Musical Stimuli Research Articles

Unfounded authority, underpowered studies, and non-transparent reporting perpetuate the Mozart effect myth: a multiverse meta-analysis

In recent years, an ostensible Mozart effect, suggesting beneficial influences of listening to the sonata KV448 on epilepsy, has been extensively covered in popular media outlets. However, the evidential value of such a potential effect seems unclear. Here, we present the first formal meta-analysis on this topic, based on k = 8 studies (N = 207). Further published studies that met our inclusion criteria had to be omitted due to insufficient reporting and author non-responsiveness on data requests. In three independent analyses, we observed non-significant trivial-to-small summary effects for listening to Mozart KV448 or other musical stimuli on epilepsy or other medical conditions (g range: 0.09–0.43). Bias and sensitivity analyses suggested that these effects were likely inflated and non-trivial effects were driven by isolated leverage points. Multiverse analyses conformed to these results, showing inconsistent evidential patterns. Low primary study power and consequently lacking evidential value indicates that there is only little reason to suspect a specific Mozart effect. In all, listening to music, let alone a specific kind of sonata, does not appear to have any beneficial effect on epilepsy. Unfounded authority, underpowered studies, and non-transparent reporting appear to be the main drivers of the Mozart effect myth.

Utilizing auditory emotion bio-markers, the underpinning of emotion perception improvement in cochlear implant users

Cochlear implants (CI) have had tremendous success restoring a sense of hearing in the deaf. However, even after months of intensive rehabilitation, many CI users struggle with appreciating emotive tones in speech and music despite good speech comprehension. Failure to perceive emotional expression can result in maladjusted social behaviour, leading to detrimental socio-economic consequences. Recent advances in automated pattern identification of neuroimaging data can bring empirical support to developing training programs for emotion perception rehabilitation in CI users. We used a machine-learning approach to identify emotion-processing bio-markers in high-density electroencephalograms collected from CI users (22) and matched normal-hearing controls (22). Participants’ brain responses elicited by short musical and vocal emotional (happy, sad, and neutral) stimuli were used to train an algorithm to help identify, in each group, the pattern of brain responses that can best predict the presented emotion. Using this approach, we were able to confirm the presence of emotion-specific patterns of brain activity in CI users despite their reported emotion perception deficit. Identifying these patterns brings forward support for implementing a rehabilitation program for emotion perception for this population; if an algorithm can differentiate aurally presented emotions, perhaps CI users can learn to discriminate emotions.

An SEM approach to validating the psychological model of musical groove.

In music psychology, the experience of wanting to move in response to music is commonly known as feeling the groove. According to the psychological model of musical groove by Senn et al., the causes for the urge to move are linked to the properties of the music itself, to the personal background of the listener, to the listening situation, and to feedback loops between body movement and cognition. The model formulates eight hypotheses stating that the music affects a listener's urge to move mediated through a variety of cognitive processes. This study develops a method based on structural equation modeling (SEM) to empirically test the model hypotheses. It evaluates five of the model hypotheses using data from an online listening experiment with 135 participants and 16 stylistically diverse musical stimuli (n = 2,160 observations). The SEM model had a good fit with the data (CFI = 0.958, RMSEA = 0.051) and explained a large proportion of the variance in the latent urge to move variable (R² = .737). Results show that music affects the urge to move mediated through listeners' experiences of energetic arousal, listening pleasure, and temporal regularity. The stimuli themselves showed direct effects on the urge to move that were not mediated through the hypothesized mediation pathways. This suggests that the model is incomplete. The current study demonstrates that the mediation structure of the psychological groove model can successfully be implemented using an SEM approach. The methodology may be adapted to investigate different repertoires, populations, and hypotheses in the future. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Spectro-temporal acoustic elements of music interact in an integrated way to modulate emotional responses in pigs

