Sonification of electronic dynamical systems: Spectral characteristics and sound evaluation using EEG features

Chaos is often described as the limited development of nonlinear dynamic systems that create intricate and non-repetitive patterns. In this study, we questioned how chaotic electronic signals can be transformed into sound stimuli and explored their impact on brain activity using Electroencephalography (EEG). Our experiment involved 31 participants exposed to sounds generated from three processes from electronic implementations: signals from chaotic attractors, periodic limit cycles,and aleatory distributions. Our goal was to analyze characteristics and EEG signals to uncover the complex relationship between chaotic auditory stimuli and cognitive processes. Interestingly the chaotic stimuli caused a reduction in synchronization in the delta ( $\delta$ ) and theta ( $\theta$ ) frequency bands. We observed differences of up to 30 and 40%, primarily concentrated in the brain's frontal areas. This desynchronization in $\delta$ and $\theta$ bands, seen in individuals, has implications for regulating irregular $\theta$ power in certain neural disorders. On the other hand, exposure to signals had mostly minimal effects on EEG readings. This research significantly contributes to our understanding of how the brain responds to stimuli derived from electronic systems. It sheds light on applications for modulating activity. Examining unpredictable sounds offers an understanding of the unique impacts of chaotic auditory inputs on brain activity, opening possibilities for further investigations at the crossroads of chaos theory, acoustics, and neuroscience.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11571-024-10112-1.