1
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Kiss L, Szikora B, Linnell KJ. Music in the eye of the beholder: a pupillometric study on preferred background music, attentional state, and arousal. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2024; 88:1616-1628. [PMID: 38652303 PMCID: PMC11281972 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-024-01963-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Although background music listening during attention-demanding tasks is common, there is little research on how it affects fluctuations in attentional state and how these fluctuations are linked to physiological arousal. The present study built on Kiss and Linnell (2021) - showing a decrease in mind-wandering and increase in task-focus states with background music - to explore the link between attentional state and arousal with and without background music. 39 students between the ages of 19-32 completed a variation of the Psychomotor Vigilance Task in silence and with their self-selected background music (music they would normally listen to during attention-demanding tasks). Objective arousal measures (pretrial pupil diameter and task-evoked pupillary responses) and subjective attentional state measures (mind-wandering, task-focus, and external-distraction states) were collected throughout the task. Results showed a link between attentional state and arousal and indicated that background music increased arousal. Importantly, arousal mediated the effect of music to decrease mind-wandering and increase task-focus attentional states, suggesting that the arousal increase induced by music was behind the changes in attentional states. These findings show, for the first time in the context of background music listening, that there is a link between arousal and attentional state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Kiss
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, 8 Lewisham Way New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK.
| | | | - Karina J Linnell
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, 8 Lewisham Way New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK
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2
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Spiech C, Danielsen A, Laeng B, Endestad T. Oscillatory attention in groove. Cortex 2024; 174:137-148. [PMID: 38547812 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
Attention is not constant but rather fluctuates over time and these attentional fluctuations may prioritize the processing of certain events over others. In music listening, the pleasurable urge to move to music (termed 'groove' by music psychologists) offers a particularly convenient case study of oscillatory attention because it engenders synchronous and oscillatory movements which also vary predictably with stimulus complexity. In this study, we simultaneously recorded pupillometry and scalp electroencephalography (EEG) from participants while they listened to drumbeats of varying complexity that they rated in terms of groove afterwards. Using the intertrial phase coherence of the beat frequency, we found that while subjects were listening, their pupil activity became entrained to the beat of the drumbeats and this entrained attention persisted in the EEG even as subjects imagined the drumbeats continuing through subsequent silent periods. This entrainment in both the pupillometry and EEG worsened with increasing rhythmic complexity, indicating poorer sensory precision as the beat became more obscured. Additionally, sustained pupil dilations revealed the expected, inverted U-shaped relationship between rhythmic complexity and groove ratings. Taken together, this work bridges oscillatory attention to rhythmic complexity in relation to musical groove.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor Spiech
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway.
| | - Anne Danielsen
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Norway; Department of Musicology, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Bruno Laeng
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Tor Endestad
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway
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3
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Marin MM, Gingras B. How music-induced emotions affect sexual attraction: evolutionary implications. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1269820. [PMID: 38659690 PMCID: PMC11039867 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1269820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
More than a century ago, Darwin proposed a putative role for music in sexual attraction (i.e., sex appeal), a hypothesis that has recently gained traction in the field of music psychology. In his writings, Darwin particularly emphasized the charming aspects of music. Across a broad range of cultures, music has a profound impact on humans' feelings, thoughts and behavior. Human mate choice is determined by the interplay of several factors. A number of studies have shown that music and musicality (i.e., the ability to produce and enjoy music) exert a positive influence on the evaluation of potential sexual partners. Here, we critically review the latest empirical literature on how and why music and musicality affect sexual attraction by considering the role of music-induced emotion and arousal in listeners as well as other socio-biological mechanisms. Following a short overview of current theories about the origins of musicality, we present studies that examine the impact of music and musicality on sexual attraction in different social settings. We differentiate between emotion-based influences related to the subjective experience of music as sound and effects associated with perceived musical ability or creativity in a potential partner. By integrating studies using various behavioral methods, we link current research strands that investigate how music influences sexual attraction and suggest promising avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela M. Marin