Music is a complex stimulus, with various spectro-temporal acoustic elements determining one of the most important attributes of music, the ability to elicit emotions. Effects of various musical acoustic elements on emotions in non-human animals have not been studied with an integrated approach. However, this knowledge is important to design music to provide environmental enrichment for non-human species. Thirty-nine instrumental musical pieces were composed and used to determine effects of various acoustic parameters on emotional responses in farm pigs. Video recordings (n = 50) of pigs in the nursery phase (7–9 week old) were gathered and emotional responses induced by stimuli were evaluated with Qualitative Behavioral Assessment (QBA). Non-parametric statistical models (Generalized Additive Models, Decision Trees, Random Forests, and XGBoost) were applied and compared to evaluate relationships between acoustic parameters and pigs’ observed emotional responses. We concluded that musical structure affected emotional responses of pigs. The valence of modulated emotions depended on integrated and simultaneous interactions of various spectral and temporal structural components of music that can be readily modified. This new knowledge supports design of musical stimuli to be used as environmental enrichment for non-human animals.

Relaxing effects of music and odors on physiological recovery after cognitive stress and unexpected absence of multisensory benefit.

Several studies have described, often separately, the relaxing effects of music or odor on the autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. Only a few studies compared the presentation of these stimuli and their interaction within a same experimental protocol. Here, we examined whether relaxing music (slow-paced classical pieces) and odor (lavender essential oil) either presented in isolation or in combination would facilitate physiological recovery after cognitive stress. We continuously recorded the electrocardiogram to assess the high-frequency component of heart rate variability (HF-HRV), an index of parasympathetic activity, and electrodermal activity (EDA), an index of sympathetic activity, 10min before, during and 30 min after a cognitive stress (i.e., completing timely constrained cognitively demanding tasks) in 99 participants allocated to four recovery conditions (control N=26, music N=23, odor N=24, music+odor N=26). The stressing event triggered both a significant increase in EDA and decrease in HF-HRV (compared to baseline). During the recovery period, the odor elicited a greater decrease in EDA compared to an odorless silent control, whereas no difference in HRV was observed. Conversely, during this period, music elicited a greater increase in HF-HRV compared to control whereas no difference in EDA was observed. Strikingly, in the multimodal music+odor condition, no beneficial effect was observed on ANS indexes 30 min after stress. Overall, our study confirms that both olfactory and musical stimuli have relaxing effects after stress on ANS when presented separately only, which might rely on distinct neural mechanisms and autonomic pathways.

Is this real life? Is it just fantasy? The development and validation of a media-evoked fantasy scale

PurposePrior research has indicated that narratives may lead to fantasy which may evoke narrative transportation. Researchers have also established that narrative transportation affects persuasion, changes in attitudes and brand evaluations. To this end, several studies have focused on narrative consumption (i.e. being hooked into a narrative) and the aforementioned consequences of narrative transportation. However, research investigating the role that fantasy plays in consumers’ journey from narrative consumption to narrative transportation is scant. The purpose of this paper is to develop a multidimensional scale for measuring narrative-driven fantasy in order to detail which dimensions of fantasy facilitate narrative transportation. Further, this paper posits that prior research has overlooked the mediating role that fantasy plays within the narrative consumption and narrative transportation process. As the exploration of overlooked mediators is important for theory development, this paper uses the scale developed here to test for fantasy as a mediator.Design/methodology/approachThis research involves four studies, taking a multi-methodology approach including one-on-one interviews and questionnaires. Exploratory factor analysis and sequential equation modeling are used to develop a valid scale for fantasy.FindingsThis work results in the development of an eight-item scale of narrative-driven fantasy, highlighting two dimensions of fantasy: identification and passport. Further, this work finds that both dimensions of fantasy mediate the relationship between the level of narrative consumption (being hooked into the narrative) and narrative transportation.Research limitations/implicationsThe studies were conducted with respondents only from the USA, potentially limiting its generalizability to other countries and cultures. This research has several implications. This paper introduces a model that highlights fantasy’s role within the narrative consumption and narrative transportation fields of study. It also delineates a scale that measures the different dimensions of fantasy. This scale can be used to gain further understanding of the strength and type of fantasy that narratives consumed via various mediums (music, movies, commercials) evoke, the relationship between these measures and narrative transportation, and the subsequent changes in intentions and attitudes. Further, the identification of fantasy as a mediator in the relationship between narrative consumption and narrative transportation allows for further theory development and exploration.Practical implicationsThe fantasy scale that is detailed in this paper may be used to indicate which celebrities, music, images, movies, commercials, products, brands and other stimuli best evoke narrative-based fantasy. The scale should apply to all types of fantasizing, enhancing the understanding of what increases levels of fantasy and the effects of such fantasy on persuasion.Originality/valueThis research extends the literature on consumer engagement in narrative consumption and transportation by providing novel and valid scale measures for narrative-based fantasy. The fantasy scale provided is internally consistent and proves accurate across many samples and stimuli. The scale is also short (only eight items) and easy to administer. Additionally, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first to generate insights into the mediating role that fantasy plays within the narrative consumption and narrative transportation framework.

