these brain functions. Moreover, music training can bring about structural and functional changes in the brain, and studies have shown its positive effects on social bonding, cognitive abilities, and language processing. We also discuss how music therapy can be used to retrain impaired brain circuits in different disorders. Understanding how music affects the brain can open up new avenues for music-based interventions in healthcare, education, and wellbeing.

Musical anhedonia, timbre, and the rewards of music listening

Pleasure in music has been linked to predictive coding of melodic and rhythmic patterns, subserved by connectivity between regions in the brain's auditory and reward networks. Specific musical anhedonics derive little pleasure from music and have altered auditory-reward connectivity, but no difficulties with music perception abilities and no generalized physical anhedonia. Recent research suggests that specific musical anhedonics experience pleasure in nonmusical sounds, suggesting that the implicated brain pathways may be specific to music reward. However, this work used sounds with clear real-world sources (e.g., babies laughing, crowds cheering), so positive hedonic responses could be based on the referents of these sounds rather than the sounds themselves. We presented specific musical anhedonics and matched controls with isolated short pleasing and displeasing synthesized sounds of varying timbres with no clear real-world referents. While the two groups found displeasing sounds equally displeasing, the musical anhedonics gave substantially lower pleasure ratings to the pleasing sounds, indicating that their sonic anhedonia is not limited to musical rhythms and melodies. Furthermore, across a large sample of participants, mean pleasure ratings for pleasing synthesized sounds predicted significant and similar variance in six dimensions of musical reward considered to be relatively independent, suggesting that pleasure in sonic timbres play a role in eliciting reward-related responses to music. We replicate the earlier findings of preserved pleasure ratings for semantically referential sounds in musical anhedonics and find that pleasure ratings of semantic referents, when presented without sounds, correlated with ratings for the sounds themselves. This association was stronger in musical anhedonics than in controls, suggesting the use of semantic knowledge as a compensatory mechanism for affective sound processing. Our results indicate that specific musical anhedonia is not entirely specific to melodic and rhythmic processing, and suggest that timbre merits further research as a source of pleasure in music.

Music interventions with children, adolescents and emerging adults in mental health settings: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Music is increasingly used with youths in health and psychosocial interventions. We conducted a scoping review with the aim to provide an overview of the current available evidence on music intervention for youth in mental health settings, to inform practice and further research.

METHODS

Three databases (PsycINFO, PubMed and CINAHL) were surveyed. Using the PRISMA review method, 23 studies met inclusion criteria.

RESULTS

Young people aged from 4 to 25 years old with various mental health conditions participated in music interventions. Music therapy was the most investigated (71%). Improving social skills was the most frequent therapeutic aim addressed. Music interventions are mostly appreciated by the participants, but it is difficult to make conclusions about their effectiveness because of the heterogeneity of research designs and the limited current state of research.

CONCLUSION

Music interventions appear to represent a promising complementary approach to usual psychiatric care, but further standardised research is necessary to continue investigating their therapeutic effects.

Cognitive and sensory expectations independently shape musical expectancy and pleasure

Expectation is crucial for our enjoyment of music, yet the underlying generative mechanisms remain unclear. While sensory models derive predictions based on local acoustic information in the auditory signal, cognitive models assume abstract knowledge of music structure acquired over the long term. To evaluate these two contrasting mechanisms, we compared simulations from four computational models of musical expectancy against subjective expectancy and pleasantness ratings of over 1000 chords sampled from 739 US Billboard pop songs. Bayesian model comparison revealed that listeners' expectancy and pleasantness ratings were predicted by the independent, non-overlapping, contributions of cognitive and sensory expectations. Furthermore, cognitive expectations explained over twice the variance in listeners' perceived surprise compared to sensory expectations, suggesting a larger relative importance of long-term representations of music structure over short-term sensory-acoustic information in musical expectancy. Our results thus emphasize the distinct, albeit complementary, roles of cognitive and sensory expectations in shaping musical pleasure, and suggest that this expectancy-driven mechanism depends on musical information represented at different levels of abstraction along the neural hierarchy. This article is part of the theme issue 'Art, aesthetics and predictive processing: theoretical and empirical perspectives'.

Neural encoding of musical expectations in a non-human primate

The appreciation of music is a universal trait of humankind.1,2,3 Evidence supporting this notion includes the ubiquity of music across cultures4,5,6,7 and the natural predisposition toward music that humans display early in development.8,9,10 Are we musical animals because of species-specific predispositions? This question cannot be answered by relying on cross-cultural or developmental studies alone, as these cannot rule out enculturation.11 Instead, it calls for cross-species experiments testing whether homologous neural mechanisms underlying music perception are present in non-human primates. We present music to two rhesus monkeys, reared without musical exposure, while recording electroencephalography (EEG) and pupillometry. Monkeys exhibit higher engagement and neural encoding of expectations based on the previously seeded musical context when passively listening to real music as opposed to shuffled controls. We then compare human and monkey neural responses to the same stimuli and find a species-dependent contribution of two fundamental musical features-pitch and timing12-in generating expectations: while timing- and pitch-based expectations13 are similarly weighted in humans, monkeys rely on timing rather than pitch. Together, these results shed light on the phylogeny of music perception. They highlight monkeys' capacity for processing temporal structures beyond plain acoustic processing, and they identify a species-dependent contribution of time- and pitch-related features to the neural encoding of musical expectations.

