dimanche 22 décembre 2013

Une contribution récente aux relations entre musique et émotions 



 2013 Mar 1;56(5):289-97.

[Neuroarchitecture of musical emotions].

[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

The emotional response to music, or musical emotion, is a universal response that draws on diverse psychological processes implemented in a large array of neural structures and mechanisms. Studies using electroencephalography, functional magnetic resonance, lesions and individuals with extent musical training have begun to elucidate some of these mechanisms. The objective of this article is reviewing the most relevant studies that have tried to identify the neural correlates of musical emotion from the more automatic to the more complex processes, and to understand how these correlates interact in the brain. The article describes how the presentation of music perceived as emotional is associated with a rapid autonomic response in thalamic and subthalamic structures, accompanied by changes in the electrodermal and endocrine responses. It also explains how musical emotion processing activates auditory cortex, as well as a series of limbic and paralimbic structures, such as the amygdala, the anterior cingulate cortex or the hippocampus, demonstrating the relevant contribution of the limbic system to musical emotion. Further, it is detailed how musical emotion depends to a great extent on semantic and syntactic process carried out in temporal and parietofrontal areas, respectively. Some of the recent works demonstrating that musical emotion highly relies on emotional simulation are also mentioned. Finally, a summary of these studies, their limitations, and suggestions for further research on the neuroarchitecture of musical emotion are given.

 2013 Aug;13(4):681-90. doi: 10.1037/a0031820. Epub 2013 Mar 25.

Multivariate pattern classification reveals autonomic and experiential representations of discrete emotions.

Abstract

Defining the structural organization of emotions is a central unresolved question in affective science. In particular, the extent to which autonomic nervous system activity signifies distinct affective states remains controversial. Most prior research on this topic has used univariate statistical approaches in attempts to classify emotions from psychophysiological data. In the present study, electrodermal, cardiac, respiratory, and gastric activity, as well as self-report measures were taken from healthy subjects during the experience of fear, anger, sadness, surprise, contentment, and amusement in response to film and music clips. Information pertaining to affective states present in these response patterns was analyzed using multivariate pattern classification techniques. Overall accuracy for classifying distinct affective states was 58.0% for autonomic measures and 88.2% for self-report measures, both of which were significantly above chance. Further, examining the error distribution of classifiers revealed that the dimensions of valence and arousal selectively contributed to decoding emotional states from self-report, whereas a categorical configuration of affective space was evident in both self-report and autonomic measures. Taken together, these findings extend recent multivariate approaches to study emotion and indicate that pattern classification tools may improve upon univariate approaches to reveal the underlying structure of emotional experience and physiological expression.
 2013;27(1):75-82. doi: 10.3109/02699052.2012.722255.

Pleasant music improves visual attention in patients with unilateral neglect after stroke.


Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To investigate whether listening to pleasant music improves visual attention to and awareness of contralesional stimuli in patients with unilateral neglect after stroke.

METHODS:

A within-subject design was used with 19 participants with unilateral neglect following a right hemisphere stroke. Participants were tested in three conditions (pleasant music, unpleasant music and white noise) within 1 week. All musical pieces were chosen by the participants. In each condition, participants were asked to complete three sub-tests of the Behavioural Inattention Test (the Star Cancellation Test, the Line Bisection Test and the Picture Scanning test) and a visual exploration task with everyday scenes. Eye movements in the visual exploration task were recorded simultaneously. Mood and arousal induced by different auditory stimuli were assessed using visual analogue scales, heart rate and galvanic skin response.

RESULTS:

Compared with unpleasant music and white noise, participants rated their moods as more positive and arousal as higher with pleasant music, but also showed significant improvement on all tasks and eye movement data, except the Line Bisection Test.

CONCLUSION:

The findings suggest that pleasant music can improve visual attention in patients with unilateral neglect after stroke. Additional research using randomized controlled trials is required to validate these findings.
 2013 Sep 5;7:534. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00534.

Familiarity mediates the relationship between emotional arousal and pleasure during music listening.

Abstract

Emotional arousal appears to be a major contributing factor to the pleasure that listeners experience in response to music. Accordingly, a strong positive correlation between self-reported pleasure and electrodermal activity (EDA), an objective indicator of emotional arousal, has been demonstrated when individuals listen to familiar music. However, it is not yet known to what extent familiarity contributes to this relationship. In particular, as listening to familiar music involves expectations and predictions over time based on veridical knowledge of the piece, it could be that such memory factors plays a major role. Here, we tested such a contribution by using musical stimuli entirely unfamiliar to listeners. In a second experiment we repeated the novel music to experimentally establish a sense of familiarity. We aimed to determine whether (1) pleasure and emotional arousal would continue to correlate when listeners have no explicit knowledge of how the tones will unfold, and (2) whether this could be enhanced by experimentally-induced familiarity. In the first experiment, we presented 33 listeners with 70 unfamiliar musical excerpts in two sessions. There was no relationship between the degree of experienced pleasure and emotional arousal as measured by EDA. In the second experiment, 7 participants listened to 35 unfamiliar excerpts over two sessions separated by 30 min. Repeated exposure significantly increased EDA, even though individuals did not explicitly recall having heard all the pieces before. Furthermore, increases in self-reported familiarity significantly enhanced experienced pleasure and there was a general, though not significant, increase in EDA. These results suggest that some level of expectation and predictability mediated by prior exposure to a given piece of music play an important role in the experience of emotional arousal in response to music.