- Department of Cognition, Emotion and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Austrian Research Institute of Empirical Aesthetics, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Bruno Gingras
- Austrian Research Institute of Empirical Aesthetics, Innsbruck, Austria
- Department of Cognitive Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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4
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Etani T, Miura A, Kawase S, Fujii S, Keller PE, Vuust P, Kudo K. A review of psychological and neuroscientific research on musical groove. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 158:105522. [PMID: 38141692 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/25/2023]
Abstract
When listening to music, we naturally move our bodies rhythmically to the beat, which can be pleasurable and difficult to resist. This pleasurable sensation of wanting to move the body to music has been called "groove." Following pioneering humanities research, psychological and neuroscientific studies have provided insights on associated musical features, behavioral responses, phenomenological aspects, and brain structural and functional correlates of the groove experience. Groove research has advanced the field of music science and more generally informed our understanding of bidirectional links between perception and action, and the role of the motor system in prediction. Activity in motor and reward-related brain networks during music listening is associated with the groove experience, and this neural activity is linked to temporal prediction and learning. This article reviews research on groove as a psychological phenomenon with neurophysiological correlates that link musical rhythm perception, sensorimotor prediction, and reward processing. Promising future research directions range from elucidating specific neural mechanisms to exploring clinical applications and socio-cultural implications of groove.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahide Etani
- School of Medicine, College of Medical, Pharmaceutical, and Health, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan; Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, Fujisawa, Japan; Advanced Research Center for Human Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa, Japan.
| | - Akito Miura
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa, Japan
| | - Satoshi Kawase
- The Faculty of Psychology, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Shinya Fujii
- Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, Fujisawa, Japan
| | - Peter E Keller
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark/The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark; The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | - Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark/The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Kazutoshi Kudo
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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5
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Kawase S. Is happier music groovier? The influence of emotional characteristics of musical chord progressions on groove. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2024; 88:438-448. [PMID: 37615754 PMCID: PMC10858120 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-023-01869-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Specific rhythmic patterns in music have been reported to induce an urge to move with feelings of pleasure or enjoyment, called "groove." However, it is unclear how the emotional characteristics of music (e.g., happiness or sadness) affect groove. To address this issue I investigated the effects of the emotional characteristics of music on groove by altering the chord progressions accompanying drum breaks composed by a professional composer while manipulating independent tempo and rhythmic patterns. An online listening experiment was conducted using pieces composed by a professional composer but comprising different types of chord progressions that lead to happiness or sadness. Participants evaluated the nine items on a 7-point scale, including urge to move (i.e., groove), felt emotions, nori, and liking. The experiment found that: (1) chord progressions that evoke happiness were more likely to induce groove, (2) emotional characteristics did not interact with tempi and syncopation in terms of groove ratings, and (3) the accompaniment of drum breaks enhanced groove in both happy and sad chord progressions. Musical pieces with chord progressions that induce happiness were more likely to evoke groove, namely the urge to move. This implies that considering the emotional characteristics of musical pieces and rhythms is crucial when creating music for movement during rehabilitation, therapy, or dance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoshi Kawase
- The Faculty of Psychology, Kobe Gakuin University, 518 Arise, Ikawadani-cho, Nishi-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 651-2180, Japan.