Gamma music: a new acoustic stimulus for gamma-frequency auditory steady-state response

A frequency range exceeding approximately 30 Hz, denoted as the gamma frequency range, is associated with various cognitive functions, consciousness, sensory integration, short-term memory, working memory, encoding and maintenance of episodic memory, and retrieval processes. In this study, we proposed a new form of gamma stimulation, called gamma music, combining 40 Hz auditory stimuli and music. This gamma music consists of drums, bass, and keyboard sounds, each containing a 40 Hz frequency oscillation. Since 40 Hz stimuli are known to induce an auditory steady-state response (ASSR), we used the 40 Hz power and phase locking index (PLI) as indices of neural activity during sound stimulation. We also recorded subjective ratings of each sound through a questionnaire using a visual analog scale. The gamma music, gamma drums, gamma bass, and gamma keyboard sounds showed significantly higher values in 40 Hz power and PLI compared to the control music without a 40 Hz oscillation. Particularly, the gamma keyboard sound showed a potential to induce strong ASSR, showing high values in these indices. In the subjective ratings, the gamma music, especially the gamma keyboard sound, received more relaxed, comfortable, preferred, pleasant, and natural impressions compared to the control music with conventional gamma stimulation. These results indicate that our proposed gamma music has potential as a new method for inducing ASSR. Particularly, the gamma keyboard sound proved to be an effective acoustic source for inducing a strong ASSR while preserving the comfortable and pleasant sensation of listening to music. Our developed gamma music, characterized by its pleasantness to the human ear, offers a significant advantage for the long-term use of gamma stimulation. The utilization of this music could potentially reduce the physical and psychological burden on participants compared to conventional 40 Hz stimuli. This music is not only expected to contribute to fundamental neuroscience research utilizing ASSR but also to facilitate the implementation of gamma music-based interventions aimed at enhancing human cognitive functions in everyday life.

Spontaneous emergence of rudimentary music detectors in deep neural networks

Music exists in almost every society, has universal acoustic features, and is processed by distinct neural circuits in humans even with no experience of musical training. However, it remains unclear how these innate characteristics emerge and what functions they serve. Here, using an artificial deep neural network that models the auditory information processing of the brain, we show that units tuned to music can spontaneously emerge by learning natural sound detection, even without learning music. The music-selective units encoded the temporal structure of music in multiple timescales, following the population-level response characteristics observed in the brain. We found that the process of generalization is critical for the emergence of music-selectivity and that music-selectivity can work as a functional basis for the generalization of natural sound, thereby elucidating its origin. These findings suggest that evolutionary adaptation to process natural sounds can provide an initial blueprint for our sense of music.

Beyond the Sound Waves: A Comprehensive Exploration of the Burn-In Phenomenon in Audio Equipment Across Physiological, Psychological, and Societal Domains

Audio burn-in, often referred to as the process by which audio equipment undergoes a series of played sounds to achieve optimal performance, remains a topic of significant debate within both audiophile communities and relevant scientific fields. While some attribute perceived changes in sound quality to actual physical changes in the equipment, an emerging perspective points to the interplay of physiological, psychological, and social factors that might influence these perceptions. This narrative review delves into the intricate layers of auditory physiology, cognitive sound interpretation, and the wider societal beliefs around burn-in. We underscore the importance of discerning between actual physical changes in audio gear and the multifaceted human factors that potentially modulate our perception of sound. Through a comprehensive exploration, this article illuminates the complexities of this phenomenon, offering insights for both medical professionals and passionate audio enthusiasts and proposing directions for future research.

Why do dogs wag their tails?

Tail wagging is a conspicuous behaviour in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Despite how much meaning humans attribute to this display, its quantitative description and evolutionary history are rarely studied. We summarize what is known about the mechanism, ontogeny, function and evolution of this behaviour. We suggest two hypotheses to explain its increased occurrence and frequency in dogs compared to other canids. During the domestication process, enhanced rhythmic tail wagging behaviour could have (i) arisen as a by-product of selection for other traits, such as docility and tameness, or (ii) been directly selected by humans, due to our proclivity for rhythmic stimuli. We invite testing of these hypotheses through neurobiological and ethological experiments, which will shed light on one of the most readily observed yet understudied animal behaviours. Targeted tail wagging research can be a window into both canine ethology and the evolutionary history of characteristic human traits, such as our ability to perceive and produce rhythmic behaviours.

Thematic Contents of Mental Imagery are Shaped by Concurrent Task-Irrelevant Music

Imagination plays a key role in evidence-based, cognitive therapies, and recent research highlights that music - a perceptual stimulus imbued with affective and social meaning - can influence some aspects of imagination, such as vividness and emotional tone. However, little is known about music's capability to facilitate specific imagery themes that may be relevant for therapy. Here, we examine whether the quantity and quality (related to themes of affect, social dynamics, and confidence) of people's imagery is affected by the presence of task-irrelevant background music. One hundred participants imagined the continuation of a figure's journey while listening to different musical excerpts or silence. Written reports of imagined journeys underwent linguistic analysis to reveal the number of words belonging to the themes of interest. Bayesian Mixed Effects models revealed that music (vs. silence) led to longer reports and predicted imagery characterised by affect, social dynamics, and confidence. Implications for therapy are discussed.

A wearable device-enabled therapeutic approach to improve joint attention in autism spectrum disorder: a prospective pilot study

It has been previously proposed that interventions aimed at integrating and co-activating music processing and motor control systems could have therapeutic potential for priming social skill development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we assessed this hypothesis through a wearable sensor platform called Ambulosono ("Ambulo"-walk; "sono"-sound) in which pleasurable children's musical stimuli are contingently linked to effortful motor action (locomotor step size), thus creating a motivational state proposed to be conducive to joint attention (JA) operation. Five participants were recruited from a community-based partner and were assessed by scoring responses following therapist-directed bids for JA. Multiple assessment sessions through a repeated time-series design were conducted to determine baseline and post-intervention scores. The intervention session consisted of approximately 15 min of Ambulosono exposure. Baseline and post-intervention data were aggregated and analyzed using a linear mixed-effect model. The wearable sensor and wireless headphones of the Ambulosono system were tolerated by the participants, and there were no adverse effects associated with the use of the device. We found an increase in the average responses to bids for JA during the Ambulosono intervention phase compared to baseline across participants. This increase did not appear to result from enhanced general arousal. Our pilot data support feasibility and further testing of Ambulosono as a therapeutic aid for integration into community-based ASD programs to augment shared child-therapist social interactions.