Perception of timbre in adult Cochlear implant users: Comparison of Iranian and Western musical instruments

Objectives Cochlear implants (CI) have dramatically improved speech perception for patients with sensorineural hearing impairment. However, listening to music is a great challenge for them. This study examined the perception and appraisal of Iranian musical instruments comparing with similar Western instruments. Methods Eleven adult CI users and 25 normal hearing (NH) individuals participated in this study. Musical stimuli of three commonly heard instrument pairs were prepared. Participants were asked to identify the instruments and rate their appraisal on a ten-point Likert scale (0 = dislike very much, 10 = like very much). Results The instrument recognition rate was 40.6% among the CI users, and the mean appraisal score was 5.2 ± 2.7. NH listeners had none significant higher scores on both tasks with a recognition rate of 50.0% and the mean appraisal score of 6.9 ± 1.5. Iranian instruments were more recognized in both groups. Regarding their appraisal, the mean score for both types was almost equal in the NH group, while CI users more appraised Iranian instruments. Conclusion In addition to better recognition of Iranian instruments, they were particularly better appraised in the CI group. Iranian instruments provide suitable musical pieces for CI recipients that can be considered in rehabilitation programs.

Development of Novel Musical Stimuli to Investigate the Perception of Musical Emotions in Individuals With Hearing Loss.

Many studies have examined the perception of musical emotion using excerpts from familiar music that includes highly expressed emotions to classify emotional choices. However, using familiar music to study musical emotions in people with acquired hearing loss could produce ambiguous results as to whether the emotional perception is due to previous experiences or listening to the current musical stimuli. To overcome this limitation, we developed new musical stimuli to study emotional perception without the effects of episodic memory. A musician was instructed to compose five melodies with evenly distributed pitches around 1 kHz. The melodies were created to express the emotions of happy, sad, angry, tender, and neutral. To evaluate whether these melodies expressed the intended emotions, two methods were applied. First, we classified the expressed emotions of melodies with selected musical features from 60 features using genetic algorithm-based k-nearest neighbors. Second, forty-four people with normal hearing participated in an online survey regarding the emotional perception of music based on dimensional and discrete approaches to evaluate the musical stimuli set. Twenty-four selected musical features produced classification for intended emotions with an accuracy of 76%. The results of the online survey in the normal hearing (NH) group showed that the intended emotions were selected significantly more often than the others. K-means clustering analysis revealed that melodies with arousal and valence ratings corresponded to representative quadrants of interest. Additionally, the applicability of the stimuli was tested in 4 individuals with high-frequency hearing loss. By applying the individuals with NH, the musical stimuli were shown to classify emotions with high accuracy, as expressed. These results confirm that the set of musical stimuli can be used to study the perceived emotion in music, demonstrating the validity of the musical stimuli, independent of innate musical bias such as due to episodic memory. Furthermore, musical stimuli could be helpful for further studying perceived musical emotion in people with hearing loss because of the controlled pitch for each emotion.

The effect of familiarity on neural tracking of music stimuli is modulated by mind wandering.