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6
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Bamford JS, Vigl J, Hämäläinen M, Saarikallio SH. Love songs and serenades: a theoretical review of music and romantic relationships. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1302548. [PMID: 38420176 PMCID: PMC10899422 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1302548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
In this theoretical review, we examine how the roles of music in mate choice and social bonding are expressed in romantic relationships. Darwin's Descent of Man originally proposed the idea that musicality might have evolved as a sexually selected trait. This proposition, coupled with the portrayal of popular musicians as sex symbols and the prevalence of love-themed lyrics in music, suggests a possible link between music and attraction. However, recent scientific exploration of the evolutionary functions of music has predominantly focused on theories of social bonding and group signaling, with limited research addressing the sexual selection hypothesis. We identify two distinct types of music-making for these different functions: music for attraction, which would be virtuosic in nature to display physical and cognitive fitness to potential mates; and music for connection, which would facilitate synchrony between partners and likely engage the same reward mechanisms seen in the general synchrony-bonding effect, enhancing perceived interpersonal intimacy as a facet of love. Linking these two musical functions to social psychological theories of relationship development and the components of love, we present a model that outlines the potential roles of music in romantic relationships, from initial attraction to ongoing relationship maintenance. In addition to synthesizing the existing literature, our model serves as a roadmap for empirical research aimed at rigorously investigating the possible functions of music for romantic relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua S Bamford
- Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Julia Vigl
- Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Matias Hämäläinen
- Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Suvi Helinä Saarikallio
- Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
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7
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Russo S, Carnovalini F, Calignano G, Arfé B, Rodà A, Valenza E. Linking vestibular, tactile, and somatosensory rhythm perception to language development in infancy. Cognition 2024; 243:105688. [PMID: 38101080 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
First experiences with rhythm occur in the womb, with different rhythmic sources being available to the human fetus. Among sensory modalities, vestibular, tactile, and somatosensory perception plays a crucial role in early processing. However, a limited number of studies so far have specifically focused on VTS rhythms in language development. The present work investigated VTS rhythmic abilities and their role in language acquisition through two experiments with 45 infants (21 females, sex assigned at birth; M age = 661.6 days, SD = 192.6) with middle/high socioeconomic status. Specifically, 37 infants from the original sample completed Experiment 1, assessing VTS rhythmic abilities through a vibrotactile tool for music perception. In Experiment 2, linguistic abilities were evaluated in 40 participants from the same cohort, specifically testing phonological and prosodic processing. Discrimination abilities for rhythmic and linguistic stimuli were inferred from changes in pupil diameter to contingent visual stimuli over time, through a Tobii X-60 eye-tracker. The predictive effect of VTS rhythmic abilities on linguistic processing and the developmental changes occurring across ages were explored in the 32 infants who completed both Experiments 1 and 2 by means of generalized, additive and linear, mixed-effect models. Results are discussed in terms of cross-sensory (i.e., haptic to hearing) and cross-domain (i.e., music to language) effects of rhythm on language acquisition, with implications for typical and atypical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Russo
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.
| | - Filippo Carnovalini
- Department of Department of Information Engineering, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.
| | - Giulia Calignano
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.
| | - Barbara Arfé
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.
| | - Antonio Rodà
- Department of Department of Information Engineering, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.
| | - Eloisa Valenza
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.
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8
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Colverson A, Barsoum S, Cohen R, Williamson J. Rhythmic musical activities may strengthen connectivity between brain networks associated with aging-related deficits in timing and executive functions. Exp Gerontol 2024; 186:112354. [PMID: 38176601 DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2023.112354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Brain aging and common conditions of aging (e.g., hypertension) affect networks important in organizing information, processing speed and action programming (i.e., executive functions). Declines in these networks may affect timing and could have an impact on the ability to perceive and perform musical rhythms. There is evidence that participation in rhythmic musical activities may help to maintain and even improve executive functioning (near transfer), perhaps due to similarities in brain regions underlying timing, musical rhythm perception and production, and executive functioning. Rhythmic musical activities may present as a novel and fun activity for older adults to stimulate interacting brain regions that deteriorate with aging. However, relatively little is known about neurobehavioral interactions between aging, timing, rhythm perception and production, and executive functioning. In this review, we account for these brain-behavior interactions to suggest that deeper knowledge of overlapping brain regions associated with timing, rhythm, and cognition may assist in designing more targeted preventive and rehabilitative interventions to reduce age-related cognitive decline and improve quality of life in populations with neurodegenerative disease. Further research is needed to elucidate the functional relationships between brain regions associated with aging, timing, rhythm perception and production, and executive functioning to direct design of targeted interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Colverson
- Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, 1651 4th street, San Francisco, CA, United States of America.
| | - Stephanie Barsoum
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, College of Medicine, University of Florida, PO Box 100277, Gainesville, FL 32610-0277, United States of America
| | - Ronald Cohen
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, College of Medicine, University of Florida, PO Box 100277, Gainesville, FL 32610-0277, United States of America
| | - John Williamson
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, College of Medicine, University of Florida, PO Box 100277, Gainesville, FL 32610-0277, United States of America
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9
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Bianco R, Zuk NJ, Bigand F, Quarta E, Grasso S, Arnese F, Ravignani A, Battaglia-Mayer A, Novembre G. Neural encoding of musical expectations in a non-human primate. Curr Biol 2024; 34:444-450.e5. [PMID: 38176416 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Bianco
- Neuroscience of Perception & Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161 Rome, Italy.