Context changes judgments of liking and predictability for melodies

Predictability plays an important role in the experience of musical pleasure. By leveraging expectations, music induces pleasure through tension and surprise. However, musical predictions draw on both prior knowledge and immediate context. Similarly, musical pleasure, which has been shown to depend on predictability, may also vary relative to the individual and context. Although research has demonstrated the influence of both long-term knowledge and stimulus features in influencing expectations, it is unclear how perceptions of a melody are influenced by comparisons to other music pieces heard in the same context. To examine the effects of context we compared how listeners' judgments of two distinct sets of stimuli differed when they were presented alone or in combination. Stimuli were excerpts from a repertoire of Western music and a set of experimenter created melodies. Separate groups of participants rated liking and predictability for each set of stimuli alone and in combination. We found that when heard together, the Repertoire stimuli were more liked and rated as less predictable than if they were heard alone, with the opposite pattern being observed for the Experimental stimuli. This effect was driven by a change in ratings between the Alone and Combined conditions for each stimulus set. These findings demonstrate a context-based shift of predictability ratings and derived pleasure, suggesting that judgments stem not only from the physical properties of the stimulus, but also vary relative to other options available in the immediate context.

The origins and function of musical performance

Music is widely recognised as a human universal, yet there is no agreed explanation for its function, or why and when it evolved. I summarise experimental evidence that the primary function of musicking lies in social bonding, both at the dyadic and community levels, via the effect that performing any form of music has on the brain's endorphin system (the principal neurohormonal basis for social bonding in primates). The many other functions associated with music-making (mate choice, pleasure, coalition signalling, etc) are all better understood as derivative of this, either as secondary selection pressures or as windows of evolutionary opportunity (exaptations). If music's function is primarily as an adjunct of the social bonding mechanism (a feature it shares with laughter, feasting, storytelling and the rituals of religion), then reverse engineering the problem suggests that the capacity for music-making most likely evolved with the appearance of archaic humans. This agrees well with anatomical evidence for the capacity to sing.

Auditory and reward structures reflect the pleasure of musical expectancies during naturalistic listening

Enjoying music consistently engages key structures of the neural auditory and reward systems such as the right superior temporal gyrus (R STG) and ventral striatum (VS). Expectations seem to play a central role in this effect, as preferences reliably vary according to listeners' uncertainty about the musical future and surprise about the musical past. Accordingly, VS activity reflects the pleasure of musical surprise, and exhibits stronger correlations with R STG activity as pleasure grows. Yet the reward value of musical surprise - and thus the reason for these surprises engaging the reward system - remains an open question. Recent models of predictive neural processing and learning suggest that forming, testing, and updating hypotheses about one's environment may be intrinsically rewarding, and that the constantly evolving structure of musical patterns could provide ample opportunity for this procedure. Consistent with these accounts, our group previously found that listeners tend to prefer melodic excerpts taken from real music when it either validates their uncertain melodic predictions (i.e., is high in uncertainty and low in surprise) or when it challenges their highly confident ones (i.e., is low in uncertainty and high in surprise). An independent research group (Cheung et al., 2019) replicated these results with musical chord sequences, and identified their fMRI correlates in the STG, amygdala, and hippocampus but not the VS, raising new questions about the neural mechanisms of musical pleasure that the present study seeks to address. Here, we assessed concurrent liking ratings and hemodynamic fMRI signals as 24 participants listened to 50 naturalistic, real-world musical excerpts that varied across wide spectra of computationally modeled uncertainty and surprise. As in previous studies, liking ratings exhibited an interaction between uncertainty and surprise, with the strongest preferences for high uncertainty/low surprise and low uncertainty/high surprise. FMRI results also replicated previous findings, with music liking effects in the R STG and VS. Furthermore, we identify interactions between uncertainty and surprise on the one hand, and liking and surprise on the other, in VS activity. Altogether, these results provide important support for the hypothesized role of the VS in deriving pleasure from learning about musical structure.

Stress to inflammation and anhedonia: Mechanistic insights from preclinical and clinical models

Anhedonia, as evidenced by impaired pleasurable response to reward, reduced reward motivation, and/or deficits in reward-related learning, is a common feature of depression. Such deficits in reward processing are also an important clinical target as a risk factor for depression onset. Unfortunately, reward-related deficits remain difficult to treat. To address this gap and inform the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies, it is critical to understand the mechanisms that drive impairments in reward function. Stress-induced inflammation is a plausible mechanism of reward deficits. The purpose of this paper is to review evidence for two components of this psychobiological pathway: 1) the effects of stress on reward function; and 2) the effects of inflammation on reward function. Within these two areas, we draw upon preclinical and clinical models, distinguish between acute and chronic effects of stress and inflammation, and address specific domains of reward dysregulation. By addressing these contextual factors, the review reveals a nuanced literature which might be targeted for additional scientific inquiry to inform the development of precise interventions.

