Abstract
We introduce a new neurofeedback approach, which allows users to manipulate expressive parameters in music performances using their emotional state, and we present the results of a pilot clinical experiment applying the approach to alleviate depression in elderly people. Ten adults (9 female and 1 male, mean = 84, SD = 5.8) with normal hearing participated in the neurofeedback study consisting of 10 sessions (2 sessions per week) of 15 min each. EEG data was acquired using the Emotiv EPOC EEG device. In all sessions, subjects were asked to sit in a comfortable chair facing two loudspeakers, to close their eyes, and to avoid moving during the experiment. Participants listened to music pieces preselected according to their music preferences, and were encouraged to increase the loudness and tempo of the pieces, based on their arousal and valence levels. The neurofeedback system was tuned so that increased arousal, computed as beta to alpha activity ratio in the frontal cortex corresponded to increased loudness, and increased valence, computed as relative frontal alpha activity in the right lobe compared to the left lobe, corresponded to increased tempo. Pre and post evaluation of six participants was performed using the BDI depression test, showing an average improvement of 17.2% (1.3) in their BDI scores at the end of the study. In addition, an analysis of the collected EEG data of the participants showed a significant decrease of relative alpha activity in their left frontal lobe (p = 0.00008), which may be interpreted as an improvement of their depression condition.
Highlights
There is ample literature reporting on the importance and benefits of music for older adults (Ruud, 1997; Cohen et al, 2002; McCaffrey, 2008)
In this paper we investigate the potential benefits of combining music, neurofeedback and emotion detection for improving elderly people’s mental health
We present the results of a pilot clinical experiment applying our neurofeedback approach to a group of 10 elderly people with depression
Summary
There is ample literature reporting on the importance and benefits of music for older adults (Ruud, 1997; Cohen et al, 2002; McCaffrey, 2008). Listening to music appears to be rated as a very pleasant experience by older adults since it promotes relaxation, decreases anxiety, and distracts people from unpleasant experiences (Cutshall et al, 2007; Ziv et al, 2007; Fukui and Toyoshima, 2008). It can evoke very strong feelings, both positive and negative, which very often result in physiological changes (Lundqvist et al, 2009). Music activities (both passive and active) can affect older adults’ perceptions of their quality of life, valuing highly the
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