Modulation of Somatosensory Evoked Potentials During Music and Pink Noise Exposure

Music and pink noise share spectral similarities; however, their cognitive and emotional properties differ. Previous studies using magnetoencephalography have shown that somatosensory evoked components occurring before 60 ms are not modulated by concomitant musical auditory stimulation. To date, no study has examined the effects of pink noise on somatosensory evoked potentials.

This study investigated, using electroencephalography (EEG), whether continuous auditory stimulation, either music or pink noise, can modulate early (before 60 ms) somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by electrical stimulation of the median nerve.

Somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by right median nerve electrical stimulation were recorded through electroencephalogram in two groups of participants (MUSIC and NOISE) in four conditions (pre, during 1, during 2, and after auditory stimulation). In addition, a control group underwent three consecutive SEP recordings, temporally aligned with the intervention groups' sequence. A permutation-based ANOVA (10,000 permutations) was performed over the entire 10-55 ms time window for the F1, C1, and CP3 channels, followed by corrected post hoc comparisons (pre vs. During1, pre vs. During2, pre vs. post).

A significant increase in the amplitude of the P45 component was observed in the left central site during noise exposure, with post hoc comparisons indicating increased amplitudes in during1 and during2 relative to pre, with a larger effect size in during2. Music resulted in a reduction in the early part (~30 ms) of the left centroparietal positive brain response, as highlighted by post hoc comparisons between during2 and preconditions. In the control group, no comparisons were significant, indicating the absence of reliable differences between repetitive recordings.

Middle-latency SEP components (30-45 ms) showed distinct amplitude modulations during both music and pink noise auditory exposure.