Music can be reconstructed from human auditory cortex activity using nonlinear decoding models

Music is core to human experience, yet the precise neural dynamics underlying music perception remain unknown. We analyzed a unique intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) dataset of 29 patients who listened to a Pink Floyd song and applied a stimulus reconstruction approach previously used in the speech domain. We successfully reconstructed a recognizable song from direct neural recordings and quantified the impact of different factors on decoding accuracy. Combining encoding and decoding analyses, we found a right-hemisphere dominance for music perception with a primary role of the superior temporal gyrus (STG), evidenced a new STG subregion tuned to musical rhythm, and defined an anterior-posterior STG organization exhibiting sustained and onset responses to musical elements. Our findings show the feasibility of applying predictive modeling on short datasets acquired in single patients, paving the way for adding musical elements to brain-computer interface (BCI) applications.

Sensorimotor synchronization to music reduces pain

Pain-reducing effects of music listening are well-established, but the effects are small and their clinical relevance questionable. Recent theoretical advances, however, have proposed that synchronizing to music, such as clapping, tapping or dancing, has evolutionarily important social effects that are associated with activation of the endogenous opioid system (which supports both analgesia and social bonding). Thus, active sensorimotor synchronization to music could have stronger analgesic effects than simply listening to music. In this study, we show that sensorimotor synchronization to music significantly amplifies the pain-reducing effects of music listening. Using pressure algometry to the fingernails, pain stimuli were delivered to n = 59 healthy adults either during music listening or silence, while either performing an active tapping task or a passive control task. Compared to silence without tapping, music with tapping (but not simply listening to music) reduced pain with a large, clinically significant, effect size (d = 0.93). Simply tapping without music did not elicit such an effect. Our analyses indicate that both attentional and emotional mechanisms drive the pain-reducing effects of sensorimotor synchronization to music, and that tapping to music in addition to merely listening to music may enhance pain-reducing effects in both clinical contexts and everyday life. The study was registered as a clinical trial at ClinicalTrials.gov (registration number NCT05267795), and the trial was first posted on 04/03/2022.

Longitudinal effects of choir singing on aging cognition and wellbeing: a two-year follow-up study

Introduction

While increasing evidence points toward the benefits of musical activities in promoting cognitive and emotional well-being in older adults, more longitudinal studies are needed to establish their long-term effects and uncover the mechanisms through which musical activities affect well-being. Most previous research has focused on instrumental musical activities, but little is currently known about the long-term effects of singing, even though neuroimaging evidence suggests that it is a versatile activity for the brain, involving a multitude of neural processes that are potentially beneficial for well-being.

Methods

We conducted a 2-year follow-up study to assess aging-related changes in cognitive functioning and emotional and social well-being with self-report questionnaires and standardized tests in 107 older adult choir singers and 62 demographically matched non-singers. Data were collected at baseline (T1), and at 1-year (T2) and 2-year (T3) follow-ups using questionnaires on subjective cognitive functioning, depression, social engagement, and quality of life (QOL) in all participants and neuropsychological tests in a subgroup of participants (45 choir singers and 41 non-singers).

Results

The results of linear mixed model analysis showed that in verbal flexibility (phonemic fluency task), the choir singers had higher scores already at T1 and showed no change over time, whereas the non-singers showed enhancement from T1 to T3. Furthermore, active retrieval of word knowledge (WAIS-IV Vocabulary task) showed significantly different changes from T1 to T2 between the groups (enhancement in choir singers and decline in non-singers), however lacking significant change within groups. Similar opposite trajectories of QOL related to social inclusion and safety of the environment (WHOQOL-Bref Environmental subscale) were significant from T1 to T3, but these changes were not significant within groups or at each timepoint. Within the choir singers, shorter experience in choir singing was associated with greater improvement in the vocabulary task over the follow-up period, suggesting that initiation of choir singing at older age induces some verbal benefits. There were no group differences in any other questionnaire or neuropsychological measure over time.

Discussion

In conclusion, our results suggest that choir singing at older age is associated with a sustained enhancement of phonemic fluency, while the effects on other verbal skills and quality of life are less clear.

Auditory Personalization of EMDR Treatment to Relieve Trauma Effects: A Feasibility Study [EMDR+]

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an elective therapy to treat people with post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). In line with the personalization of therapeutic strategies, through this pilot study, we assessed in people suffering from the effects of trauma the feasibility, safety, acceptance, and efficacy of EMDR enriched with sound stimulation (by administering neutral sounds synchronized with the guided bilateral alternating stimulation of the gaze) and musical reward (musical listening based on the patients' predisposition and personal tastes). Feasibility, quantified by the number of patients who completed the treatment, was excellent as this was the case in 12 out of the 12 enrolled people with psychological trauma. Safety and acceptance, assessed by self-compiled questionnaires, were excellent, with an absence of side effects and high satisfaction. Efficacy, quantified by the number of EMDR treatment sessions required to reach the optimal scores on the Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) and Validity of Cognition (VOC) scales typical of EMDR protocols, revealed an average duration of 8.5 (SD 1.2) sessions, which is well below the 12 sessions considered a standard EMDR treatment duration. EMDR+ appears to be a relevant personalization of EMDR, particularly in music-sensitive people, consolidating the therapeutic alliance through a multisensory communicative bond for trauma treatment.

Coffee consumption decreases the connectivity of the posterior Default Mode Network (DMN) at rest

Habitual coffee consumers justify their life choices by arguing that they become more alert and increase motor and cognitive performance and efficiency; however, these subjective impressions still do not have a neurobiological correlation. Using functional connectivity approaches to study resting-state fMRI data in a group of habitual coffee drinkers, we herein show that coffee consumption decreased connectivity of the posterior default mode network (DMN) and between the somatosensory/motor networks and the prefrontal cortex, while the connectivity in nodes of the higher visual and the right executive control network (RECN) is increased after drinking coffee; data also show that caffeine intake only replicated the impact of coffee on the posterior DMN, thus disentangling the neurochemical effects of caffeine from the experience of having a coffee.

