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Vigl J, Talamini F, Strauss H, Zentner M. Prosodic discrimination skills mediate the association between musical aptitude and vocal emotion recognition ability. Sci Rep 2024; 14:16462. [PMID: 39014043 PMCID: PMC11252295 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-66889-y] [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: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The current study tested the hypothesis that the association between musical ability and vocal emotion recognition skills is mediated by accuracy in prosody perception. Furthermore, it was investigated whether this association is primarily related to musical expertise, operationalized by long-term engagement in musical activities, or musical aptitude, operationalized by a test of musical perceptual ability. To this end, we conducted three studies: In Study 1 (N = 85) and Study 2 (N = 93), we developed and validated a new instrument for the assessment of prosodic discrimination ability. In Study 3 (N = 136), we examined whether the association between musical ability and vocal emotion recognition was mediated by prosodic discrimination ability. We found evidence for a full mediation, though only in relation to musical aptitude and not in relation to musical expertise. Taken together, these findings suggest that individuals with high musical aptitude have superior prosody perception skills, which in turn contribute to their vocal emotion recognition skills. Importantly, our results suggest that these benefits are not unique to musicians, but extend to non-musicians with high musical aptitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Vigl
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstraße 15, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
| | - Francesca Talamini
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstraße 15, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Hannah Strauss
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstraße 15, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Marcel Zentner
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstraße 15, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
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2
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Martins I, Lima CF, Pinheiro AP. Enhanced salience of musical sounds in singers and instrumentalists. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:1044-1062. [PMID: 35501427 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-01007-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Music training has been linked to facilitated processing of emotional sounds. However, most studies have focused on speech, and less is known about musicians' brain responses to other emotional sounds and in relation to instrument-specific experience. The current study combined behavioral and EEG methods to address two novel questions related to the perception of auditory emotional cues: whether and how long-term music training relates to a distinct emotional processing of nonverbal vocalizations and music; and whether distinct training profiles (vocal vs. instrumental) modulate brain responses to emotional sounds from early to late processing stages. Fifty-eight participants completed an EEG implicit emotional processing task, in which musical and vocal sounds differing in valence were presented as nontarget stimuli. After this task, participants explicitly evaluated the same sounds regarding the emotion being expressed, their valence, and arousal. Compared with nonmusicians, musicians displayed enhanced salience detection (P2), attention orienting (P3), and elaborative processing (Late Positive Potential) of musical (vs. vocal) sounds in event-related potential (ERP) data. The explicit evaluation of musical sounds also was distinct in musicians: accuracy in the emotional recognition of musical sounds was similar across valence types in musicians, who also judged musical sounds to be more pleasant and more arousing than nonmusicians. Specific profiles of music training (singers vs. instrumentalists) did not relate to differences in the processing of vocal vs. musical sounds. Together, these findings reveal that music has a privileged status in the auditory system of long-term musically trained listeners, irrespective of their instrument-specific experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inês Martins
- CICPSI, Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-013, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - César F Lima
- Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ana P Pinheiro
- CICPSI, Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-013, Lisbon, Portugal.
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Wu X, Lu X. Musical Training in the Development of Empathy and Prosocial Behaviors. Front Psychol 2021; 12:661769. [PMID: 34045996 PMCID: PMC8144324 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Music not only regulates mood but also promotes the development and maintenance of empathy and social understanding. Since empathy is crucial for well-being and indispensable in social life, it is necessary to develop strategies to improve empathy and prosocial behaviors. To fulfill this aim, researchers have extensively investigated the effect of intensive musical training on the development of empathy. Here, we first summarize evidence showing the powerful influence of musical training on the development of empathy and then discuss psychological mechanisms responsible for those observations. The conclusions drawn from most previous studies were mainly based on behavioral measurements, while the neural basis of musical training in the development of the empathic brain is still unclear. Fortunately, brain imaging research has contributed greatly to our understanding of the neural underpinnings associated with musical training and its possible connection to the development of the empathic brain. One of the most distinctive signatures of musical training is structural and functional changes of multiple brain regions, and such changes might be related to some of the empathic behaviors observed in musically trained children. Therefore, intensive musical training in childhood may increase levels of empathy, and applied research is required to optimize the training strategy before implementing music education in empathy regulation. Moreover, future longitudinal studies are needed to better understand neural mechanisms underlying the causal effect of musical training on empathy development. These findings have important implications for understanding the development of the empathic brain and for improving prosocial behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Wu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xuejing Lu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Ruffman T, Then R, Cheng C, Imuta K. Lifespan differences in emotional contagion while watching emotion-eliciting videos. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0209253. [PMID: 30657754 PMCID: PMC6338362 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2018] [Accepted: 12/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research has examined empathic concern by presenting toddlers with a sad stimulus and examining their emotional response, with the conclusion that toddlers display empathy. Yet, such research has failed to include basic control conditions involving some other aversive stimulus such as white noise. Nor has it compared toddlers to adults to examine potential development in empathy. In the present study, we showed toddlers and adults four video types: infant crying, infant laughing, infant babbling, and a neutral infant accompanied by white noise. We then coded happiness and sadness while viewing the videos, and created a difference score (happiness minus sadness), testing 52 toddlers and 61 adults. Whereas adults showed more sadness towards infant crying than any other stimulus, toddlers' response to crying and white noise was similar. Thus, the toddler response to crying was comparable to previous studies (slight sadness), but was no different to white noise and was significantly reduced relative to adults. As such, toddlers' response seemed to be better characterized as a reaction to an aversive stimulus rather than empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ted Ruffman
