Increased phase synchronization of brainwaves induced by specific music

Abstract

It is beyond doubt that music can improve people's emotions. However, the interaction between music and the brain is very complicated. In general terms, music can cause the activation of the limbic system, which is related to emotions. The variations of the rhythm, frequency, intensity, and so on, all affect our emotions, and can even produce appeasement effects. This study focused on the influence of music on brainwaves. Unlike classical music, rock music, jazz, and other types of music previously used to research brainwaves, we used a special music that was composed of continuous natural sounds, which contained periodic sounds of several specific frequencies. In addition, this music made subjects sleepy. We used electroencephalography (EEG) to analyze the phase synchronization of brainwaves recorded by brainwave sensors. The results revealed that the phase synchronization index (PSI) of the right-brain gamma band when listening to the experimental music was higher than that when no music was listened to, which meant that the experimental music did have an effect on the right brain. This finding provides a novel entry point for studying the impact of music on brainwaves in the future, and right-brain activation may become a key application of brainwave sensors.