Utilising Emotion Monitoring for Developing Music Interventions for People with Dementia: A State-of-the-Art Review

The demand for smart solutions to support people with dementia (PwD) is increasing. These solutions are expected to assist PwD with their emotional, physical, and social well-being. At the moment, state-of-the-art works allow for the monitoring of physical well-being; however, not much attention is delineated for monitoring the emotional and social well-being of PwD. Research on emotion monitoring can be combined with research on the effects of music on PwD given its promising effects. More specifically, knowledge of the emotional state allows for music intervention to alleviate negative emotions by eliciting positive emotions in PwD. In this direction, the paper conducts a state-of-the-art review on two aspects: (i) the effect of music on PwD and (ii) both wearable and non-wearable sensing systems for emotional state monitoring. After outlining the application of musical interventions for PwD, including emotion monitoring sensors and algorithms, multiple challenges are identified. The main findings include a need for rigorous research approaches for the development of adaptable solutions that can tackle dynamic changes caused by the diminishing cognitive abilities of PwD with a focus on privacy and adoption aspects. By addressing these requirements, advancements can be made in harnessing music and emotion monitoring for PwD, thereby facilitating the creation of more resilient and scalable solutions to aid caregivers and PwD.

Universality, domain-specificity, and development of psychological responses to music

Humans can find music happy, sad, fearful, or spiritual. They can be soothed by it or urged to dance. Whether these psychological responses reflect cognitive adaptations that evolved expressly for responding to music is an ongoing topic of study. In this Review, we examine three features of music-related psychological responses that help to elucidate whether the underlying cognitive systems are specialized adaptations: universality, domain-specificity, and early expression. Focusing on emotional and behavioural responses, we find evidence that the relevant psychological mechanisms are universal and arise early in development. However, the existing evidence cannot establish that these mechanisms are domain-specific. To the contrary, many findings suggest that universal psychological responses to music reflect more general properties of emotion, auditory perception, and other human cognitive capacities that evolved for non-musical purposes. Cultural evolution, driven by the tinkering of musical performers, evidently crafts music to compellingly appeal to shared psychological mechanisms, resulting in both universal patterns (such as form-function associations) and culturally idiosyncratic styles.

Non-invasive sensory neuromodulation in epilepsy: Updates and future perspectives

Epilepsy, one of the most common neurological disorders, often is not well controlled by current pharmacological and surgical treatments. Sensory neuromodulation, including multi-sensory stimulation, auditory stimulation, olfactory stimulation, is a kind of novel noninvasive mind-body intervention and receives continued attention as complementary safe treatment of epilepsy. In this review, we summarize the recent advances of sensory neuromodulation, including enriched environment therapy, music therapy, olfactory therapy, other mind-body interventions, for the treatment of epilepsy based on the evidence from both clinical and preclinical studies. We also discuss their possible anti-epileptic mechanisms on neural circuit level and propose perspectives on possible research directions for future studies.

The taste & affect music database: Subjective rating norms for a new set of musical stimuli

Music is a ubiquitous stimulus known to influence human affect, cognition, and behavior. In the context of eating behavior, music has been associated with food choice, intake and, more recently, taste perception. In the latter case, the literature has reported consistent patterns of association between auditory and gustatory attributes, suggesting that individuals reliably recognize taste attributes in musical stimuli. This study presents subjective norms for a new set of 100 instrumental music stimuli, including basic taste correspondences (sweetness, bitterness, saltiness, sourness), emotions (joy, anger, sadness, fear, surprise), familiarity, valence, and arousal. This stimulus set was evaluated by 329 individuals (83.3% women; Mage = 28.12, SD = 12.14), online (n = 246) and in the lab (n = 83). Each participant evaluated a random subsample of 25 soundtracks and responded to self-report measures of mood and taste preferences, as well as the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI). Each soundtrack was evaluated by 68 to 97 participants (Mdn = 83), and descriptive results (means, standard deviations, and confidence intervals) are available as supplemental material at osf.io/2cqa5 . Significant correlations between taste correspondences and emotional/affective dimensions were observed (e.g., between sweetness ratings and pleasant emotions). Sex, age, musical sophistication, and basic taste preferences presented few, small to medium associations with the evaluations of the stimuli. Overall, these results suggest that the new Taste & Affect Music Database is a relevant resource for research and intervention with musical stimuli in the context of crossmodal taste perception and other affective, cognitive, and behavioral domains.

“The two voices,” or more? Music and gender from myth and conquests to the neurosciences

Music is a unique phenomenon, constantly eliciting interest from a variety of viewpoints, several of which intersect the universal trait of musicality with sex/gender studies and the neurosciences. Its unparalleled power and physical, social, aesthetic, as well as cognitive, emotional and clinical ramifications make it a specially promising terrain for studies and reflections on sex and gender differences and their impact. This overview wishes to enhance awareness of such issues, also fostering an interdisciplinary exchange between the natural sciences, the humanities, and the arts. Over the centuries, different associations of music with the feminine gender have contributed to a pendulum between progressive recognition and stereotypical setbacks requiring to be overcome. Against this backdrop, music-related neurophysiological and psychological studies on sex and gender specificities are reviewed in their multiple approaches and results, exposing or questioning differences in structural, auditory, hormonal, cognitive, and behavioral areas, also in relation to abilities, treatment, and pedagogy. Thus, the bridging potential of music as universal yet diverse language, art, and practice, recommends its gender-aware integration into education, protective endeavors, and therapeutic interventions, to promote equality and well-being.

