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Alteration of perceived emotion and brain functional connectivity by changing the musical rhythmic pattern

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Abstract

The arrangement of musical notes and their time intervals, also known as musical rhythm is one of the core elements of music. Nevertheless, the cognitive process and neural mechanism of the human brain that underlay the perception of musical rhythm are poorly understood. In this study, we hypothesized that changes in musical rhythmic patterns alter the emotional content expressed by music and the way it is perceived, that assumably causes specific changes in the brain functional connectome. Therefore, 18 male children aged 10–14 years old were recruited and exposed to 12 musical excerpts while their brain’s electrical activity was recorded using a 32-channel EEG recorder. The musical rhythmic patterns were changed by manipulating only note values in beats while keeping time signature and other elements in a fixed state. The experienced emotions were assessed using a 2-dimensional self-assessment manikin questionnaire. The behavioral data showed that an increase in the complexity of musical rhythmic patterns significantly enhances perceived valence and arousal levels. In addition, the pattern of brain functional connectivity was also estimated using the weighted phase lag index and their association with behavioral changes was calculated. Interestingly, the behavioral changes were mainly associated with alteration of brain functional connectivity at the alpha band in the fronto-central connections. These results emphasize the important role of the motor cortical site-fronto-central connections, in the perception of musical rhythmic pattern. These findings may improve conception of the underlying brain mechanism involved in the perception of musical rhythm.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank NBML (National Brain Mapping Laboratory of Iran) and also would like to extend thanks to the schools of Rahiyane Noor and Komeil and all the participants and their families who helped us in this study. This work was funded by Shahid Beheshti University (Grant number S/600/111).

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  1. Department of Clinical Psychology, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

    Zhaleh Mohammad Alipour & Shahram Mohammadkhani

  2. Institute for Cognitive and Brain Science, Shahid Beheshti University, Evin Sq., 19839-63113, Tehran, Iran

    Zhaleh Mohammad Alipour & Reza Khosrowabadi

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  1. Zhaleh Mohammad Alipour
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  3. Reza Khosrowabadi
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Correspondence to Reza Khosrowabadi.

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Mohammad Alipour, Z., Mohammadkhani, S. & Khosrowabadi, R. Alteration of perceived emotion and brain functional connectivity by changing the musical rhythmic pattern. Exp Brain Res 237, 2607–2619 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-019-05616-w

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