ABSTRACT
The inverted U hypothesis in music predicts that listeners prefer intermediate levels of complexity. However, the shape of the liking response to harmonic complexity and the effect of musicianship remains unclear. Here, we tested whether the relationship between liking and harmonic complexity in single chords shows an inverted U shape and whether this U shape is different for musicians and non-musicians. We recorded these groups' liking ratings for four levels of harmonic complexity, indexed by their level of acoustic roughness, as well as several measures of inter-individual difference. Results showed that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between harmonic complexity and liking in both musicians and non-musicians, but that the shape of the U is different for the two groups. Non-musicians' U is more left-skewed, with peak liking for low harmonic complexity, while musicians' U is more right-skewed, with highest ratings for medium and low complexity. Furthermore, musicians who showed greater liking for medium compared to low complexity chords reported higher levels of active musical engagement and higher levels of openness to experience. This suggests that a combination of practical musical experience and personality is reflected in musicians' inverted U-shaped preference response to harmonic complexity in chords.
Subject(s)
Music , Emotions , Acoustics , Personality , Acoustic Stimulation/methodsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Case studies of people with Huntington's disease (HD) report that music therapy provides a range of benefits that may improve quality of life; however, no robust music therapy assessment tools exist for this population. OBJECTIVE: Develop and conduct preliminary psychometric testing of a music therapy assessment tool for patients with advanced HD. METHODS: First, we established content and face validity of the Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Advanced HD (MATA-HD) through focus groups and field testing. Second, we examined psychometric properties of the resulting MATA-HD in terms of its construct validity, internal consistency, and inter-rater and intra-rater reliability over 10 group music therapy sessions with 19 patients. RESULTS: The resulting MATA-HD included a total of 15 items across six subscales (Arousal/Attention, Physical Presentation, Communication, Musical, Cognition, and Psychological/Behavioral). We found good construct validity (r ≥ 0.7) for Mood, Communication Level, Communication Effectiveness, Choice, Social Behavior, Arousal, and Attention items. Cronbach's α of 0.825 indicated good internal consistency across 11 items with a common focus of engagement in therapy. The inter-rater reliability (IRR) Intra-Class Coefficient (ICC) scores averaged 0.65, and a mean intra-rater ICC reliability of 0.68 was obtained. Further training and retesting provided a mean of IRR ICC of 0.7. CONCLUSION: Preliminary data indicate that the MATA-HD is a promising tool for measuring patient responses to music therapy interventions across psychological, physical, social, and communication domains of functioning in patients with advanced HD.
Subject(s)
Huntington Disease/therapy , Music Therapy , Psychometrics/instrumentation , Surveys and Questionnaires/standards , Adult , Attention , Female , Focus Groups , Humans , Huntington Disease/diagnosis , Huntington Disease/psychology , Male , Middle Aged , Music Therapy/methods , Pilot Projects , Psychometrics/statistics & numerical data , Quality of Life , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
Unilateral visuo-spatial neglect is a neuropsychological syndrome commonly resulting from right hemisphere stroke at the temporo-parietal junction of the infero-posterior parietal cortex. Neglect is characterized by reduced awareness of stimuli presented on patients' contralesional side of space. Inspired by evidence of increased spatial exploration of patients' left side achieved during keyboard scale-playing, the current study employed a music intervention that involved making sequential goal-directed actions in the neglected part of space, in order to determine whether this would bring about clinically significant improvement in chronic neglect. Two left neglect patients completed an intervention comprising four weekly 30-min music intervention sessions involving playing scales and familiar melodies on chime bars from right to left. Two cancellation tests [Mesulam shape, Behavioral Inattention Test (BIT) star], the neglect subtest from the computerized TAP (Test of Attentional Performance) battery, and the line bisection test were administered three times during a preliminary baseline phase, before and after the four intervention sessions during the intervention phase to investigate short-term effects, and 1 week after the last intervention session to investigate whether any changes in performance would persist. Both patients demonstrated significant short-term and longer-lasting improvements on the Mesulam shape cancellation test. One patient also showed longer-lasting effects on the BIT star cancellation test and scored in the normal range 1 week after the intervention. These findings provide preliminary evidence that active music-making with a horizontally aligned instrument may help neglect patients attend more to their affected side.