The Study on the Identification of Musical Passages for an Emotion Perception Scale for People With Developmental Disabilities

BACKGROUND

Emotion recognition is essential to the social adjustment and social interaction of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs). Given that music is a medium for expressing and conveying human emotion, we conducted this preliminary study to identify musical passages representing the basic human emotions of happiness, sadness, and anger, with the goal of developing a music-based emotion perception scale for IDDs.

METHODS

To identify musical passages for emotion perception, 20 certified music therapists evaluated 100 selected musical passages and established 60 pieces that yielded the highest agreement for each emotion category. During the second phase of this study, 300 neurotypical participants rated 60 passages in terms of the perceived type and intensity of emotions expressed.

RESULTS

The 60 passages showed high reliability and were statistically classified into three factors: happiness, sadness, and anger. The k-means cluster analysis yielded a cut-off score of 41 for the low emotion perception group (F = 1120.63, P < 0.001). The hierarchical logistic regression analysis revealed that only model 3 (musical passages) was significantly associated with low emotion perception (step χ² = 227.8, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The selected musical passages demonstrated high reliability and established three factors for identifying perceptions of happiness, sadness, and anger. Neither psychological status nor individual demographic characteristics affected the emotion perception results.

Exploring the use of music to promote physical activity: From the viewpoint of psychological hedonism

Despite the global efforts to encourage people to regularly participate in physical activity (PA) at moderate-to-vigorous intensity, an inadequate number of adults and adolescents worldwide meet the recommended dose of PA. A major challenge to promoting PA is that sedentary or low-active people experience negative shifts in affective valence (feeling bad versus good) in response to moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA. Interestingly, empirical data indicate that listening to music during acute bouts of PA positively alters affective valence (feeling good versus bad), reduces perceived exertion, and improves physical performance and oxygen utilization efficiency. From the viewpoint of the ancient principle of psychological hedonism - humans have ultimate desires to obtain pleasure and avoid displeasure - we elaborate on three putative mechanisms underlying the affective and ergogenic effects of music on acute bouts of PA: (1) musical pleasure and reward, (2) rhythmic entrainment, and (3) sensory distraction from physical exertion. Given that a positive shift in affective valence during an acute bout of PA is associated with more PA in the future, an important question arises as to whether the affective effect of music on acute PA can be carried over to promote long-term PA. Although this research question seems intuitive, to our knowledge, it has been scarcely investigated. We propose a theoretical model of Music as an Affective Stimulant to Physical Activity (MASPA) to further explain the putative mechanisms underlying the use of music to promote long-term PA. We believe there have been important gaps in music-based interventions in terms of the rationale supporting various components of the intervention and the efficacy of these interventions to promote long-term PA. Our specification of relevant mechanisms and proposal of a new theoretical model may advance our understanding of the optimal use of music as an affective, ergogenic, and sensory stimulant for PA promotion. Future directions are suggested to address the gaps in the literature.

Chronology of auditory processing and related co-activation in the orbitofrontal cortex depends on musical expertise

Introduction

The present study aims to explore the extent to which auditory processing is reflected in the prefrontal cortex.

Methods

Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we investigated the chronology of primary and secondary auditory responses and associated co-activation in the orbitofrontal cortex in a large cohort of 162 participants of various ages. The sample consisted of 38 primary school children, 39 adolescents, 43 younger, and 42 middle-aged adults and was further divided into musically experienced participants and non-musicians by quantifying musical training and aptitude parameters.

Results

We observed that the co-activation in the orbitofrontal cortex [Brodmann-Area 10 (BA10)] strongly depended on musical expertise but not on age. In the musically experienced groups, a systematic coincidence of peak latencies of the primary auditory P1 response and the co-activated response in the orbitofrontal cortex was observed in childhood at the onset of musical education. In marked contrast, in all non-musicians, the orbitofrontal co-activation occurred 25-40 ms later when compared with the P1 response. Musical practice and musical aptitude contributed equally to the observed activation and co-activation patterns in the auditory and orbitofrontal cortex, confirming the reciprocal, interrelated influence of nature, and nurture in the musical brain.

Discussion

Based on the observed ageindependent differences in the chronology and lateralization of neurological responses, we suggest that orbitofrontal functions may contribute to musical learning at an early age.

Musicogenic seizures in temporal lobe epilepsy: Case reports based on ictal source localization analysis

Musicogenic epilepsy is a rare form of reflex epilepsy in which seizures are provoked by music. Different musicogenic stimuli have been identified: pleasant/unpleasant music or specific musical patterns. Several etiologies have been uncovered, such as focal cortical dysplasia, autoimmune encephalitis, tumors, or unspecific gliosis. In this article, we report two patients with musicogenic seizures. The first patient was diagnosed with structural temporal lobe epilepsy. Her seizures were elicited by music that she liked. Interictal and ictal video-electroencephalography (video-EEG) and signal analysis using independent component analysis revealed the right temporal lobe seizure onset extending over the neocortical regions. The patient underwent right temporal lobectomy (including the amygdala, the head, and the body of the hippocampus) and faced an Engel IA outcome 3 years post-surgery. The second patient was diagnosed with autoimmune temporal lobe epilepsy (GAD-65 antibodies). Her seizures were triggered by contemporary hit radio songs without any personal emotional significance. Interictal and ictal video-electroencephalography (video-EEG) and independent component analysis highlighted the left temporal lobe seizure onset extending over the neocortical regions. Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy was initiated, and the patient became seizure-free at 1 year. In conclusion, musicogenic seizures may be elicited by various auditory stimuli, the presence or absence of an emotional component offering an additional clue for the underlying network pathophysiology. Furthermore, in such cases, the use of independent component analysis of the scalp EEG signals proves useful in revealing the location of the seizure generator, and our findings point toward the temporal lobe, both mesial and neocortical regions.

