Name:Alexander Albury

School/Affiliation:Concordia University

Co-Authors:Deosdad Díez M., Fàbrega-Camps G., Ara A., Marco-Pallares J., & Penhune V.B.

Virtual or In-person:In-person

Abstract:

Music is a multi-faceted phenomenon that influences numerous aspects of cognition and behavior, including emotional arousal, action planning, and fine motor movements. Music has been demonstrated to induce reward as a result of predictive processes and these same predictive processes are recruited to plan movements during musical performance. One mechanism that has been proposed to coordinate the varied cognitive processes during music cognition is synchronization of neural oscillations. Previous research has shown that increased theta synchronization of frontotemporal areas is related to increased pleasure during music listening. Additionally, beta power and synchronization have been associated with motor learning. Following this, we designed a study to investigate the joint effects of theta and beta synchronization on reward and motor learning in music. 30 non-musicians listened to and rated 9 short melodies while 64-electrode EEG was recorded. They then learned to play the endings of these melodies using a simulated piano keyboard. Across 7 trials of each melody participants heard the melody in full as a prime and then heard just the first 4 bars before completing the last 2 from memory. Performance was evaluated by accuracy and asynchrony of keypresses. Theta and beta synchronization in frontotemporal and motor areas was measured using inter-site phase coherence (ISPC). Participants successfully learned the melodies as demonstrated by increased accuracy and decreased asynchrony across trials. Initial analyses indicate no relationship between beta synchronization and learning performance. Additionally, counter to what was expected, the results suggest a negative relationship between frontotemporal theta synchronization and reported pleasure.