Dataset Information

Culture Modulates the Brain Response to Harmonic Violations: An EEG Study on Hierarchical Syntactic Structure in Music.

ABSTRACT: We investigated the role of culture in processing hierarchical syntactic structures in music. We examined whether violation of non-local dependencies manifest in event related potentials (ERP) for Western and Iranian excerpts by recording EEG while participants passively listened to sequences of modified/original excerpts. We also investigated oscillatory and synchronization properties of brain responses during processing of hierarchical structures. For the Western excerpt, subjective ratings of conclusiveness were marginally significant and the difference in the ERP components fell short of significance. However, ERP and behavioral results showed that while listening to culturally familiar music, subjects comprehended whether or not the hierarchical syntactic structure was fulfilled. Irregularities in the hierarchical structures of the Iranian excerpt elicited an early negativity in the central regions bilaterally, followed by two later negativities from 450-700 to 750-950 ms. The latter manifested throughout the scalp. Moreover, violations of hierarchical structure in the Iranian excerpt were associated with (i) an early decrease in the long range alpha phase synchronization, (ii) an early increase in the oscillatory activity in the beta band over the central areas, and (iii) a late decrease in the theta band phase synchrony between left anterior and right posterior regions. Results suggest that rhythmic structures and melodic fragments, representative of Iranian music, created a familiar context in which recognition of complex non-local syntactic structures was feasible for Iranian listeners. Processing of neural responses to the Iranian excerpt indicated neural mechanisms for processing of hierarchical syntactic structures in music at different levels of cortical integration.

SUBMITTER: Akrami H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5723651 | biostudies-other | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Culture Modulates the Brain Response to Harmonic Violations: An EEG Study on Hierarchical Syntactic Structure in Music.

Akrami Haleh H Moghimi Sahar S

Frontiers in human neuroscience 20171206

We investigated the role of culture in processing hierarchical syntactic structures in music. We examined whether violation of non-local dependencies manifest in event related potentials (ERP) for Western and Iranian excerpts by recording EEG while participants passively listened to sequences of modified/original excerpts. We also investigated oscillatory and synchronization properties of brain responses during processing of hierarchical structures. For the Western excerpt, subjective ratings of ...[more]

PMID: 29270118

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Project description:Aim:This study investigated the neural mechanisms of brain-wave music on sleep quality. Background:Sleep disorders are a common health problem in our society and may result in fatigue, depression, and problems in daytime functioning. Previous studies have shown that brain-wave music generated from electroencephalography (EEG) signals could emotionally affect our nervous system and have positive effects on sleep. However, the neural mechanisms of brain-wave music on the quality of sleep need to be clarified. Methods:A total of 33 young participants were recruited and randomly divided into three groups. The participants listened to rapid eye movement (REM) brain-wave music (Group 1: 13 subjects), slow-wave sleep (SWS) brain-wave music (Group 2: 11 subjects), or white noise (WN) (Control Group: 9 subjects) for 20 min before bedtime for 6 days. EEG and other physiological signals were recorded by polysomnography. Results:We found that the sleep efficiency increased in the SWS group but decreased in REM and WN groups. The sleep efficiency in the SWS group was ameliorated [t(10) = -1.943, p = 0.076]. In the EEG power spectral density analysis, the delta power spectral density in the REM group and in the control group increased, while that in the SWS group decreased [F(2,31) = 7.909, p = 0.005]. In the network analysis, the functional connectivity (FC), assessed with Pearson correlation coefficients, showed that the connectivity strength decreased [t(10) = 1.969, p = 0.073] between the left frontal lobe (F3) and left parietal lobe (C3) in the SWS group. In addition, there was a negative correlation between the FC of the left frontal lobe and the left parietal lobe and sleep latency in the SWS group (r = -0.527, p = 0.064). Conclusion:Slow-wave sleep brain-wave music may have a positive effect on sleep quality, while REM brain-wave music or WN may not have a positive effect. Furthermore, better sleep quality might be caused by a decrease in the power spectral density of the delta band of EEG and an increase in the FC between the left frontal lobe and the left parietal lobe. SWS brain-wave music could be a safe and inexpensive method for clinical use if confirmed by more data.

Project description:An empirical investigation of how local harmonic structures (e.g., chord progressions) contribute to the experience and enjoyment of uplifting trance (UT) music is presented. The connection between rhythmic and percussive elements and resulting trance-like states has been highlighted by musicologists, but no research, to our knowledge, has explored whether repeated harmonic elements influence affective responses in listeners of trance music. Two alternative hypotheses are discussed, the first highlighting the direct relationship between repetition/complexity and enjoyment, and the second based on the theoretical inverted-U relationship described by the Wundt curve. We investigate the connection between harmonic structure and subjective enjoyment through interdisciplinary behavioral and computational methods: First we discuss an experiment in which listeners provided enjoyment ratings for computer-generated UT anthems with varying levels of harmonic repetition and complexity. The anthems were generated using a statistical model trained on a corpus of 100 uplifting trance anthems created for this purpose, and harmonic structure was constrained by imposing particular repetition structures (semiotic patterns defining the order of chords in the sequence) on a professional UT music production template. Second, the relationship between harmonic structure and enjoyment is further explored using two computational approaches, one based on average Information Content, and another that measures average tonal tension between chords. The results of the listening experiment indicate that harmonic repetition does in fact contribute to the enjoyment of uplifting trance music. More compelling evidence was found for the second hypothesis discussed above, however some maximally repetitive structures were also preferred. Both computational models provide evidence for a Wundt-type relationship between complexity and enjoyment. By systematically manipulating the structure of chord progressions, we have discovered specific harmonic contexts in which repetitive or complex structure contribute to the enjoyment of uplifting trance music.

Dataset Information

Culture Modulates the Brain Response to Harmonic Violations: An EEG Study on Hierarchical Syntactic Structure in Music.

Publications

Culture Modulates the Brain Response to Harmonic Violations: An EEG Study on Hierarchical Syntactic Structure in Music.

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