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This study examined the molecular underpinnings of group instrumental music improvisation as well as verbal improvisation in musicians and nonmusicians using blood-based measurements of oxytocin, vasopressin, dopamine, and cortisol, with verbal improvisation serving as a control. All participants (N = 8) were able to successfully complete study tasks as directed and tolerate the blood draws. On average, regardless of musicianship status, males had a greater and directionally divergent change in cortisol when compared to females (males M = -.033; females M = .025) after improvising musically (p < .04). Males also had a significant difference between the decrease in cortisol after music improvisation (M = -.033) compared to an increase in cortisol after verbal improvisation (M = .026; p < .01). The current investigation provided promising results regarding the ability of the study design and procedures to yield useful information when bringing the study to scale with a sufficiently powered sample indicating potential sex and modality based differences.

The aim of the current study was to develop the Portuguese version of the Music Performance Anxiety Inventory for Adolescents (MPAI-A) and to examine its psychometric properties with a sample of 161 adolescent music students in Portugal. Participants completed the Portuguese version of the MPAI-A, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The MPAI-A psychometric properties were examined for validity and reliability. A two-factor structure was identified through Exploratory Factor Analysis: F1-Music Performance Anxiety cognitive and somatic symptoms; F2-Performance. Concurrent and known-group validity were established, and reliability scores were appropriate for the dimensions and total score. Results provide initial evidence of the appropriateness of the Portuguese version of the MPAI-A. Practical implications are discussed and future studies with this instrument are suggested.

This study aimed to explore the feasibility and the potential effects of adding music to meditative movement on affect and flow. Fifteen participants were recruited and they were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: (a) meditative movement without music (NM); (b) recorded music and meditative movement (RM); and (c) live music and meditative movement (LM). Participants from each group engaged individually in a 45-minute online session, practicing three qigong exercise sets. To determine the feasibility, acceptability, and practicality were investigated through the analysis of anecdotal notes, open-ended questionnaires, and video recordings. Potential effects of music and meditative movement were examined by comparing scores from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and Short Flow State Scale (SFSS). Statistical tests were performed to determine pre- and post-session differences, between group differences in affect and flow, as well as the effect sizes. Results indicated that the addition of music to qigong is feasible and has a different impact on affect and flow than meditative movement alone. Adding recorded music to meditative movement led to the largest change in affect and was positively valenced. The addition of live music to qigong exercises contributed to the largest increase in flow. The feasibility and preliminary results support the scientific need for further fully-powered investigations.

Growing literature has identified the social dimension as one of the crucial mechanisms behind musical pleasure. However, the effect of the social context on the emotional experience associated with music remains unclear. Indeed, some previous studies observed no significant differences between listening to music in a group and alone in terms of emotional responses. In contrast, listening to music with a close friend or a partner has been associated with higher responses of pleasure and enjoyment compared to listening alone. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the effect of music listening in a group versus solo context focusing specifically on pleasure-related responses. In addition, we conducted an exploration of the individual factors which may impact on the experience of reward. Forty-one healthy participants were asked to provide pleasure-related ratings whilst undergoing music listening sessions both individually and in a group. We found higher self-reported pleasure and other related emotional responses when participants were listening to music alone rather than in a group. Also, the exploration of the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between listening pleasure and the social context revealed that concentration was not a determinant of musical pleasure, and that a higher feeling of connection with the colisteners was associated with higher pleasure ratings in the group condition, even though knowing someone in the group did not increase pleasure. In light of our findings, we discuss strengths and limitations of our and previous solo versus group music-based studies, and suggest how to potentially foster pleasure-related responses in social music contexts.

People often experience a variety of affective responses while listening to music. The study of this phenomenon has flourished during the last two decades; however, the theoretical frameworks that have attempted to explain this phenomenon have neglected the symbolic dimension of music and the effect of situational factors. The aim of the current article is to overcome these shortcomings by proposing a model based on contemporary constructionist theories of emotion. This novel approach proposes that listening to music activates automatic perceptual mechanisms that produce fluctuations of affect, and that the activation of associative and appraisal mechanisms transform the fluctuations of affect into a variety of emotional and nonemotional responses. The main proposal is that adopting this constructionist model constitutes a fruitful approach as it reinterprets past contradictory findings, resolves enduring debates, and provides a heuristic framework for future investigation of affective experiences with music.

