Lifetime changes in body maps investigated with music

This study investigates how musical prediction mechanisms - specifically uncertainty and surprise - shape emotions and bodily sensations across the lifespan. To examine this, we conducted online experiments with 784 participants aged 10 to 88, using eight chord progressions derived from computational predictive models to assess emotional responses and bodily sensation maps. The results showed that overall bodily sensation intensity peaked in the 20s to 30s and then declined with age, while the relative proportion of head-centered sensations increased significantly across the lifespan. In contrast, subjective valence ratings remained stable across the lifespan, whereas arousal levels increased with age and showed a strong correlation with predictable musical structures. These findings suggest an age-related shift toward top-down cognitive prediction alongside preserved emotional appraisal, while supporting the relationship between top-down processing shaped by accumulated experience and the predictability of music, as indicated by previous research. By accounting for the unique physical and emotional characteristics of each age group, this study may support the development of prediction- and music-based interventions aimed at understanding generation-specific emotional and interoceptive responses to music.