KEYWORDS:

EDA, emotional arousal, familiarity, music, pleasure, psychophysiology

 2012 Oct;53(5):375-81. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2012.00962.x.

Alexithymia is associated with an augmenter profile, but not only: evidence for anticipation to arousingmusic.


Abstract

It has been suggested that high alexithymia scorers have an 'augmenter' profile which amplifies their physiological and subjective responses to highly arousing stimuli. The aim of this study was to test this theory using several physiological measures. Participants listened to musical excerpts either in a 'weak-to-strong' or a 'strong-to-weak' order of arousing levels of stimuli. The results show that alexithymia was associated with an augmenter profile for subjective reports for the most arousing stimulus and with stronger skinconductance level responses in the 'strong-to-weak' order. These results partially support the augmenter profile and reveal that alexithymia may be associated with higher anticipation for the most arousing excerpt.
© 2012 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2012 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.


 2012 Sep;76(5):641-53. doi: 10.1007/s00426-011-0361-4. Epub 2011 Jul 15.

Expressiveness in musical emotions.

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate how emotion category, characterized by distinct musical structures (happiness, sadness, threat) and expressiveness (mechanical, expressive) may influence overt and covert behavioral judgments and physiological responses in musically trained and untrained listeners. Mechanical and expressive versions of happy, sad and scary excerpts were presented while physiological measures were recorded. Participants rated the intensity of the emotion they felt. In addition, they monitored excerpts for the presence of brief breaths. Results showed that the emotion categories were rated higher in the expressive than in the mechanical versions and that this effect was larger in musicians. Moreover, expressive excerpts were found to increase skin conductance level more than the mechanical ones, independently of their arousal value, and to slow down response times in the breath detection task relative to the mechanical versions, suggesting enhanced capture of attention by expressiveness. Altogether, the results support the key role of the performer's expression in the listener's emotional response to music.
























mercredi 4 décembre 2013

une alimentation pour combattre la depression.Dr Claude Jean Paris

Three Key Foods To Add To Your Healthy Diet When Battling Depression

By Doris Quintanilla, Fri, November 22, 2013
Salmon.JPG
It’s no secret that some people turn to food for comfort when feeling down or suffering from depression. But not all foods that satisfy your cravings in the short term are as helpful in the long run.
recent study found that people who ate more junk food, one with processed meats, chocolates, sweet desserts, fried food and dairy products high on fat are more likely to reportsymptoms of depression.
While fruits and veggies have long been known to be key in a healthy lifestyle, they're not the only options. Here are three foods to keep in mind for depression treatment.

Eggs

Eggs are high in vitamin B and protein. A diet high in B vitamins can help reduce depression or the severity of symptoms, primarily low moods.
Eggs can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, alone or accompanied by other foods like in omelets or scrambled. Be sure to keep accompanying portions of animal products that are high in saturated fats small.

Nuts and seeds

Eating more nuts can lead to longer, healthier lives. In addition, nuts and seeds, such as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cashews, almonds, and peanuts, are helpful when battling depression. They are good sources of magnesium, which leads the body to produce serotonin, an antidepressant chemical substance that can boost energy levels.
Instead of candy or big portions of chocolate as snacks, consider trading them in for nuts or seeds. Choose unsalted or unsweetened varieties because they are less likely to influence you to overeat or crave more sugar or salt.

Cold-water fish

Cold-water fish including wild salmon, herring, sardines, and tuna are good sources of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Fish has long been known as “brain food” because of omega-3 fatty acids, which can alleviate boost your mood.
For an alternative to cold-water fish try fish-oil supplements, which provide you with the same nutrients.

dimanche 1 décembre 2013

Une étude qui pourrait cacher les hommes et les femmes .Le debat n'est pas clos .Dr Claude Jean Paris

Sexual Regret: Evidence for Evolved Sex Differences

Abstract
Regret and anticipated regret enhance decision quality by helping people avoid making and repeating mistakes. Some of people’s most intense regrets concern sexual decisions. We hypothesized evolved sex differences in women’s and men’s experiences of sexual regret. Because of women’s higher obligatory costs of reproduction throughout evolutionary history, we hypothesized that sexual actions, particularly those involving casual sex, would be regretted more intensely by women than by men. In contrast, because missed sexual opportunities historically carried higher reproductive fitness costs for men than for women, we hypothesized that poorly chosen sexual inactions would be regretted more by men than by women. Across three studies (Ns = 200, 395, and 24,230), we tested these hypotheses using free responses, written scenarios, detailed checklists, and Internet sampling to achieve participant diversity, including diversity in sexual orientation. Across all data sources, results supported predicted psychological sex differences and these differences were localized in casual sex contexts. These findings are consistent with the notion that the psychology of sexual regret was shaped by recurrent sex differences in selection pressures operating over deep time.