The N200 and P300 event-related potential (ERP) components have long been used in psychological research as markers of brain activity correlated with sensory and cognitive processes. Their characteristics can be utilized as correlates of cognitive functioning. Our aim was to study the amplitudes of N200 (200-300 ms post stimulus) and P300 (300-500 ms post stimulus) with respect to their correlations with the efficacy of cognitive inhibition, working memory, and fluid intelligence. This study was conducted in the context of the relationship between those cognitive functions. Participants were 72 healthy young adults. At least two different behavioral measures were employed for each of the cognitive functions studied. Cognitive inhibition was assessed with the go/ no-go task, the Stroop task, and the stop-signal task, working memory – with the n-back and the operation span tasks, and fluid intelligence – with Raven’s Advanced Matrices and Cattel’s Culture Fair Test. Two of these tasks were used to gather electrophysiological data: the n-back and the go/ no-go tasks. We observed several correlations of expected directions that were congruent with earlier research findings. We discuss these findings in relation both to the theoretical considerations of the studied ERP components as well as with respect to the methodological difficulties of the sample and methods selection.

Joint attention has been long investigated using behavioral measures. However, there is a need to know more about humans' processing of gaze cueing, linking both mind, brain, and body dynamics. This review aims at presenting past and current research concerning mechanisms of joint attention, encompassing electroencephalographic (EEG), oculomotor, heart rate (HR), facial electromyography, and skin conductance responses (SCR) results and extracting the most important methodological factors diversifying effects, that lead to partial inconsistent knowledge. Particular focus is given to the gaze-cueing effect. Literature analysis reveals four main experimental procedure factors diversifying results. Effects reported in the review show sensitivity to the gaze cueing duration time, ecological accuracy, research paradigm, and contextual variables. Three brain, body, and eye response levels were proposed adequately to the conceptual framework for systems engaged in the joint attention phenomenon. As a synthesis of the review, we have presented integrative methodological scheme leading to the revealing holistic reaction pattern in gaze cueing research. Analyzing one type of psychophysiological data gives limited and incomplete insight into the mechanism of imitation of eye movement in response to gaze-cueing. In these cases, the oculomotor, cognitive and affective processes are usually separated. The review indicates the need for simultaneous data collection and the analysis of joint brain/body/eye activity to understand the phenomenon of joint attention in complex and multi-level ways. As a new research paradigm, the mobile brain/body imaging (MoBI) framework allows capturing how a person responds to gaze cueing in realistic, real-life situations.

The aim of the study was to find EEG features that would be characteristic and common for a group of children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD, ASD, depression, anxiety disorders or dyslexia. Previous studies indicate the existence of markers for these disorders, but there has been no research that would allow to identify markers common for children with different diagnoses and use them for preliminary screening. This is important in a situation where ongoing social changes and the global pandemic are resulting in an increase in the number of children with general developmental disorders. The study included 135 children aged 6 to 10 years. The procedure consisted of two parts: A 6-minute recording of a 19-channel EEG (2 minutes eyes open, 2 minutes eyes closed, 2 minutes cognitive task) and a psychological examination of the children (exclusion criteria included intellectual disability). In addition, the parents of each child were asked to complete standardized psychological tests. The results of the psychological tests were the basis for separating the research group and the control group. Analysis of the obtained results showed that: (a) in the group of children with disorders, the activity of theta waves in all brain areas was significantly intensified; (b) there were significant differences between the groups of children in bioelectrical brain activity in Cz, Pz, C3, F3, F7, Fp1, and O1 electrode locations. The strongest differences were in the O1 (Delta, Theta, and Beta2 waves) and C3 (Theta and Beta1 waves) locations.

During the last decades, a growing body of research on musical pleasure has shed light on individual differences and mechanisms underlying music reward sensitivity. Music training has been identified as a factor able to affect the rewarding experience associated with music, although in the existing literature, evidence on children is scarce. The current study focused on the effects of music training and individual musical engagement on sensitivity to music reward in preadolescence. One hundred and forty-two students (aged 10-14 years) at three different Italian music middle schools were tested three times over a period of one year and a half. Eighty two children belonged to a music curriculum within the school and 60 belonged to a standard curriculum. The Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (BMRQ), a multi-dimensional assessment tool to measure music reward sensitivity, was used, and pre-existing differences in music sophistication were controlled for. Moreover, in addition to the between-group comparison, highlighting the formal music training variable, the actual amount of musical activities and engagement both in and out of school was also taken into account. Several positive effects in terms of music social reward were found for students with a high level of musical engagement. Also, results showed a main effect of gender, with girls showing higher scores than boys in total BMRQ score and in several subdomains. Taken together, these data provide new evidence for the special role played by collective musical activities and suggest that music training may be able to promote social connection in preadolescence.