| | - Nathaniel J Zuk
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, 50 Shakespeare Street, Nottingham NG1 4FQ, UK
| | - Félix Bigand
- Neuroscience of Perception & Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Eros Quarta
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Grasso
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Flavia Arnese
- Neuroscience of Perception & Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Ravignani
- Comparative Bioacoustics Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Wundtlaan 1, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music, Universitetsbyen 3, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Alexandra Battaglia-Mayer
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience of Perception & Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161 Rome, Italy.
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10
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Bowling DL. Biological principles for music and mental health. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:374. [PMID: 38049408 PMCID: PMC10695969 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02671-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Efforts to integrate music into healthcare systems and wellness practices are accelerating but the biological foundations supporting these initiatives remain underappreciated. As a result, music-based interventions are often sidelined in medicine. Here, I bring together advances in music research from neuroscience, psychology, and psychiatry to bridge music's specific foundations in human biology with its specific therapeutic applications. The framework I propose organizes the neurophysiological effects of music around four core elements of human musicality: tonality, rhythm, reward, and sociality. For each, I review key concepts, biological bases, and evidence of clinical benefits. Within this framework, I outline a strategy to increase music's impact on health based on standardizing treatments and their alignment with individual differences in responsivity to these musical elements. I propose that an integrated biological understanding of human musicality-describing each element's functional origins, development, phylogeny, and neural bases-is critical to advancing rational applications of music in mental health and wellness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel L Bowling
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University, School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford, CA, USA.
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11
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O’Connell SR, Nave-Blodgett JE, Wilson GE, Hannon EE, Snyder JS. Elements of musical and dance sophistication predict musical groove perception. Front Psychol 2022; 13:998321. [PMID: 36467160 PMCID: PMC9712211 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.998321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Listening to groovy music is an enjoyable experience and a common human behavior in some cultures. Specifically, many listeners agree that songs they find to be more familiar and pleasurable are more likely to induce the experience of musical groove. While the pleasurable and dance-inducing effects of musical groove are omnipresent, we know less about how subjective feelings toward music, individual musical or dance experiences, or more objective musical perception abilities are correlated with the way we experience groove. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate how musical and dance sophistication relates to musical groove perception. One-hundred 24 participants completed an online study during which they rated 20 songs, considered high- or low-groove, and completed the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index, the Goldsmiths Dance Sophistication Index, the Beat and Meter Sensitivity Task, and a modified short version of the Profile for Music Perception Skills. Our results reveal that measures of perceptual abilities, musical training, and social dancing predicted the difference in groove rating between high- and low-groove music. Overall, these findings support the notion that listeners' individual experiences and predispositions may shape their perception of musical groove, although other causal directions are also possible. This research helps elucidate the correlates and possible causes of musical groove perception in a wide range of listeners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha R. O’Connell
- Caruso Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | | | - Grace E. Wilson
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, United States
| | - Erin E. Hannon
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, United States
| | - Joel S. Snyder
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, United States
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12
