Hyperbrain network properties of guitarists playing in quartet

Abstract

When playing music in an ensemble, musicians need to precisely coordinate their actions with one another. As shown in our previous studies on guitar duets, interbrain synchronization plays an essential role during such interactions. In this study, we simultaneously recorded electroencephalograms from four guitarists during quartet playing, to explore the extent and the functional significance of synchronized cortical activity across four brains. We found that hyperbrain networks based on intra- and interbrain connectivity across four brains dwell on higher frequencies for intrabrain communication and on lower frequencies for interbrain connections. The hyperbrain networks show small-world topology, with a tendency to become more random at lower frequencies and more regular at higher frequencies, such that local efficiency increases and global efficiency decreases with higher frequencies. We identified two different types of information flow within the hyperbrain networks-intra- versus intermodular-which are based on hyperbrain modules that include nodes from two, three, or even four brains. Furthermore, we found that hyperbrain networks are unstable and change their structure over time, often as a function of musical context. Our findings demonstrate complex hyperbrain network interactions in a guitar quartet and point to mechanisms that support temporally coordinated joint action.

Cortical Patterns of Pleasurable Musical Chills Revealed by High-Density EEG

“…These cerebral investigations remain limited to laboratory experiments with heavy neuroimaging techniques (fMRI, PET scan) whereas social neurosciences, and consequently the study of collective emotions, is moving toward natural/ecological paradigms (Acquadro et al, 2016;Volpe et al, 2016;Dikker et al, 2017;Bevilacqua et al, 2018;Soto et al, 2018;Swarbrick et al, 2018;Matusz et al, 2019). The use of mobile wireless EEG could provide the possibility of studying cerebral activity during peak emotion of musical chills in ecological/natural conditions, especially because it can be used in hyperscanning paradigms with several participants simultaneously (Lindenberger et al, 2009;Müller et al, 2013Müller et al, , 2018Acquadro et al, 2016).…”

Brain and Cognitive Mechanisms of Top–Down Attentional Control in a Multisensory World: Benefits of Electrical Neuroimaging

“…The utility of this approach extends well beyond research on attentional control or laboratory walls. In extant real-world neuroscientific research, the 22 advantages of EEG have been harnessed by extracting processes reflecting inter-personal brain activity synchronisation, and this has shed new light on the highly dynamic processes that scaffold social interactions and cognitive functions therein, like sustained attention, and learning and memory (Bevilacqua et al, 2018;Dikker et al, 2017;Ko et al, 2017;Müller et al, 2018;Tseng et al, 2018). Focusing EEG analyses on wellunderstood ERP components would offer the researchers valuable correlates of cognitive processes that do not require overt behavioural responses that may be hard to obtain in natural social interactions.…”

“…EEG -its low-cost, portability, non-invasiveness -is likely behind this popularity. Therein, measures relying on the exquisite temporal resolution of EEG have been shedding light on the mechanisms governing joint action and attention and learning in everyday situations (Bevilacqua et al, 2018;Cohen & Parra, 2016;Dikker et al, 2017;Ko et al , 2017;Müller et al, 2018;Tseng et al 2018). The way to fully capitalise on the hardware-and information-level benefits of EEG likely lies in employing signal processing techniques that extract both temporal and reasonably resolved spatial information from EEG data that are also neurobiologically interpretable (Tivadar & Murray, 2018).…”

The Relevance of a Conductor Competition for the Study of Emotional Synchronization Within and Between Groups in a Natural Musical Setting

“…Some studies using EEG hyperscanning have investigated the synchronization between musicians playing in groups (Babiloni et al, 2006;Lindenberger et al, 2009;Müller et al, 2012Müller et al, , 2013. The technological progress provided by recently developed portable EEG equipment combined with increasingly powerful artifact detection methods (Stone et al, 2018) facilitates realistic experiments, especially those studying several musicians simultaneously (Babiloni et al, 2011(Babiloni et al, , 2012Müller et al, 2012Müller et al, , 2013Müller et al, , 2018. As previously emphasized, classical musicians performing a musical score in a relatively stationary position allows researchers to record EEG data with a high signal-to-noise ratio (Babiloni et al, 2011;D'Ausilio et al, 2015), as well as a good physiological recording.…”

“…As previously emphasized, classical musicians performing a musical score in a relatively stationary position allows researchers to record EEG data with a high signal-to-noise ratio (Babiloni et al, 2011;D'Ausilio et al, 2015), as well as a good physiological recording. However, though a few studies have recorded EEG and physiological data during musical performances (Babiloni et al, 2011;Ichihashi et al, 2012;Müller et al, 2012Müller et al, , 2013Müller et al, , 2018, one of the main experimental limits is still the control of motor execution, greatly disrupting the signal. Musicians are often instructed to limit their musical execution movements as much as possible.…”