The Effect of Self-Selected Music on Frontal Alpha Activity after Experiencing a Cognitive Stressor
Principle Author
Courtney Wilson
Graduate
Abstract
Music is an effective means for improving mood, decreasing negative affect and anxiety, and increasing creativity (Chin & Rickard, 2014; Lynar et al., 2017). Recent neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that alpha frontal asymmetry (FA) may reflect emotion processing with greater left FA representing positive affect and greater right FA demonstrating negative affect (Arjmand et al., 2017). The purpose of this study was to investigate if FA shifts to greater right activation after a cognitive stressor, and greater left activation after listening to self-selected music. Effects of music on state anxiety and mood were also examined. Exploratory correlations were conducted to investigate relationships between the self-report scales and changes in FA, affect, and anxiety. Participants completed baseline EEG recordings and self-report scales. They then completed a cognitive stressor (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task), followed by EEG recordings, and listened to a self-selected song that “invokes positive mood” before final EEG recordings. The results of the study indicated that there was an increase in positive affect and a decrease in negative affect and anxiety after music. FA did not change over time; however, frontal alpha activity increased from baseline to stressor and while listening to music. Correlations were found between changes in affect and self-report scales. It is proposed that music is not relaxing in the traditional sense of the word, in that it was shown to improve state affect and anxiety, but seems to be representative of an active state of attention, in which creative ideation and intersensory processes occur.
Like. Is the result due to self-selection or music. Perhaps the act of self-selection is the major component and not listening to the self-selected music. So,,, comparisons between self-selected poetry, prose, instagram pix may produce the same effect. and a control with other-selected msic woulr be nice.
Thanks for the comment! It is hard to determine if the result was due to listening to self-selected music or listening to music in general because there was not a control condition. However, it is suggested that listening to self-selected music has more of an emotional impact on the listener. I agree that adding in a control would be helpful!
I think your idea of adding in different types of self-selected stimuli is very interesting! I would assume that individuals would have different levels of emotional response to each type of stimuli depending on their personal preference of creative format. Definitely something to look into!
Hi Courtney — Neat research idea! Congrats! I have a couple of questions. (1) What’s the difference between the “Music” and “Post Music” conditions in the FA graph? (2) Why do you think your study didn’t replicate the effect of self-selected music on left FA?
Also, I can’t read the axis labels on correlation graphs.
David
Thanks for the response!
1) The music condition is the EEG recording while the participant is listening to music, while the post-music condition is the EEG recording directly after the participant finished listening to the song (3 minutes eyes open).
2) I believe that the results didn’t replicate the effect of left FA for several reasons. First, the demographics and number of the participants may have had an effect on the results. Second, I think that by adding in the cognitive stressor, we may have tapped into the attentional information processing that occurs when completing a difficult task, which may have induced a negative mood that music was not able to mediate.
Thank you for the feedback about the axis labels!