Music and emotion: Electrophysiological correlates of the processing of pleasant and unpleasant music

Human emotion and its electrophysiological correlates are still poorly understood. The present study examined whether the valence of perceived emotions would differentially influence EEG power spectra and heart rate (HR). Pleasant and unpleasant emotions were induced by consonant and dissonant music...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychophysiology 2007-03, Vol.44 (2), p.293-304
Main Authors: Sammler, Daniela, Grigutsch, Maren, Fritz, Thomas, Koelsch, Stefan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Beta Rhythm
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Dissonance
EEG
Electroencephalography - psychology
Electrophysiology
Emotion
Emotions
Emotions - physiology
Female
Fm theta
Heart rate
Heart Rate - physiology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Music
Music - psychology
Physiological psychology
Theta Rhythm
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Summary:Human emotion and its electrophysiological correlates are still poorly understood. The present study examined whether the valence of perceived emotions would differentially influence EEG power spectra and heart rate (HR). Pleasant and unpleasant emotions were induced by consonant and dissonant music. Unpleasant (compared to pleasant) music evoked a significant decrease of HR, replicating the pattern of HR responses previously described for the processing of emotional pictures, sounds, and films. In the EEG, pleasant (contrasted to unpleasant) music was associated with an increase of frontal midline (Fm) theta power. This effect is taken to reflect emotional processing in close interaction with attentional functions. These findings show that Fm theta is modulated by emotion more strongly than previously believed.
ISSN:0048-5772
1469-8986
1540-5958
DOI:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2007.00497.x