Dylan Tagg

Period 4
3/5/15

Research Proposal

Experimental Question: How does listening to different types music affect the brain?

Background: Music is one of the most important parts of human society and has been
an integral part of human development ever since humans early evolutionary stages.
We always have used it to relieve stress, to become exhilarated, or to experience any
number of other emotions. But we still have not discovered one key aspect, why? Why
does music affect us in the way it does? There have been answered to these questions,
but there are still questions with unanswered aspects. What goes on in the brain that
causes us to experience the vast array of feelings and experiences music creates for
us, especially when listening to different types? What do different types of music do?
There are hundreds of questions we could ask about how music affects us, and now
that we have made amazing advancements in the field of neuroscience, now is a
perfect time to start asking these questions. The main question this experiment will

investigate is how the brain responds to music and how different types of music affect
brain activity.

A previous study, conducted in 2001, examined brain activity and emotional and
physical response to music. Subjects were individuals with eight years or more of
musical experience, ten in total with equal numbers of both genders. They were asked
to pick a piece of music they were familiar with, and gave them positive emotional
responses on a consistent basis. All pieces were from the classical genre and there
were no vocals in the music. Ninety second intervals of the most "intense", the part that
gave them chills the most part of the music, were selected and played for the other
subjects as a control. While listening to the music the individuals were scanned using a
PET( portion emission tomography) scan and a FMRI( Functional Magnetic Resonance
Imaging); their heart rate, respiration depth, and skin temperature were also measures.
In addition the subjects were asked to rate the intensity of their chills on a scale of 1-10.

The study found: "Regression analysis correlating rCBF( regional cerebral blood flow)
with increasing chills intensity ratings in the subject-selected and control music
conditions identified rCBF increases in left ventral striatum, dorsomedial midbrain,
bilateral insula, right OfC, thalamus, anterior cingulate cortex (AC), supplementary
motor area." As well as alteration in rCBF in the amygdala. (Blood,2001)

Model Organism: The only model organism you could use when relating to music is
humans. Other organisms do not possess the understanding or appreciation of music
that humans have. While other organisms can respond to music. Only humans
understand and appreciate the meaning behind it and the emotions it produces.

Experimental Technique: In order to measure and observe individuals response to

music, as in the first study referenced, we will take a group of musically experienced
and inclined individuals and ask them to choose a piece of music, from one particular
genre, they are familiar with and have had strong emotional responses to on previous
occasions. While the individual is listening to the piece of music we will measure
individuals heart rate as well as their emotional response. We will use FMRI(Functional
Magnetic Resonance Imaging) in order to measure the subjects cerebral blood
flow(CBF) in order to see which parts of the brains are more responsive. We will also
ask the subject to rate their emotional experience, if they got chills or not, the intensity
of the chills, as well as examine the activity in the various brain regions. We will repeat
this experiment with different genres, classical, rock, hip hop , country, and electronic
music. After we have gathered all that data we will compare which parts of the brains
are more responsive with each type of music, as well as how active the brain is when
the individual is listening to different types of music.

Ethical and Societal Impact: This experiment should not have a big ethical issues
associated with it.. The test are very safe and well known procedures and not invasive.

In terms of societal impact, if the experiment is successful, it may affect the music in a
positive or negative way depending on the results. It it is determined that one specific
type of music could improve brain function, the music industry could become focused on
that specific type. This however is not likely as all types of music have their own benefits
as well as drawbacks, so this experiment should not have a big impact on society as a
whole.

References:
Blood, Anne J., and Robert J. Zatorre. "Intensely Pleasurable Responses to Music
Correlate with Activity in Brain Regions Implicated in Reward and
Emotion." PNAS (n.d.): n. pag. Print.
http://www.pnas.org/content/98/20/11818.full
1)

Sloboda, John A. "Music Structure and Emotional Response: Some Empirical

Findings." (1991): n. pag. Print. http://geaudio.com/Skole/Semesteroppgave
%20Musikkpsykologi/Music%20structure%20and%20emotional%20response.
%20some%20empirical%20findings.pdf