One way to investigate the cortical tracking of continuous auditory stimuli is to use the stimulus reconstruction approach. However, the cognitive and behavioral factors impacting this cortical representation remain largely overlooked. Two possible candidates are familiarity with the stimulus and the ability to resist internal distractions. To explore the possible impacts of these two factors on the cortical representation of natural music stimuli, forty-one participants listened to monodic natural music stimuli while we recorded their neural activity. Using the stimulus reconstruction approach and linear mixed models, we found that familiarity positively impacted the reconstruction accuracy of music stimuli and that this effect of familiarity was modulated by mind wandering.

The Influence of Stress Noise and Music Stimulation on the Autonomous Nervous System

Music sound has shown to affect brain function and cardiac activity. Based on this premise, this study examines the effects of sound stimulation, such as music and stress noise, on the balance of the autonomous nervous system (ANS). To monitor such effects, physiological data was collected from a group of volunteers to analyze pulse rate variability (PRV), as well as electrodermal activity (EDA). The final goals of this study are supported by the possibility of automatically integrating musical stimuli into a smart environment to potentially lower individual’s stress levels, as well as to improve their well-being. To accomplish this objective, this research involved three different phases. The first was based on the development of a biomedical wearable sensor for measuring PRV and its validation using a reference sensing system. Good correlation results were obtained between both devices. The second consisted of a preliminary study of the effects of ambient, classic and metal music on PRV. Significant variations of PRV were measured between the three music genres. Considering the obtained results in the previous phase and overcoming the limitations presented in it, the third phase was based on a more in-depth study of the effects of musical stimuli and noise stress, through PRV analysis and the measurement of galvanic skin response (GSR). The obtained results suggested that noise stress contributes to the increasing of sympathetic activity. In contrast, ambient music proved to be very effective in increasing parasympathetic activity and stabilizing comfort levels.

A Stimulus Set of 40 Popular Music Drum Patterns with Perceived Complexity Measures

This study presents an audio stimulus set of 40 drum patterns from Western popular music with empirical measurements of perceived complexity. The audio stimuli are meticulous reconstructions of drum patterns found in commercial recordings; they are based on careful transcriptions (carried out by professional musicians), drum stroke loudness information, and highly precise onset timing measurements. The 40 stimuli are a subset selected from a previously published larger corpus of reconstructed Western popular music drum patterns (Lucerne Groove Research Library). The patterns were selected according to two criteria: a) they only feature the bass drum, snare drum, and one or more cymbals, and b) they plausibly cover the complexity range of the corpus. Perceived stimulus complexity was measured in a listening experiment using a pairwise comparison design with 220 participants (4,400 trials). In each trial, participants were presented with two stimuli, and they stated which of the two sounded more complex to them. The comparison data then served to calculate complexity estimates using the Bradley–Terry probability model. The complexity estimates have an intuitive interpretation: they allow calculation of the probability that one pattern is considered more complex than another pattern in a pairwise comparison. To our knowledge, this is the first set of naturalistic music stimuli with meaningful perceived complexity estimates. The drum pattern stimuli and complexity measurements can be used for listening experiments in music psychology. The stimuli will further allow measures and models of drum pattern complexity to be assessed.

The Relationship Between Music-Related Types of Synesthesia and Mental Imagery in Synesthete Musicians

Synesthesia is a perceptual and conceptual phenomenon that has been linked to a heightened capacity for mental imagery. However, our understanding of music-related types of synesthesia and mental imagery is still in its infancy. This study therefore aims to examine the relationship between music-related types of synesthesia and mental imagery in a sample of synesthete musicians. Four forms of data collection were employed: an online survey, a synesthesia test battery, an absolute pitch test, and a semi-structured interview. This article focuses on results obtained in response to open-ended questions relating to synesthete musicians’ mental imagery. An analysis of the interview data revealed heightened vividness of auditory imagery (AI), including the ability to control the speed, dynamics, and intensity of the imagery. A bidirectional analysis of the functional relationship between AI and synesthesia ascertained that multimodal mental imagery (MMI) could be triggered by AI, thus bypassing the need for sensory stimulation. Furthermore, cases of complex visual imagery (CVI) were confirmed to meet the synesthetic criteria of being automatic and involuntary, as well as being consistent and stable mappings between specific musical stimuli and CVI. These findings are noteworthy as they call into question the general assumption that synesthetic percepts are generic and simple in nature. Together, these findings contribute to our understanding of music-related types of synesthesia and mental imagery, challenge contemporary understanding of certain categorical aspects of music-related synesthetic percepts, and provide us with a deeper understanding of the nature of cross-modal associations in general.

