Symptoms of and coping strategies for music performance anxiety through different time periods.

Music performance anxiety (MPA) manifests itself at mental, physiological, and behavioral levels. The present study investigated how the experience of the three levels of symptoms changes over time, and how musicians cope with these temporal changes in MPA symptoms. To this end, we conducted a questionnaire survey in which 38 student musicians freely commented on their experiences of mental and physical changes, as well as their coping strategies for these changes. This was examined during five different time periods around public performance, extending from the beginning of the preparation for a public performance until shortly before the next public performance. The free-text comments obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed thematically and classified into different response themes. We then examined the temporal changes in the frequency of comments on each response theme. We further conducted a semi-structured interview involving eight musicians to explore the responses to the questionnaire in greater detail. We analyzed the contents of the free-text comments obtained from the questionnaire and the interview for each response theme, focusing on the most frequently mentioned sub-themes. The results indicate that musicians started to experience mental MPA symptoms (e.g., negative feelings) as soon as they began to prepare for public performance. To cope with mental symptoms, musicians employed mental strategies such as positive thinking/self-talk and concentration both before and during public performance. The experience of physiological MPA symptoms (e.g., increased heart rate) peaked shortly before public performance and remained throughout performance. To cope with a variety of physiological symptoms, musicians employed physical strategies, especially deep breathing and exercise, shortly before public performance. In contrast, behavioral MPA symptoms (e.g., tremor) were experienced mostly during public performance. Some musicians also reported experiencing the actual impairment of performance quality. To avoid this, musicians employed a variety of practicing techniques (e.g., playing at a slower tempo) during the preparation for public performance and performing techniques (e.g., paying attention to expressions) during public performance. Together, the present findings indicate that mental, physiological, and behavioral symptoms of MPA exhibit differential timelines and that musicians effectively utilize different coping strategies according to the temporal changes in MPA symptoms.

Cultural norms influence nonverbal emotion communication: Japanese vocalizations of socially disengaging emotions.

Nonverbal vocalizations of some emotions have been found to be recognizable both within and across cultures. However, East Asians tend to suppress socially disengaging emotions because of interdependent views on self-other relationships. Here we tested the possibility that norms in interdependent cultures around socially disengaging emotions may influence nonverbal vocal communication of emotions. Specifically, we predicted that East Asians' vocalizations of socially disengaging emotions would be less recognizable to Westerners than those of other emotions. To test this hypothesis, we performed a balanced cross-cultural experiment in which 30 Dutch and 30 Japanese listeners categorized and rated Dutch and Japanese vocalizations expressing nine emotions including anger and triumph, two socially disengaging emotions. The only condition for which recognition performance failed to exceed chance level was Dutch listeners' judgments of Japanese anger vocalizations, p = .302. The magnitude of the in-group advantage (i.e., enhanced recognition accuracy when producer and perceiver cultures match) was also largest for Japanese anger vocalizations out of all the 18 conditions investigated, p < .001. The second largest in-group advantage was obtained for Japanese triumph vocalizations, p < .001. In addition, Dutch listeners rated Japanese vocalizations of anger and triumph as less intense, negative/positive, and aroused than did Japanese listeners, ps < .001. Taken together, these findings suggest that East Asian-specific cultural norms of interpersonal relationships are associated with specificity in nonverbal vocal communication of socially disengaging emotions, especially anger, to the point that some signals can only be understood by individuals who are culturally familiar with them. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of emotional valence on sense of agency require a predictive model.

Sense of agency (SoA), a feeling that one's voluntary actions produce events in the external world, is a key factor behind every goal-directed human behaviour. Recent studies have demonstrated that SoA is reduced when one's voluntary action causes negative outcomes, compared to when it causes positive outcomes. It is yet unclear whether this emotional modulation of SoA is caused by predicting the outcome valence (prediction hypothesis) or by retrospectively interpreting the outcome (postdiction hypothesis). To address this, we emulated a social situation where one's voluntary action was followed by either another's negative emotional vocalisation or positive emotional vocalisation. Crucially, the relation between an action and the emotional valence of its outcome was predictable in some blocks of trials, but unpredictable in other blocks. Quantitative, implicit measures of SoA based on the intentional binding effect supported the prediction hypothesis. Our findings imply that the social-emotional modulation of SoA is based on predicting the emotional valence of action outcomes.

Why I tense up when you watch me: Inferior parietal cortex mediates an audience's influence on motor performance.

The presence of an evaluative audience can alter skilled motor performance through changes in force output. To investigate how this is mediated within the brain, we emulated real-time social monitoring of participants' performance of a fine grip task during functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging. We observed an increase in force output during social evaluation that was accompanied by focal reductions in activity within bilateral inferior parietal cortex. Moreover, deactivation of the left inferior parietal cortex predicted both inter- and intra-individual differences in socially-induced change in grip force. Social evaluation also enhanced activation within the posterior superior temporal sulcus, which conveys visual information about others' actions to the inferior parietal cortex. Interestingly, functional connectivity between these two regions was attenuated by social evaluation. Our data suggest that social evaluation can vary force output through the altered engagement of inferior parietal cortex; a region implicated in sensorimotor integration necessary for object manipulation, and a component of the action-observation network which integrates and facilitates performance of observed actions. Social-evaluative situations may induce high-level representational incoherence between one's own intentioned action and the perceived intention of others which, by uncoupling the dynamics of sensorimotor facilitation, could ultimately perturbe motor output.