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Spiech C, Sioros G, Endestad T, Danielsen A, Laeng B. Pupil drift rate indexes groove ratings. Sci Rep 2022; 12:11620. [PMID: 35804069 PMCID: PMC9270355 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15763-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Groove, understood as an enjoyable compulsion to move to musical rhythms, typically varies along an inverted U-curve with increasing rhythmic complexity (e.g., syncopation, pickups). Predictive coding accounts posit that moderate complexity drives us to move to reduce sensory prediction errors and model the temporal structure. While musicologists generally distinguish the effects of pickups (anacruses) and syncopations, their difference remains unexplored in groove. We used pupillometry as an index to noradrenergic arousal while subjects listened to and rated drumbeats varying in rhythmic complexity. We replicated the inverted U-shaped relationship between rhythmic complexity and groove and showed this is modulated by musical ability, based on a psychoacoustic beat perception test. The pupil drift rates suggest that groovier rhythms hold attention longer than ones rated less groovy. Moreover, we found complementary effects of syncopations and pickups on groove ratings and pupil size, respectively, discovering a distinct predictive process related to pickups. We suggest that the brain deploys attention to pickups to sharpen subsequent strong beats, augmenting the predictive scaffolding's focus on beats that reduce syncopations' prediction errors. This interpretation is in accordance with groove envisioned as an embodied resolution of precision-weighted prediction error.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor Spiech
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Postboks 1133 Blindern, 0318, Oslo, Norway. .,Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
| | - George Sioros
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Postboks 1133 Blindern, 0318, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Musicology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Tor Endestad
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Postboks 1133 Blindern, 0318, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Anne Danielsen
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Postboks 1133 Blindern, 0318, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Musicology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Bruno Laeng
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Postboks 1133 Blindern, 0318, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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13
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Groove rhythm stimulates prefrontal cortex function in groove enjoyers. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7377. [PMID: 35513415 PMCID: PMC9072545 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-11324-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Hearing a groove rhythm (GR), which creates the sensation of wanting to move to the music, can also create feelings of pleasure and arousal in people, and it may enhance cognitive performance, as does exercise, by stimulating the prefrontal cortex. Here, we examined the hypothesis that GR enhances executive function (EF) by acting on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (l-DLPFC) while also considering individual differences in psychological responses. Fifty-one participants underwent two conditions: 3 min of listening to GR or a white-noise metronome. Before and after listening, participants performed the Stroop task and were monitored for l-DLPFC activity with functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Our results show that GR enhanced EF and l-DLPFC activity in participants who felt a greater groove sensation and a more feeling clear-headed after listening to GR. Further, these psychological responses predict the impact of GR on l-DLPFC activity and EF, suggesting that GR enhances EF via l-DLPFC activity when the psychological response to GR is enhanced.
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14
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Vuust P, Heggli OA, Friston KJ, Kringelbach ML. Music in the brain. Nat Rev Neurosci 2022; 23:287-305. [PMID: 35352057 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-022-00578-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 52.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Music is ubiquitous across human cultures - as a source of affective and pleasurable experience, moving us both physically and emotionally - and learning to play music shapes both brain structure and brain function. Music processing in the brain - namely, the perception of melody, harmony and rhythm - has traditionally been studied as an auditory phenomenon using passive listening paradigms. However, when listening to music, we actively generate predictions about what is likely to happen next. This enactive aspect has led to a more comprehensive understanding of music processing involving brain structures implicated in action, emotion and learning. Here we review the cognitive neuroscience literature of music perception. We show that music perception, action, emotion and learning all rest on the human brain's fundamental capacity for prediction - as formulated by the predictive coding of music model. This Review elucidates how this formulation of music perception and expertise in individuals can be extended to account for the dynamics and underlying brain mechanisms of collective music making. This in turn has important implications for human creativity as evinced by music improvisation. These recent advances shed new light on what makes music meaningful from a neuroscientific perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University and The Royal Academy of Music (Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium), Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Ole A Heggli
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University and The Royal Academy of Music (Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium), Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
| | - Morten L Kringelbach
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University and The Royal Academy of Music (Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium), Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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15