Kinetic Cross-Modal Correspondences and Felt (e)Motion in a Novel Set of Musical Stimuli

Embodied music cognition predicts that our understanding of human-made sounds relates to our experience of making the same or similar movements and sounds, which involves imitation of the source of visual and auditory information. This embodiment of sound may lead to numerous kinetic cross-modal correspondences (CMCs). This article investigates music experience in participants with a non-professionally trained music background across three musical dimensions: Contour (Ascending, Descending, Flat), Vertical Density (Low, Medium, High), and Note Pattern (Binary, Ternary, Quaternary). In order that stimuli should reflect contemporary musical usage yet be subject to a high degree of experimental control, 27 ten-second digital piano tracks were created in collaboration with a film composer. In Study 1, participants were asked to rate the stimuli for perceived Direction, Rotation, Movement, and Emotional and Physical Involvement. We test the effects of these factors in terms of the following theories: general and vocal embodied responses to music, the Ecological Theory of Rotating Sounds, and the Shared Affective Motion Experience model of emotion induction. Results for Study 1 were consistent with theories of general and vocal embodied responses to music, as well as with theories of embodied emotional contagion in music. Study 1 also revealed potential confounds in the stimuli, which were further investigated in Study 2 with a new set of participants rating the stimuli for perceived Pitch, Loudness, and Speed. Results for Study 2 served to dissociate intrinsic features of the stimuli from CMCs. Taken together, the two studies reveal a range of embodied CMCs. Although there are limitations to a perceptual study such as this, these stimuli stand to benefit future research in further investigating the embodiment of musical motion.

Beneficial effects of instrumental music on the production performance of Xiandao green-shell layers housed under different stocking densities

Context Egg production rate (EPR) is the main criteria for egg producers and egg quality is important for consumers. Exposed to music, layers kept at appropriate stocking density could display optimal production performance without compromising egg quality. Aims This study aimed to investigate the possibility of employing instrumental music stimulus and regulating stocking density to maximise egg production performance and improve egg quality in Xiandao green-shell layers. Methods In total, 378 30-week-old layers were randomly distributed into nine treatments across three types of sound sources (natural sound, instrumental music, or mixed road noise) × three different stocking densities (4, 7 and 10 birds/cage corresponding to low, medium, and high density respectively), with six replicates per treatment. The 24-day experimental period was equally divided into four phases. EPR, average egg weight, and serum IgG concentration were determined at the end of each phase. Egg quality and organ indices were determined at the end of experiment. Results Hens exposed to music had a significantly higher EPR and laid eggs of better quality than did hens subjected to mixed road noise. Across all parameters, hens exposed to music did not significantly differ from hens exposed to natural sound. Stocking density had significant impacts on EPR, relative eggshell weight, and serum IgG concentration, with hens kept at high stocking density (357 cm2/hen) exhibiting the lowest values. Hens kept at medium density (510 cm2/hen) and low density (892 cm2/hen) showed no significant differences in tested parameters except that the former produced eggs with a significantly higher relative eggshell weight. Significant interactions between sound and density were observed in EPR, relative yolk weight, and spleen index, with hens exposed to music and kept at low density displaying the highest values. Conclusions Music and low stocking density had favourable effects on improving egg production and egg quality, while road noise and high stocking density exerted negative influences on them. Implications Xiandao green-shell layers are recommended to be kept at medium density to maximise the production benefits. The integration of music playback into management practices will not compromise layers’ production potential displayed under natural sound exposure.

