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Palumbo A, Groves K, Munoz-Vidal EL, Turry A, Codio R, Raghavan P, Schambra H, Voelbel GT, Ripollés P. Improvisation and live accompaniment increase motor response and reward during a music playing task. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13112. [PMID: 38849348 PMCID: PMC11161496 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62794-6] [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: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Music provides a reward that can enhance learning and motivation in humans. While music is often combined with exercise to improve performance and upregulate mood, the relationship between music-induced reward and motor output is poorly understood. Here, we study music reward and motor output at the same time by capitalizing on music playing. Specifically, we investigate the effects of music improvisation and live accompaniment on motor, autonomic, and affective responses. Thirty adults performed a drumming task while (i) improvising or maintaining the beat and (ii) with live or recorded accompaniment. Motor response was characterized by acceleration of hand movements (accelerometry), wrist flexor and extensor muscle activation (electromyography), and the drum strike count (i.e., the number of drum strikes played). Autonomic arousal was measured by tonic response of electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate (HR). Affective responses were measured by a 12-item Likert scale. The combination of improvisation and live accompaniment, as compared to all other conditions, significantly increased acceleration of hand movements and muscle activation, as well as participant reports of reward during music playing. Improvisation, regardless of type of accompaniment, increased the drum strike count and autonomic arousal (including tonic EDA responses and several measures of HR), as well as participant reports of challenge. Importantly, increased motor response was associated with increased reward ratings during music improvisation, but not while participants were maintaining the beat. The increased motor responses achieved with improvisation and live accompaniment have important implications for enhancing dose of movement during exercise and physical rehabilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Palumbo
- Rehabilitation Sciences Program, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
- Music and Audio Research Lab, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
- Center for Language, Music, and Emotion (CLaME), New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
| | - Karleigh Groves
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Music and Audio Research Lab, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Center for Language, Music, and Emotion (CLaME), New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Eva Luna Munoz-Vidal
- Rehabilitation Sciences Program, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Music and Audio Research Lab, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Center for Language, Music, and Emotion (CLaME), New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Alan Turry
- Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Robert Codio
- Music and Audio Research Lab, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Preeti Raghavan
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
| | - Heidi Schambra
- New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Gerald T Voelbel
- Rehabilitation Sciences Program, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Department of Occupational Therapy, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Center of Health and Rehabilitation Research, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Rusk Rehabilitation, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Pablo Ripollés
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
- Music and Audio Research Lab, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
- Center for Language, Music, and Emotion (CLaME), New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
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Benson P, Kathios N, Loui P. Predictive coding in musical anhedonia: A study of groove. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301478. [PMID: 38652721 PMCID: PMC11037533 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301478] [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: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Groove, or the pleasurable urge to move to music, offers unique insight into the relationship between emotion and action. The predictive coding of music model posits that groove is linked to predictions of music formed over time, with stimuli of moderate complexity rated as most pleasurable and likely to engender movement. At the same time, listeners vary in the pleasure they derive from music listening: individuals with musical anhedonia report reduced pleasure during music listening despite no impairments in music perception and no general anhedonia. Little is known about musical anhedonics' subjective experience of groove. Here we examined the relationship between groove and music reward sensitivity. Participants (n = 287) heard drum-breaks that varied in perceived complexity, and rated each for pleasure and wanting to move. Musical anhedonics (n = 13) had significantly lower ratings compared to controls (n = 13) matched on music perception abilities and general anhedonia. However, both groups demonstrated the classic inverted-U relationship between ratings of pleasure & move and stimulus complexity, with ratings peaking for intermediately complex stimuli. Across our entire sample, pleasure ratings were most strongly related with music reward sensitivity for highly complex stimuli (i.e., there was an interaction between music reward sensitivity and stimulus complexity). Finally, the sensorimotor subscale of music reward was uniquely associated with move, but not pleasure, ratings above and beyond the five other dimensions of musical reward. Results highlight the multidimensional nature of reward sensitivity and suggest that pleasure and wanting to move are driven by overlapping but separable mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Benson
- Dept. of Music, College of Arts, Media, and Design, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Dept. of Computer Science, Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Nicholas Kathios
- Dept. of Psychology, College of Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Psyche Loui
- Dept. of Music, College of Arts, Media, and Design, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Dept. of Psychology, College of Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Schoeller F, Jain A, Pizzagalli DA, Reggente N. The neurobiology of aesthetic chills: How bodily sensations shape emotional experiences. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024:10.3758/s13415-024-01168-x. [PMID: 38383913 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01168-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Schoeller
- Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
- Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Abhinandan Jain
- Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Nicco Reggente
- Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, USA
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Kathios N, Patel AD, Loui P. Musical anhedonia, timbre, and the rewards of music listening. Cognition 2024; 243:105672. [PMID: 38086279 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105672] [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: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Kathios
- Dept. of Psychology, Northeastern University, United States of America
| | - Aniruddh D Patel
- Dept. of Psychology, Tufts University, United States of America; Program in Brain Mind and Consciousness, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Canada
| | - Psyche Loui
- Dept. of Psychology, Northeastern University, United States of America; Dept. of Music, Northeastern University, United States of America.
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