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Chang A, Kragness HE, Tsou W, Bosnyak DJ, Thiede A, Trainor LJ. Body sway predicts romantic interest in speed dating. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:185-192. [PMID: 32685965 PMCID: PMC7812630 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Social bonding is fundamental to human society, and romantic interest involves an important type of bonding. Speed dating research paradigms offer both high external validity and experimental control for studying romantic interest in real-world settings. While previous studies focused on the effect of social and personality factors on romantic interest, the role of non-verbal interaction has been little studied in initial romantic interest, despite being commonly viewed as a crucial factor. The present study investigated whether romantic interest can be predicted by non-verbal dyadic interactive body sway, and enhanced by movement-promoting (‘groovy’) background music. Participants’ body sway trajectories were recorded during speed dating. Directional (predictive) body sway coupling, but not body sway similarity, predicted interest in a long-term relationship above and beyond rated physical attractiveness. In addition, presence of groovy background music promoted interest in meeting a dating partner again. Overall, we demonstrate that romantic interest is reflected by non-verbal body sway in dyads in a real-world dating setting. This novel approach could potentially be applied to investigate non-verbal aspects of social bonding in other dynamic interpersonal interactions such as between infants and parents and in non-verbal populations including those with communication disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Chang
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Haley E Kragness
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Wei Tsou
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Dan J Bosnyak
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton L8S 4K1, Canada.,McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind, McMaster University, Hamilton L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Anja Thiede
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton L8S 4K1, Canada.,Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Laurel J Trainor
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton L8S 4K1, Canada.,McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind, McMaster University, Hamilton L8S 4K1, Canada.,Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Hospital, Toronto M6A 2E1, Canada
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16
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Leow LA, Watson S, Prete D, Waclawik K, Grahn JA. How groove in music affects gait. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:2419-2433. [PMID: 34106299 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06083-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) is a gait intervention in which gait-disordered patients synchronise footsteps to music or metronome cues. Musical 'groove', the tendency of music to induce movement, has previously been shown to be associated with faster gait, however, why groove affects gait remains unclear. One mechanism by which groove may affect gait is that of beat salience: music that is higher in groove has more salient musical beats, and higher beat salience might reduce the cognitive demands of perceiving the beat and synchronizing footsteps to it. If groove's effects on gait are driven primarily by the impact of beat salience on cognitive demands, then groove's effects might only be present in contexts in which it is relevant to reduce cognitive demands. Such contexts could include task parameters that increase cognitive demands (such as the requirement to synchronise to the beat), or individual differences that may make synchronisation more cognitively demanding. Here, we examined whether high beat salience can account for the effects of high-groove music on gait. First, we increased the beat salience of low-groove music to be similar to that of high-groove music by embedding metronome beats in low and high-groove music. We examined whether low-groove music with high beat salience elicited similar effects on gait as high-groove music. Second, we examined the effect of removing the requirement to synchronise footsteps to the beat (i.e., allowing participants to walk freely with the music), which is thought to remove the cognitive demand of synchronizing movements to the beat. We tested two populations thought to be sensitive to the cognitive demands of synchronisation, weak beat-perceivers and older adults. We found that increasing the beat salience of low-groove music increased stride velocity, but strides were still slower than with high-groove music. Similarly, removing the requirement to synchronise elicited faster, less variable gait, and reduced bias for stability, but high-groove music still elicited faster strides than low-groove music. These findings suggest that beat salience contributes to groove's effect on gait, but it does not fully account for it. Despite reducing task difficulty by equalizing beat salience and removing the requirement to synchronise, high-groove music still elicited faster, less variable gait. Therefore, other properties of groove also appear to play a role in groove's effect on gait.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Ann Leow
- The School of Psychology, McElwain Building, University of Queensland, The University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld 4072, Brisbane, Australia.
- Centre for Sensorimotor Performance, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, Building 26B Qld 4072, Brisbane, Australia.
