Neurophysiological Effects of Trait Empathy in Music Listening

Abstract

The social cognitive basis of music processing has long been noted, and recent research has shown that trait empathy is linked to musical preferences and listening style. Does empathy modulate neural responses to musical sounds? We designed two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments to address this question. In Experiment 1, subjects listened to brief isolated musical timbres while being scanned. In Experiment 2, subjects listened to excerpts of music in four conditions (familiar liked (FL)/disliked and unfamiliar liked (UL)/disliked). For both types of musical stimuli, emotional and cognitive forms of trait empathy modulated activity in sensorimotor and cognitive areas: in the first experiment, empathy was primarily correlated with activity in supplementary motor area (SMA), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and insula; in Experiment 2, empathy was mainly correlated with activity in prefrontal, temporo-parietal and reward areas. Taken together, these findings reveal the interactions between bottom-up and top-down mechanisms of empathy in response to musical sounds, in line with recent findings from other cognitive domains.

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

“…Nevertheless, the MFG and IFG are also connected with processing positive musicevoked emotions (Barrett & Janata, 2016;Kim et al, 2017;Wallmark et al, 2018). 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).…”

“…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.…”

“…In addition to many other functions, the DLPFC is involved in music processing, specifically it is more active in processing familiarity, rhythm and sequenced sounds, as well as detecting pitch alterations or deviances (Altenmüller et al, 2014;Plailly et al, 2007;Flores-Gutiérrez et al, 2007;Seger et al, 2013;Platel et al, 1997;Koelsch & Siebel, 2005, Doeller et al, 2003Dohn et al, 2015, respectively). Also, greater DLPFC activity is associated with likable music, increased physiological arousal, and pleasant emotions, including complex positive feelings such as empathy and nostalgia (Barrett & Janata, 2016;Bigliassi, León-Domínguez, & Altimari, 2015;Brattico et al, 2011;Joucla et al, 2018;Koelsch et al, 2006;Wallmark et al, 2018). Although DLPFC activity may be genre specific and is not always active during music apprehension (Bigliassi et al, 2015).…”

“…Three brain areas are consistently shown to be involved in processing musical features during passive music listening, such as structure, rhythm, pitch, and melodies: the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) (Kunert, Willems, Casasanto, Patel, & Hagoort, 2015;Lappe, Steinsträter, & Pantev, 2013;Nan & Friederici, 2013;Royal, Zendel, Desjardins, Robitaille, & Peretz, 2018;Thaut, Trimarchi, & Davide, 2014). These areas are also associated with experiencing positive music emotions including; pleasantness, anticipation, empathy, and excitement, as well as physiological responses indicative of positive feelings, such as 'chills' (Greene, Flannery, & Soto, 2014;Koelsch, Fritz, Cramon, Müller, & Friederici, 2006;Lehne, Rohrmeier, & Koelsch, 2014;Tabatabaie et al, 2014;Wallmark, Deblieck, & Iacoboni, 2018).…”

“…Research has shown music containing high anticipation and tension for predicted and unexpected alterations in its continuous framework evoke pleasant emotions, such as excitement, satisfaction, and surprise despite prior knowledge of the musical piece (Arjmand, Hohagen, Paton, & Rickard, 2017;Koelsch, 2014;Koelsch, Fritz, & Schlaug, 2008;Omigie, 2016;Zentner, Grandjean, & Scherer, 2008). Musical emotion associated with anticipation and deviation has been linked to increased activity in the same three brain areas mentioned above (Bianco et al, 2016;Lehne et al, 2014;Seger et al, 2013), as well as to experiencing pleasant musical emotions (Daly et al, 2014;Lehne et al, 2014;Tabei, 2015;Wallmark et al, 2018).…”