Turning Heads on the Dance Floor: Synchrony and Social Interaction Using a Silent Disco Paradigm

Music and dance appear to have a social bonding effect, which some have theorized is part of their ultimate evolutionary function. Prior research has also found a social bonding effect of synchronized movement, and it is possible that interpersonal synchrony could be considered the “active ingredient” in the social bonding consequences of music or dance activity. The present study aimed to separate the effects of synchrony from other factors associated with joint experience of dancing by using a “silent disco” manipulation, in which the timing of a musical stimulus was varied within a dyad in a freestyle dance setting. Three conditions were included: synchrony, tempo-shifted (in which the tempo was stretched by 5% for one participant), and phase-shifted (in which the beat was offset by 90 degrees for one participant). It was found that, when participants were listening to music in time with each other, they gave higher subjective ratings of their experience interacting with their partner. Participants also were observed looking towards each other more in the synchrony condition, compared with the non-synchrony conditions. From this, it appears that sharing time may contribute to the social effects of joint dancing, independent of any other effects associated with sharing space on the dancefloor. Avenues for further research, and possibilities using this “silent disco” paradigm, are discussed.

Emotional expression through musical cues: A comparison of production and perception approaches.

Multiple approaches have been used to investigate how musical cues are used to shape different emotions in music. The most prominent approach is a perception study, where musical stimuli varying in cue levels are assessed by participants in terms of their conveyed emotion. However, this approach limits the number of cues and combinations simultaneously investigated, since each variation produces another musical piece to be evaluated. Another less used approach is a production approach, where participants use cues to change the emotion conveyed in music, allowing participants to explore a larger number of cue combinations than the former approach. These approaches provide different levels of accuracy and economy for identifying how cues are used to convey different emotions in music. However, do these approaches provide converging results? This paper's aims are two-fold. The role of seven musical cues (tempo, pitch, dynamics, brightness, articulation, mode, and instrumentation) in communicating seven emotions (sadness, joy, calmness, anger, fear, power, and surprise) in music is investigated. Additionally, this paper explores whether the two approaches will yield similar findings on how the cues are used to shape different emotions in music. The first experiment utilises a production approach where participants adjust the cues in real-time to convey target emotions. The second experiment uses a perception approach where participants rate pre-rendered systematic variations of the stimuli for all emotions. Overall, the cues operated similarly in the majority (32/49) of cue-emotion combinations across both experiments, with the most variance produced by the dynamics and instrumentation cues. A comparison of the prediction accuracy rates of cue combinations representing the intended emotions found that prediction rates in Experiment 1 were higher than the ones obtained in Experiment 2, suggesting that a production approach may be a more efficient method to explore how cues are used to shape different emotions in music.

Warm up with music and visual feedback can effect Wingate performance in futsal players

PurposeVisual feedback and music while warm up may help elicit peak performance, but its effect during the Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT) in futsal players is unexplored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of music and visual stimulus on WAnT performance in futsal players.MethodsThe study included 17 young male futsal players (age, 21.53 ± 1.32 years; height, 177.59 ± 5.75 cm; 73.71 ± 9.31 kg; BMI 23.342 ± .47). The WAnT was administered using three distinct protocols: with music (M), without music (NM), and with music and visual feedback (MV) following a 10-min warm-up at 72-h intervals. After WAnT, the following parameters were evaluated: (a) peak power output: PPO (W), (b) relative peak power output: RPPO (W/kg), (c) mean power output: MPO (W), (d) relative mean power output: RMPO (W/kg), (e) fatigue index: FI (%), and (f) minimum power output MIPO (W).ResultsMV indicated that futsal players' WAnT values, including PPO, RPPO, MPO, RMPO, and MIPO improved more than with other protocols (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between protocols for FI (%) WAnT values (p > 0.05).ConclusionsListening to music and watching visual feedback while warm up before performing WAnT performance suggest to coaches and futsal players.