- Department of Psychology, University of OtagoDunedin, New Zealand
| | - Rebecca Then
- Department of Psychology, University of OtagoDunedin, New Zealand
| | - Christie Cheng
- Department of Psychology, University of OtagoDunedin, New Zealand
| | - Kana Imuta
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
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Pehrs C, Zaki J, Schlochtermeier LH, Jacobs AM, Kuchinke L, Koelsch S. The Temporal Pole Top-Down Modulates the Ventral Visual Stream During Social Cognition. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:777-792. [PMID: 26604273 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The temporal pole (TP) has been associated with diverse functions of social cognition and emotion processing. Although the underlying mechanism remains elusive, one possibility is that TP acts as domain-general hub integrating socioemotional information. To test this, 26 participants were presented with 60 empathy-evoking film clips during fMRI scanning. The film clips were preceded by a linguistic sad or neutral context and half of the clips were accompanied by sad music. In line with its hypothesized role, TP was involved in the processing of sad context and furthermore tracked participants' empathic concern. To examine the neuromodulatory impact of TP, we applied nonlinear dynamic causal modeling to a multisensory integration network from previous work consisting of superior temporal gyrus (STG), fusiform gyrus (FG), and amygdala, which was extended by an additional node in the TP. Bayesian model comparison revealed a gating of STG and TP on fusiform-amygdalar coupling and an increase of TP to FG connectivity during the integration of contextual information. Moreover, these backward projections were strengthened by emotional music. The findings indicate that during social cognition, TP integrates information from different modalities and top-down modulates lower-level perceptual areas in the ventral visual stream as a function of integration demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinna Pehrs
- Cluster of Excellence "Languages of Emotion", 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Dahlem Institute for Neuroimaging of Emotion, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jamil Zaki
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Lorna H Schlochtermeier
- Cluster of Excellence "Languages of Emotion", 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Dahlem Institute for Neuroimaging of Emotion, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Arthur M Jacobs
- Cluster of Excellence "Languages of Emotion", 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Dahlem Institute for Neuroimaging of Emotion, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lars Kuchinke
- Cluster of Excellence "Languages of Emotion", 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Dahlem Institute for Neuroimaging of Emotion, 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Experimental Psychology and Methods, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Stefan Koelsch
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, 5009 Bergen, Norway
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Ruffman T, Lorimer B, Scarf D. Do Infants Really Experience Emotional Contagion? CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Young KS, Parsons CE, Stein A, Vuust P, Craske MG, Kringelbach ML. The neural basis of responsive caregiving behaviour: Investigating temporal dynamics within the parental brain. Behav Brain Res 2017; 325:105-116. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2016] [Revised: 09/01/2016] [Accepted: 09/05/2016] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
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On Cuteness: Unlocking the Parental Brain and Beyond. Trends Cogn Sci 2016; 20:545-558. [PMID: 27211583 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2016.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2016] [Revised: 05/03/2016] [Accepted: 05/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Cuteness in offspring is a potent protective mechanism that ensures survival for otherwise completely dependent infants. Previous research has linked cuteness to early ethological ideas of a 'Kindchenschema' (infant schema) where infant facial features serve as 'innate releasing mechanisms' for instinctual caregiving behaviours. We propose extending the concept of cuteness beyond visual features to include positive infant sounds and smells. Evidence from behavioural and neuroimaging studies links this extended concept of cuteness to simple 'instinctual' behaviours and to caregiving, protection, and complex emotions. We review how cuteness supports key parental capacities by igniting fast privileged neural activity followed by slower processing in large brain networks also involved in play, empathy, and perhaps even higher-order moral emotions.
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Young KS, Parsons CE, Stein A, Kringelbach ML. Motion and emotion: depression reduces psychomotor performance and alters affective movements in caregiving interactions. Front Behav Neurosci 2015; 9:26. [PMID: 25741255 PMCID: PMC4330887 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2014] [Accepted: 01/27/2015] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impaired social functioning is a well-established feature of depression. Evidence to date suggests that disrupted processing of emotional cues may constitute part of this impairment. Beyond processing of emotional cues, fluent social interactions require that people physically move in synchronized, contingent ways. Disruptions to physical movements are a diagnostic feature of depression (psychomotor disturbance) but have not previously been assessed in the context of social functioning. Here we investigated the impact of psychomotor disturbance in depression on physical responsive behavior in both an experimental and observational setting. METHODS In Experiment 1, we examined motor disturbance in depression in response to salient emotional sounds, using a laboratory-based effortful motor task. In Experiment 2, we explored whether psychomotor disturbance was apparent in real-life social interactions. Using mother-infant interactions as a model affective social situation, we compared physical behaviors of mothers with and without postnatal depression (PND). RESULTS We found impairments in precise, controlled psychomotor performance in adults with depression relative to healthy adults (Experiment 1). Despite this disruption, all adults showed enhanced performance following exposure to highly salient emotional cues (infant cries). Examining real-life interactions, we found differences in physical movements, namely reduced affective touching, in mothers with PND responding to their infants, compared to healthy mothers (Experiment 2). CONCLUSIONS Together, these findings suggest that psychomotor disturbance may be an important feature of depression that can impair social functioning. Future work investigating whether improvements in physical movement in depression could have a positive impact on social interactions would be of much interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine S. Young
- Department of Psychiatry, Warneford HospitalOxford, UK
- MindLab/Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN), Aarhus UniversityAarhus, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)Los Angeles, USA
| | - Christine E. Parsons
- Department of Psychiatry, Warneford HospitalOxford, UK
- MindLab/Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN), Aarhus UniversityAarhus, Denmark
| | - Alan Stein
- Department of Psychiatry, Warneford HospitalOxford, UK
| | - Morten L. Kringelbach
- Department of Psychiatry, Warneford HospitalOxford, UK
- MindLab/Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN), Aarhus UniversityAarhus, Denmark
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