Music-emotion EEG coupling effects based on representational similarity

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Music Psychology

Background:

• Music elicits strong emotions, a complex cognitive process with significant individual variability.
• Understanding the neural mechanisms of music-induced emotions and individual differences remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate shared music emotion responses across participants using inter-subject representational similarity analysis (IS-RSA).
• To extend IS-RSA for analyzing cross-frequency coupling effects in music emotion.
• To compare cross-frequency coupling patterns under different music emotions.

Main Methods:

• Inter-subject representational similarity analysis (IS-RSA) was employed to analyze shared neural patterns.
• Extended IS-RSA was used to examine cross-frequency coupling (CFC) effects in music emotion.
• Phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) analysis was performed on specific brain connections (FC4-C6, FC4-Pz).

Main Results:

• Within-frequency IS-RSA identified theta and gamma bands as crucial for inter-participant consistency in music emotion.
• Inter-frequency IS-RSA revealed stronger inter-participant consistency for theta-beta coupling compared to theta-gamma coupling.
• Theta-beta coupling demonstrated consistent representation across diverse music conditions, with significant decreases during music compared to baseline.

Conclusions:

• Theta and gamma frequency bands are vital for consistent music emotion processing across individuals.
• Theta-beta coupling is a significant neural mechanism underlying shared music emotion experiences.
• Cross-frequency coupling patterns, particularly theta-beta, show dynamic changes related to music-induced emotions.