Music-Based Intervention Connects Auditory and Reward Systems

Abstract

Listening to pleasurable music is known to engage the brain’s reward system. This has motivated many cognitive-behavioral interventions for healthy aging, but little is known about the effects of music-based intervention (MBI) on plasticity of the cognitive and reward systems. Here we show preliminary evidence that brain network connectivity can change after receptive MBI in cognitively unimpaired older adults. Using a combination of whole-brain regression, seed-based connectivity analysis, and representational similarity analysis (RSA), we examined fMRI responses during music listening in older adults before and after an eight-week personalized MBI. Participants rated self-selected and researcher-selected musical excerpts on liking and familiarity. Parametric effects of liking, familiarity, and selection showed simultaneous activation in auditory, reward, and default mode network (DMN) areas. Seed-based connectivity comparing pre- and post-intervention showed significant increase in functional connectivity between auditory regions and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC); this auditory-mPFC connectivity was modulated by participant liking and familiarity ratings. RSA showed significant representations of selection and novelty at both time-points, and an increase in striatal representation of musical stimuli following intervention. Taken together, results show how regular music listening can provide an auditory channel towards the mPFC, thus offering a potential neural mechanism for MBI supporting healthy aging.

Neural Entrainment to Musical Pulse in Naturalistic Music Is Preserved in Aging: Implications for Music-Based Interventions

“…As part of a larger project on the development of a novel music-based intervention (MBI) for aging, in the current study, participants listened to self-selected music during a period of audiovisual stimulation. Participants were explicitly instructed to select their own music for the audiovisual stimulation, as self-selected music represents a more ecologically valid music listening experience that is linked to efficacy of MBIs [ 25 ] and increases neural activity across auditory and reward systems [ 8 , 11 , 22 , 23 ].…”

“…Such variability in the efficacy of music-based interventions may arise, in part, from the diversity of protocols that underlie MBIs (e.g., self-selected vs. clinician-selected music), the heterogeneity of clinical populations that are targeted by MBIs, and individual differences in the sensitivity to musical features that constitute the intervention (e.g., rhythm, melody, motor-movement, and social interactions during musical experiences) [ 4 , 7 , 8 ]. While research has identified key neural networks that contribute to music processing [ 9 , 10 ], little is known about the underlying neurobiological mechanisms that are specifically engaged by MBIs [ 11 , 12 ], and how aging affects neural responses to musical structure (e.g., rhythm, melody, and harmony) [ 13 ]. However, understanding how MBIs engage the nervous system and the impact of aging on the neural processing of music has important implications for designing and implementing MBIs; understanding the effects of naturalistic music-listening and -making on brain function, cognitive health, and well-being; and explaining individual outcomes following the intervention [ 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”

“…Musical experiences involve a listener’s idiosyncratic musical knowledge, autobiographical memories, affective state, and subjective interpretation of a composer’s and performer’s musical intentions [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. This inherent subjectivity of musical experiences may explain why self-selected music produces enhanced brain responses to music [ 8 , 11 , 22 , 23 ]. Neuro-imaging research, for example, has found that listening to self-selected music and music perceived as pleasurable increases activation in and connectivity between auditory and reward systems [ 22 , 23 ].…”

“…Neuro-imaging research, for example, has found that listening to self-selected music and music perceived as pleasurable increases activation in and connectivity between auditory and reward systems [ 22 , 23 ]. Furthermore, music that is more familiar and selected by the listener is especially effective at engaging multiple brain areas [ 24 ]: one study showed increased functional connectivity between auditory and reward systems when participants listened to self-selected music, with effects increasing after a two-month MBI [ 11 ]. These findings may explain why music-based interventions that feature self-selected music yield better clinical outcomes [ 25 ], such as in anxiety reduction and improvements in task performance and enjoyment [ 26 ].…”

Neural Entrainment to Musical Pulse In Naturalistic Music Is Preserved In Aging: Implications for Music-Based Interventions

“…As part of a larger project on the development of a novel music-based intervention (MBI) for aging, in the current study, participants listened to self-selected music during a period of audiovisual stimulation. Participants were explicitly instructed to select their own music for the audiovisual stimulation, as self-selected music represents a more ecologically valid music listening experience that is linked to efficacy of MBIs (Leggieri et al, 2019) and increases neural activity across auditory and reward systems (Blood & Zatorre, 2001; Loui, 2020; Quinci et al, 2021; Salimpoor et al, 2013).…”