Consonance and dissonance perception. A critical review of the historical sources, multidisciplinary findings, and main hypotheses

Revealed more than two millennia ago by Pythagoras, consonance and dissonance (C/D) are foundational concepts in music theory, perception, and aesthetics. The search for the biological, acoustical, and cultural factors that affect C/D perception has resulted in descriptive accounts inspired by arithmetic, musicological, psychoacoustical or neurobiological frameworks without reaching a consensus. Here, we review the key historical sources and modern multidisciplinary findings on C/D and integrate them into three main hypotheses: the vocal similarity hypothesis (VSH), the psychocultural hypothesis (PH), and the sensorimotor hypothesis (SH). By illustrating the hypotheses-related findings, we highlight their major conceptual, methodological, and terminological shortcomings. Trying to provide a unitary framework for C/D understanding, we put together multidisciplinary research on human and animal vocalizations, which converges to suggest that auditory roughness is associated with distress/danger and, therefore, elicits defensive behavioral reactions and neural responses that indicate aversion. We therefore stress the primacy of vocality and roughness as key factors in the explanation of C/D phenomenon, and we explore the (neuro)biological underpinnings of the attraction-aversion mechanisms that are triggered by C/D stimuli. Based on the reviewed evidence, while the aversive nature of dissonance appears as solidly rooted in the multidisciplinary findings, the attractive nature of consonance remains a somewhat speculative claim that needs further investigation. Finally, we outline future directions for empirical research in C/D, especially regarding cross-modal and cross-cultural approaches.

Putting music to trial: Consensus on key methodological challenges investigating music-based rehabilitation

Major advances in music neuroscience have fueled a growing interest in music-based neurological rehabilitation among researchers and clinicians. Musical activities are excellently suited to be adapted for clinical practice because of their multisensory nature, their demands on cognitive, language, and motor functions, and music's ability to induce emotions and regulate mood. However, the overall quality of music-based rehabilitation research remains low to moderate for most populations and outcomes. In this consensus article, expert panelists who participated in the Neuroscience and Music VII conference in June 2021 address methodological challenges relevant to music-based rehabilitation research. The article aims to provide guidance on challenges related to treatment, outcomes, research designs, and implementation in music-based rehabilitation research. The article addresses how to define music-based rehabilitation, select appropriate control interventions and outcomes, incorporate technology, and consider individual differences, among other challenges. The article highlights the value of the framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions for music-based rehabilitation research and the need for stronger methodological rigor to allow the widespread implementation of music-based rehabilitation into regular clinical practice.

Spontaneous beat synchronization in rats: Neural dynamics and motor entrainment

Beat perception and synchronization within 120 to 140 beats/min (BPM) are common in humans and frequently used in music composition. Why beat synchronization is uncommon in some species and the mechanism determining the optimal tempo are unclear. Here, we examined physical movements and neural activities in rats to determine their beat sensitivity. Close inspection of head movements and neural recordings revealed that rats displayed prominent beat synchronization and activities in the auditory cortex within 120 to 140 BPM. Mathematical modeling suggests that short-term adaptation underlies this beat tuning. Our results support the hypothesis that the optimal tempo for beat synchronization is determined by the time constant of neural dynamics conserved across species, rather than the species-specific time constant of physical movements. Thus, latent neural propensity for auditory motor entrainment may provide a basis for human entrainment that is much more widespread than currently thought. Further studies comparing humans and animals will offer insights into the origins of music and dancing.

Short-term plasticity of neuro-auditory processing induced by musical active listening training

Although there is strong evidence for the positive effects of musical training on auditory perception, processing, and training-induced neuroplasticity, there is still little knowledge on the auditory and neurophysiological short-term plasticity through listening training. In a sample of 37 adolescents (20 musicians and 17 nonmusicians) that was compared to a control group matched for age, gender, and musical experience, we conducted a 2-week active listening training (AULOS: Active IndividUalized Listening OptimizationS). Using magnetoencephalography and psychoacoustic tests, the short-term plasticity of auditory evoked fields and auditory skills were examined in a pre-post design, adapted to the individual neuro-auditory profiles. We found bilateral, but more pronounced plastic changes in the right auditory cortex. Moreover, we observed synchronization of the auditory evoked P1, N1, and P2 responses and threefold larger amplitudes of the late P2 response, similar to the reported effects of musical long-term training. Auditory skills and thresholds benefited largely from the AULOS training. Remarkably, after training, the mean thresholds improved by 12 dB for bone conduction and by 3-4 dB for air conduction. Thus, our findings indicate a strong positive influence of active listening training on neural auditory processing and perception in adolescence, when the auditory system is still developing.

Integrated parent-child music classes for preschoolers with and without autism: Parent expectations and experiences

Integrated recreational programs designed to support neurodiverse children and their families are important vehicles for community participation. In this mixed-methods study, we investigated the mechanisms by which parent-child music classes for autistic and neurotypical children can support community participation. Parents of autistic (n = 33) and typically developing (TD; n = 28) preschoolers were interviewed about their expectations for and experiences of participating in a 12-week psychoeducational parent-child music program. Parents completed ratings of momentary affect and social connection, and researchers coded children's behavioral engagement during classes at multiple time points throughout the program. Primary motivations for enrolling in an integrated music class included children's interest in music and opportunities for child socialization. Parent-focused reasons were less frequently endorsed as primary motivations for participation. Yet, momentary ratings indicated that music classes supported parents' affect regulation and social connection with other parents at the level of individual classes and across the program. These in-class experiences were echoed by interviews following program completion, which additionally highlighted the use of new parenting strategies through the musical activities. Since parental emotional experiences of activities, supportive community relationships, and parenting confidence are all linked with increased community participation, integrated music classes may support participation and satisfaction with community experiences.

