Hidden sources of joy, fear, and sadness: Explicit versus implicit neural processing of musical emotions

Abstract

Music is often used to regulate emotions and mood. Typically, music conveys and induces emotions even when one does not attend to them. Studies on the neural substrates of musical emotions have, however, only examined brain activity when subjects have focused on the emotional content of the music. Here we address with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) the neural processing of happy, sad, and fearful music with a paradigm in which 56 subjects were instructed to either classify the emotions (explicit condition) or pay attention to the number of instruments playing (implicit condition) in 4-sec music clips. In the implicit vs.2 explicit condition, stimuli activated bilaterally the inferior parietal lobule, premotor cortex, caudate, and ventromedial frontal areas. The cortical dorsomedial prefrontal and occipital areas activated during explicit processing were those previously shown to be associated with the cognitive processing of music and emotion recognition and regulation. Moreover, happiness in music was associated with activity in the bilateral auditory cortex, left parahippocampal gyrus, and supplementary motor area, whereas the negative emotions of sadness and fear corresponded with activation of the left anterior cingulate and middle frontal gyrus and down-regulation of the orbitofrontal cortex. Our study demonstrates for the first time in healthy subjects the neural underpinnings of the implicit processing of brief musical emotions, particularly in frontoparietal, dorsolateral prefrontal, and striatal areas of the brain.

Connectivity patterns during music listening: Evidence for action‐based processing in musicians

“…The study protocol proceeded on acceptance by the ethics committee of the Coordinating Board of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District. The data collection was part of a broader project (Tunteet) involving additional tests and neuroimaging and neurophysiological measures [Alluri et al, ; Bogert et al, ; Burunat et al, ; Carlson et al, ; Haumann et al, ; Kliuchko et al, ].…”

When tension is exciting: an EEG exploration of excitement in music

“…Similar to the IFG, MFG activity also increased post-Drop and may relate to processing Drop features. For example, the MFG is particularly active within general and implicit music processing, working memory (WM; alongside the IFG), and music rule perception (Bogert et al, 2016). This implies the MFG's importance in assessing Drops' continuous musical structure through WM and structural processing, enabling predictions of post-Drop deviations and subsequent pre-Drop tension as listeners wait for the music changes to occur.…”

“…Greater MFG and IFG activity contributes to perceived, felt and pleasant music emotions; including nostalgia, happiness, liking, and empathy (Barrett & Janata, 2016;Brattico et al, 2011;Joucla et al, 2018;Kim et al, 2017;Koelsch et al, 2006;Tabei, 2015;Wallmark et al, 2018). Thus, greater MFG and IFG activity post-Drop and their correlation with excitement could suggest more positive emotive responses in listeners as music deviates (Bogert et al, 2016;Kohn et al, 2014;Wallmark et al, 2018). However, some pleasant emotions linked to IFG and MFG activity are lower in arousal, making it less clear whether IFG and MFG activity increases alongside greater positive emotions or arousal.…”

“…This suggests Drops can elicit strong and arousing emotions, alongside relevant neurological responses with passive apprehension.Numerous brain regions, including all six here, have been associated with processing music and musical features. For instance, their activity have been related to passively, explicitly, and implicitly apprehending music over other auditory stimuli or silence(Altenmüller, Siggel, Mohammadi, Samii, & Münte, 2014;Bianco et al, 2016;Bogert et al, 2016;Plailly, Tillmann, & Royet, 2007;Proverbio & De Benedetto, 2018;Seger et al, 2013;…”

Global Sensory Qualities and Aesthetic Experience in Music

“…Musical pieces that resemble classical music styles, such as film soundtracks (Huckvale, 1990) or computer game music (Bridgett, 2013), are today composed and produced with computers. While historically musical aesthetics has concentrated on the classical music genre, more recently also pop/rock and jazz music has received attention by aesthetic (von Appen, 2007; Juslin et al, 2016) and neuroaesthetic scholars (Limb and Braun, 2008; Janata, 2009; Berns et al, 2010; Brattico et al, 2011, 2015; Johnson et al, 2011; Montag et al, 2011; Pereira et al, 2011; Salimpoor et al, 2011, 2013; Zuckerman et al, 2012; Istok et al, 2013; Bogert et al, 2016). Indeed, even though “rock musicians never ask if a composition is aesthetically valuable,” they are still keen in evaluation “if it sounds good ,” as observed by Račić (1981, p. 200, emphasis from the original).…”