Processing expectancy violations during music performance and perception: an ERP study.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Music Cognition

Background:

• Musicians possess expert motor skills linked to auditory outcomes.
• The role of auditory feedback in music performance remains debated.
• Neural processing of auditory feedback during performance is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate neural mechanisms of auditory feedback processing in pianists.
• Differentiate action-based from perception-based auditory expectations.
• Examine how intention influences auditory expectancies during music performance.

Main Methods:

• Pianists performed musical sequences with manipulated auditory feedback (action condition).
• Pianists listened to identical manipulated sequences (perception condition).
• Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to analyze neural responses.

Main Results:

• Both action and perception conditions showed an early fronto-central negativity (ERN/N200) and a P3a deflection.
• The early negativity (ERN/N200) was significantly stronger in the action condition than in the perception condition.
• Intention to produce auditory effects during performance generated stronger expectancies than passive listening.

Conclusions:

• Neural processing of auditory feedback differs between active performance and passive perception.
• The intention to create specific auditory outcomes strengthens expectancies during music performance.
• Findings shed light on the interplay between motor intention and auditory processing in musicians.