| | - Sarah Watson
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - David Prete
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Kristina Waclawik
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Jessica A Grahn
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
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17
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Ladda AM, Wallwork SB, Lotze M. Multimodal Sensory-Spatial Integration and Retrieval of Trained Motor Patterns for Body Coordination in Musicians and Dancers. Front Psychol 2020; 11:576120. [PMID: 33312150 PMCID: PMC7704436 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.576120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Dancers and musicians are experts in spatial and temporal processing, which allows them to coordinate movement with music. This high-level processing has been associated with structural and functional adaptation of the brain for high performance sensorimotor integration. For these integration processes, adaptation does not only take place in primary and secondary sensory and motor areas but also in tertiary brain areas, such as the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) and the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), providing vital resources for highly specialized performance. Here, we review evidence for the role of these brain areas in multimodal training protocols and integrate these findings into a new model of sensorimotor processing in complex motor learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aija Marie Ladda
- Functional Imaging Unit, Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Sarah B. Wallwork
- IIMPACT in Health, Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Martin Lotze
- Functional Imaging Unit, Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
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18
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Endestad T, Godøy RI, Sneve MH, Hagen T, Bochynska A, Laeng B. Mental Effort When Playing, Listening, and Imagining Music in One Pianist's Eyes and Brain. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:576888. [PMID: 33192407 PMCID: PMC7593683 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.576888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
We investigated "musical effort" with an internationally renowned, classical, pianist while playing, listening, and imagining music. We used pupillometry as an objective measure of mental effort and fMRI as an exploratory method of effort with the same musical pieces. We also compared a group of non-professional pianists and non-musicians by the use of pupillometry and a small group of non-musicians with fMRI. This combined approach of psychophysiology and neuroimaging revealed the cognitive work during different musical activities. We found that pupil diameters were largest when "playing" (regardless of whether there was sound produced or not) compared to conditions with no movement (i.e., "listening" and "imagery"). We found positive correlations between pupil diameters of the professional pianist during different conditions with the same piano piece (i.e., normal playing, silenced playing, listen, imagining), which might indicate similar degrees of load on cognitive resources as well as an intimate link between the motor imagery of sound-producing body motions and gestures. We also confirmed that musical imagery had a strong commonality with music listening in both pianists and musically naïve individuals. Neuroimaging provided evidence for a relationship between noradrenergic (NE) activity and mental workload or attentional intensity within the domain of music cognition. We found effort related activity in the superior part of the locus coeruleus (LC) and, similarly to the pupil, the listening and imagery engaged less the LC-NE network than the motor condition. The pianists attended more intensively to the most difficult piece than the non-musicians since they showed larger pupils for the most difficult piece. Non-musicians were the most engaged by the music listening task, suggesting that the amount of attention allocated for the same task may follow a hierarchy of expertise demanding less attentional effort in expert or performers than in novices. In the professional pianist, we found only weak evidence for a commonality between subjective effort (as rated measure-by-measure) and the objective effort gauged with pupil diameter during listening. We suggest that psychophysiological methods like pupillometry can index mental effort in a manner that is not available to subjective awareness or introspection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tor Endestad
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Helgelandssykehuset, Mosjøen, Norway
| | - Rolf Inge Godøy
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Thomas Hagen
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Agata Bochynska
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Bruno Laeng
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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19
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Wagner B, Bowling DL, Hoeschele M. Is consonance attractive to budgerigars? No evidence from a place preference study. Anim Cogn 2020; 23:973-987. [PMID: 32572655 PMCID: PMC7415764 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01404-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Revised: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Consonant tone combinations occur naturally in the overtone series of harmonic sounds. These include sounds that many non-human animals produce to communicate. As such, non-human animals may be attracted to consonant intervals, interpreting them, e.g., as a feature of important social stimuli. There is preliminary evidence of attraction to consonance in various bird species in the wild, but few experimental studies with birds. We tested budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) for attraction to consonant over dissonant intervals in two experiments. In Experiment 1, we tested humans and budgerigars using a place preference paradigm in which individuals could explore an environment with multiple sound sources. Both species were tested with consonant and dissonant versions of a previously studied piano melody, and we recorded time spent with each stimulus as a measure of attraction. Human females spent more time with consonant than dissonant stimuli in this experiment, but human males spent equal time with both consonant and dissonant stimuli. Neither male nor female budgerigars spent more time with either stimulus type. In Experiment 2, we tested budgerigars with more ecologically relevant stimuli comprised of sampled budgerigar vocalizations arranged into consonant or dissonant chords. These stimuli, however, also failed to produce any evidence of preference in budgerigar responses. We discuss these results in the context of ongoing research on the study of consonance as a potential general feature of auditory perception in animals with harmonic vocalizations, with respect to similarities and differences between human and budgerigar vocal behaviour, and future methodological directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernhard Wagner
- Acoustics Research Institute, Wohllebengasse 12-14, 1040, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel L Bowling
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1201 Welch Rd. MSLS P-126, Stanford, CA, 94305-5485, USA
- Department of Cognitive Biology, Althanstrasse 14 (UZA1), 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marisa Hoeschele
- Acoustics Research Institute, Wohllebengasse 12-14, 1040, Vienna, Austria.
- Department of Cognitive Biology, Althanstrasse 14 (UZA1), 1090, Vienna, Austria.
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