The major-minor mode dichotomy in music perception.

In Western tonal music, major and minor modes are recognized as the primary musical features in eliciting emotional responses. The underlying correlates of this dichotomy in music perception have been extensively investigated through decades of psychological and neuroscientific research, yielding plentiful yet often discordant results that highlight the complexity and individual differences in how these modes are perceived. This variability suggests that a deeper understanding of major-minor mode perception in music is still needed.

Decoding reveals the neural representation of perceived and imagined musical sounds.

Vividly imagining a song or a melody is a skill that many people accomplish with relatively little effort. However, we are only beginning to understand how the brain represents, holds, and manipulates these musical "thoughts." Here, we decoded perceived and imagined melodies from magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain data (N = 71) to characterize their neural representation.

Decreased inter-hemispheric connectivity predicts a coherent retrieval of auditory symbolic material.

Investigating the transmission of information between individuals is essential to better understand how humans communicate. Coherent information transmission (i.e.

Age-related neural changes underlying long-term recognition of musical sequences.

Aging is often associated with decline in brain processing power and neural predictive capabilities. To challenge this notion, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to record the whole-brain activity of 39 older adults (over 60 years old) and 37 young adults (aged 18-25 years) during recognition of previously memorised and varied musical sequences. Results reveal that when recognising memorised sequences, the brain of older compared to young adults reshapes its functional organisation.

Understanding music and aging through the lens of Bayesian inference.

Bayesian inference has recently gained momentum in explaining music perception and aging. A fundamental mechanism underlying Bayesian inference is the notion of prediction. This framework could explain how predictions pertaining to musical (melodic, rhythmic, harmonic) structures engender action, emotion, and learning, expanding related concepts of music research, such as musical expectancies, groove, pleasure, and tension.

Hierarchical syntax model of music predicts theta power during music listening.

Linguistic research showed that the depth of syntactic embedding is reflected in brain theta power. Here, we test whether this also extends to non-linguistic stimuli, specifically music. We used a hierarchical model of musical syntax to continuously quantify two types of expert-annotated harmonic dependencies throughout a piece of Western classical music: prolongation and preparation.

Decoding reveals the neural representation of perceived and imagined musical sounds.

Vividly imagining a song or a melody is a skill that many people accomplish with relatively little effort. However, we are only beginning to understand how the brain represents, holds, and manipulates these musical "thoughts". Here, we decoded perceived and imagined melodies from magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain data (N = 71) to characterize their neural representation.

Associations between abstract working memory abilities and brain activity underlying long-term recognition of auditory sequences.

Memory is a complex cognitive process composed of several subsystems, namely short- and long-term memory and working memory (WM). Previous research has shown that adequate interaction between subsystems is crucial for successful memory processes such as encoding, storage, and manipulation of information. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between different subsystems at the behavioral and neural levels.

High-fidelity transmission of auditory symbolic material is associated with reduced right-left neuroanatomical asymmetry between primary auditory regions.

The intergenerational stability of auditory symbolic systems, such as music, is thought to rely on brain processes that allow the faithful transmission of complex sounds. Little is known about the functional and structural aspects of the human brain which support this ability, with a few studies pointing to the bilateral organization of auditory networks as a putative neural substrate. Here, we further tested this hypothesis by examining the role of left-right neuroanatomical asymmetries between auditory cortices.

Magnetoencephalography recordings reveal the spatiotemporal dynamics of recognition memory for complex versus simple auditory sequences.

Auditory recognition is a crucial cognitive process that relies on the organization of single elements over time. However, little is known about the spatiotemporal dynamics underlying the conscious recognition of auditory sequences varying in complexity. To study this, we asked 71 participants to learn and recognize simple tonal musical sequences and matched complex atonal sequences while their brain activity was recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG).

An ALE meta-analytic review of musical expertise.

Through long-term training, music experts acquire complex and specialized sensorimotor skills, which are paralleled by continuous neuro-anatomical and -functional adaptations. The underlying neuroplasticity mechanisms have been extensively explored in decades of research in music, cognitive, and translational neuroscience. However, the absence of a comprehensive review and quantitative meta-analysis prevents the plethora of variegated findings to ultimately converge into a unified picture of the neuroanatomy of musical expertise.

An ALE meta-analytic review of top-down and bottom-up processing of music in the brain.

A remarkable feature of the human brain is its ability to integrate information from the environment with internally generated content. The integration of top-down and bottom-up processes during complex multi-modal human activities, however, is yet to be fully understood. Music provides an excellent model for understanding this since music listening leads to the urge to move, and music making entails both playing and listening at the same time (i.

Putting Cells in Motion: Advantages of Endogenous Boosting of BDNF Production.

Motor exercise, such as sport or musical activities, helps with a plethora of diseases by modulating brain functions in neocortical and subcortical regions, resulting in behavioural changes related to mood regulation, well-being, memory, and even cognitive preservation in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Although evidence is accumulating on the systemic neural mechanisms mediating these brain effects, the specific mechanisms by which exercise acts upon the cellular level are still under investigation. This is particularly the case for music training, a much less studied instance of motor exercise than sport.

On the Association Between Musical Training, Intelligence and Executive Functions in Adulthood.

Unlabelled: Converging evidence has demonstrated that musical training is associated with improved perceptual and cognitive skills, including executive functions and general intelligence, particularly in childhood. In contrast, in adults the relationship between cognitive performance and musicianship is less clear and seems to be modulated by a number of background factors, such as personality and socio-economic status. Aiming to shed new light on this topic, we administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III (WAIS-III), the Wechsler Memory Scale III (WMS-III), and the Stroop Test to 101 Finnish healthy adults grouped according to their musical expertise (non-musicians, amateurs, and musicians).

Driver's visual attention to different categories of roadside advertising signs.

Roadside advertising signs are a salient potential source of driver's distraction. Previous research has mainly investigated driver's visual attention to billboards, which represents only one category of advertising signs. In this study, driver's visual attention was assessed in a naturalistic driving setting for six categories of roadside advertising signs: vendor signs, billboards, movable display boards, single and multiple commercial directional signs, and gas price LED displays.

The role of peripheral vision in vertical road sign identification and discrimination.

The role of peripheral vision in road sign identification and discrimination was investigated in two studies. Peripheral vision plays an important role in road signs perception due to their lateral positioning. In the first study 20 participants identified road signs presented at five levels of horizontal eccentricity (1.

Linear Perspective and Framing in the Vista Paradox.

The vista paradox is the illusion in which an object seen through an aperture appears to shrink in apparent size as the observer approaches the aperture. In four studies, we tested the effect of framing and fixating on the target object. The first two studies assessed the vista paradox in a large scale naturalistic setting in which a 162.

Reflective Tape Applied to Bicycle Frame and Conspicuity Enhancement at Night.

Objective: Four studies were conducted to assess bicyclist conspicuity enhancement at night by the application of reflective tape (ECE/ONU 104) to the bicycle rear frame and to pedal cranks.

Background: Previous studies have tested the benefits of reflective markings applied to bicyclist clothing. Reflective jackets however need to be available and worn while reflective markings enhance conspicuity without any active behavior by the bicyclist.

Geometrical Factors in the Perception of Sacredness.

Geometrical and environmental factors in the perception of sacredness, dominance, and attractiveness were assessed by 137 participants in five tests. In the first test, a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm was used to test the perception of sacredness, dominance, and attractiveness in geometrical figures differing in shape, verticality, size, and symmetry. Verticality, symmetry, and convexity were found to be important factors in the perception of sacredness.