Music and Speech Perception in Prelingually Deafened Young Listeners With Cochlear Implants: A Preliminary Study Using Sung Speech

PURPOSE

In the context of music and speech perception, this study aimed to assess the effect of variation in one of two auditory attributes-pitch contour and timbre-on the perception of the other in prelingually deafened young cochlear implant (CI) users, and the relationship between pitch contour perception and two cognitive functions of interest.

METHOD

Nine prelingually deafened CI users, aged 8.75-22.17 years, completed a melodic contour identification (MCI) task using stimuli of piano notes or sung speech with a fixed timbre (same word for each note) or a mixed timbre (different words for each note), a speech perception task identifying matrix-styled sentences naturally intonated or sung with a fixed pitch (same pitch for each word) or a mixed pitch (different pitches for each word), a forward digit span test indexing auditory short-term memory (STM), and the matrices section of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-Second Edition indexing nonverbal IQ.

RESULTS

MCI was significantly poorer for the mixed timbre condition. Speech perception was significantly poorer for the fixed and mixed pitch conditions than for the naturally intonated condition. Auditory STM positively correlated with MCI at 2- and 3-semitone note spacings. Relative to their normal-hearing peers from a related study using the same stimuli and tasks, the CI participants showed comparable MCI at 2- or 3-semitone note spacing, and a comparable level of significant decrement in speech perception across three pitch contour conditions.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that prelingually deafened CI users show similar trends of normal-hearing peers for the effect of variation in pitch contour or timbre on the perception of the other, and that cognitive functions may underlie these outcomes to some extent, at least for the perception of pitch contour.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21217937.

Do we enjoy what we sense and perceive? A dissociation between aesthetic appreciation and basic perception of environmental objects or events

This integrative review rearticulates the notion of human aesthetics by critically appraising the conventional definitions, offerring a new, more comprehensive definition, and identifying the fundamental components associated with it. It intends to advance holistic understanding of the notion by differentiating aesthetic perception from basic perceptual recognition, and by characterizing these concepts from the perspective of information processing in both visual and nonvisual modalities. To this end, we analyze the dissociative nature of information processing in the brain, introducing a novel local-global integrative model that differentiates aesthetic processing from basic perceptual processing. This model builds on the current state of the art in visual aesthetics as well as newer propositions about nonvisual aesthetics. This model comprises two analytic channels: aesthetics-only channel and perception-to-aesthetics channel. The aesthetics-only channel primarily involves restricted local processing for quality or richness (e.g., attractiveness, beauty/prettiness, elegance, sublimeness, catchiness, hedonic value) analysis, whereas the perception-to-aesthetics channel involves global/extended local processing for basic feature analysis, followed by restricted local processing for quality or richness analysis. We contend that aesthetic processing operates independently of basic perceptual processing, but not independently of cognitive processing. We further conjecture that there might be a common faculty, labeled as aesthetic cognition faculty, in the human brain for all sensory aesthetics albeit other parts of the brain can also be activated because of basic sensory processing prior to aesthetic processing, particularly during the operation of the second channel. This generalized model can account not only for simple and pure aesthetic experiences but for partial and complex aesthetic experiences as well.

On the encoding of natural music in computational models and human brains

This article discusses recent developments and advances in the neuroscience of music to understand the nature of musical emotion. In particular, it highlights how system identification techniques and computational models of music have advanced our understanding of how the human brain processes the textures and structures of music and how the processed information evokes emotions. Musical models relate physical properties of stimuli to internal representations called features, and predictive models relate features to neural or behavioral responses and test their predictions against independent unseen data. The new frameworks do not require orthogonalized stimuli in controlled experiments to establish reproducible knowledge, which has opened up a new wave of naturalistic neuroscience. The current review focuses on how this trend has transformed the domain of the neuroscience of music.

Music appreciation phenotypes in patients with frontotemporal dementia: A pilot study

OBJECTIVES

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) can present with changes in music appreciation. Research has suggested a relationship of altered music appreciation phenotypes with typical socio-emotional changes. We aimed to determine the prevalence and severity of music appreciation phenotypes in FTD and study the relationship with emotion recognition capacities in order to examine whether they could serve as a proxy for changes in socio-emotional functioning.

METHODS/DESIGN

Based on reported musical changes in the literature, we developed an informant-based questionnaire to assess musical changes and a music test to assess music emotion recognition. Social cognition was assessed with the Ekman 60 faces test in a subgroup of patients (n = 23). Relationships between measures were assessed with linear regressions.

RESULTS

We included 47 patients (44.7% female, mean age 65.0 ± 8.4, 31 behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD), 10 semantic dementia (SD), and six progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA)). Thirty-six caregivers were included in the music emotion recognition test as controls. Altered music appreciation phenotypes were observed in 79% of the FTD patients. Musicophilia was present in a third of bvFTD patients, and only in up to 10% in language FTD variants. Changes in music appreciation were not associated with decreased music emotion recognition or visual emotion recognition. Compared to controls, bvFTD performed worse on the music emotion recognition task (p < 0.003), and no differences were found with SD (p = 0.06) and PNFA patients (p = 0.8).

CONCLUSIONS

Music appreciation phenotypes are highly prevalent in FTD patients. Future studies should further investigate the potential diagnostic value of changes in music processing.