Unraveling the Filled Duration Illusion and its Stability in Repeated Measurements

Interval timing plays an essential role in various types of behavior including perception and production of music. However, subjectively perceived intervals may substantially differ from their objective durations. One of the phenomena, the filled duration illusion (FDI), is well described in the literature; however, there are still many questions to address concerning mechanisms behind this phenomenon. To further unravel the FDI, we asked 61 healthy adults to reproduce the duration of various acoustic stimuli (from 2 to 3 seconds). We used empty intervals (marked by two short tones) and filled intervals: a continuous tone or rhythmical tone sequences in legato or staccato. We demonstrated that the reproduction of empty intervals was shorter than reproduction of all filled intervals, whereas the reproduction of rhythmic intervals was the longest. Therefore, we clearly demonstrated and distinguished both types of the FDI—the sustained sound illusion and the divided time illusion—and documented their test-retest stability in two subsequent measurements. Moreover, we confirmed the effect of tone pitch on the reproduction—higher pitch tones were judged as longer. By testing all the mentioned phenomena in repeated measurements, we demonstrated the stability of the illusions and prepared the ground for an investigation of more complex musical stimuli.

Validation of Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Awareness in Disorders of Consciousness (MATADOC) with CRS-R

<h3>Research Objectives</h3> To examine the concurrent validity of the MATADOC with the criterion standard Coma Recovery Scale (CRS-R) for diagnostic outcomes of awareness To explore the function of comparable MATADOC items and CRS-R function scales across similar domains (e.g. auditory, visual). <h3>Design</h3> Prospective multisite cohort study collected concurrent MATADOC and CRS-R data using repeated measures with patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC). Raters were blinded. <h3>Setting</h3> Three specialist inpatient rehabilitation units for DOC (US, UK, Ireland). <h3>Participants</h3> 74 adults with prolonged DOC stemming from acquired brain injury recruited using convenience sampling. <h3>Interventions</h3> The MATADOC protocol elicits behavioral responsiveness using live music in five tasks during four clinical contacts of 15-30 minutes duration (60-120 mins total). Observed behavioral responses are rated across motor, communication, arousal, visual and auditory domains using a 14-item measure. Pre and post observation period records spontaneous behaviors. The CRS-R protocol delivers tasks in the motor, visual, auditory and communication domains in clinical contacts of 15-30 minutes duration (60 – 120 minutes in total for 4 contacts). Observed responses are rated in six function scales. <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> Two measures of awareness: MATADOC and CRS-R. <h3>Results</h3> Fair (Cohen's kappa or "k"=0.238, p=.006) ranging to moderate (k=0.419, p<.001) significant agreement found between CRS-R and MATADOC diagnostic outcomes for each contact, with significant correlations between scores (mean Pearson = 0.721, p<.001). Agreement increased over repeated contacts. Moderate agreement found for overall diagnostic outcomes ranging across VS, MCS and EMCS (k=0.397, p<.001). Moderate significant agreement found between measures for motor scores (k=.556, p<.001) and visual outcomes (mean k=0.326). No agreement was found for item outcomes assessing auditory responsiveness. <h3>Conclusions</h3> The MATADOC complements the CRS-R in treatment planning for DOC. MATADOC measures of auditory responsiveness suggest musical stimuli may elicit more complex behaviors than non-music protocols. The MATADOC rates complexity of auditory localization as MCS in line with recent recommendations which may explain diagnostic outcome differences with CRS-R outcomes. <h3>Author(s) Disclosures</h3> None.

Exploring relations between Big Five personality traits and musical emotions embodied in spontaneous dance

We explored the hypothesis that musical emotions are embodied differentially by people according to their personality. Nine hundred and fifty two individuals completed the Big Five personality inventory. A subset of 60 participants were asked to spontaneously move to 30 short musical stimuli while being recorded with a motion-capture system. The musical stimuli were separately rated for perceived emotions. Embodied musical emotions were evaluated as the correlation between features derived from the motion-capture data and the mean ratings of perceived emotions. Correlations between embodied musical emotions and personality traits provided tentative support for our hypothesis. A series of linear regression analyses revealed that scores on Openness and Agreeableness were most strongly, and Neuroticism and Conscientiousness most weakly, predicted by embodied musical emotions. Overall, our results offer tentative support for the existence of differential relationships between embodied musical emotions and personality, and describe statistical models that might be empirically tested in future studies.