Traditions of Modernity

Abstract

When listening to music, we are able to identify well-known songs as familiar within fractions of a second. However, as of now it is unclear how fast the brain can differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar music, and what the underlying neural correlates are. Here, we used electro-encephalography (EEG) and pupillometry to reveal the temporal signatures of neural processes that allow differentiation between familiar and unfamiliar music. Participants passively listened to 750 ms snippets of familiar songs as well as of acoustically matched control songs, presented in random order. We observed greater pupil dilation rates to familiar music from 100-300 ms post stimulus onset. Brain responses measured with EEG showed a differentiation between familiar and unfamiliar music from 350 ms post onset, but in the opposite direction to that seen with pupillometry: Unfamiliar snippets were associated with greater responses than familiar snippets. A group of control participants, which was presented with the same song snippets but was unfamiliar with all of the songs, showed no such differences. Possible underlying mechanisms are discussed.