Negative emotional outcomes attenuate sense of agency over voluntary actions.

Sense of agency (SoA) refers to the feeling that one's voluntary actions produce external sensory events [1, 2]. Several psychological theories hypothesized links between SoA and affective evaluation [3-6]. For example, people tend to attribute positive outcomes to their own actions, perhaps reflecting high-level narrative processes that enhance self-esteem [3]. Here we provide the first evidence that such emotional modulations also involve changes in the low-level sensorimotor basis of agency. The intentional binding paradigm [1] was used to quantify the subjective temporal compression between a voluntary action and its sensory consequences, providing an implicit measure of SoA. Emotional valence of action outcomes was manipulated by following participants' key-press actions with negative or positive emotional vocalizations [7], or neutral sounds. We found that intentional binding was reduced for negative compared to positive or neutral outcomes. Discriminant analyses identified a change in time perception of both actions and their negative outcomes, demonstrating that the experience of action itself is subject to affective modulation. A small binding benefit was also found for positive action outcomes. Emotional modulation of SoA may contribute to regulating social behavior. Correctly tracking the valenced effects of one's voluntary actions on other people could underlie successful social interactions.

Electromyographic analysis of lower limbs during baseball batting.

We investigated the muscle activation pattern of lower limbs in baseball batting by recording surface electromyography (sEMG) from 8 muscles, the left and right rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF), tibialis anterior (TA), and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscles. The muscle activities were compared between 10 skilled baseball players and 10 unskilled novices. The batting motion was divided into 7 phases: waiting, shifting body weight, stepping, landing, swing, impact, and follow through. The timing for these phases was analyzed by using a high-speed video camera. The onset latencies of sEMG were significantly earlier in baseball players at the left-RF (p < 0.01), right-BF (p < 0.05), and left-BF (p < 0.01). The peak amplitudes of sEMG activity were greater in skilled players at the right-RF (p < 0.01), right-BF (p < 0.01), left-BF (p < 0.01), left-TA (p < 0.01), right-MG (p < 0.01), and left-MG (p < 0.05). The timing for shifting, stepping, and landing was also significantly earlier in skilled players (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.05, respectively). Our findings suggest that preparations for the swing are made earlier in skilled baseball players who recruit their lower muscles for the swing more effectively than novices.

Electromyographic activity of lower limbs to stop baseball batting.

We investigated the muscle activation pattern of the lower limbs for the stopping motion of baseball batting by recording surface electromyography (EMG) from 8 muscles, the left and right rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF), tibialis anterior (TA), and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscles. First, muscle activities for 'Swing' and 'Stopping' trials were examined in 10 skilled baseball players and 10 unskilled novices. Second, the characteristics of EMG activities for 'Stopping' were compared between the 2 groups. The peak latencies of EMG were significantly shorter in 'Stopping' than in 'Swing' at the right-TA, left-BF, and left-MG between both groups. The peak amplitudes of EMG activity were significantly larger in 'Swing' than in 'Stopping' at the right-TA, left-BF, and left-MG in both groups. In addition, the peak amplitudes of EMG activity for 'Stopping' were significantly larger in the players than in novices at the right-RF and right-TA. The characteristics of EMG activity clearly differed between 'Swing' and 'Stopping,' and between baseball players and nonplayers, indicating that evaluating the EMG activity in batting enables the understanding of proficiency. Our findings should help players, novices, and coaches to optimize batting performance.

Differences in the head movement during baseball batting between skilled players and novices.

We investigated the pattern of head movement during baseball batting in 8 skilled players and 9 unskilled novices, using a high-speed video camera. The 2 directions of head movement were analyzed as an X-axis (from the home plate to the pitcher's plate) and Z-axis (vertical downward). On the X-axis, peak latency, peak value, the distance from the peak to the value at bat-ball impact, and data variability were compared between the 2 groups. On the Z-axis, peak latency, downward distance, and data variability were analyzed. Peak latency on the X-axis occurred significantly earlier in baseball players than in novices (p < 0.001), and the difference between the minimum peak and impact was significantly larger in the players (p < 0.05). The variability in peak latency on the X-axis was significantly larger in the novices (p < 0.05). The variability in peak value on the Z-axis was also significantly larger in the novices (p < 0.05). Our findings showed that the significant differences in head movement between the 2 groups should help baseball players, beginners, coaches, and strength and conditioning professionals to improve performance, be effectively applied to actual practice, and enhance coaching for batting.

Traits and cognitions of perfectionism and their relation with coping style, effort, achievement, and performance anxiety in Japanese musicians.

Research has shown that 2 major facets of perfectionism can be differentiated: perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. In order to investigate how these different facets of perfectionism are related to coping, effort, achievement, and performance anxiety in musicians, we asked 275 professional and amateur Japanese musicians to complete measures of perfectionism traits, perfectionism cognitions, coping style, effort, achievement, and performance anxiety. While both facets of perfectionism showed a similar pattern of correlation with coping measures, they were differently associated with effort, achievement, and performance anxiety. In addition, results of hierarchical regression analysis showed the incremental validity of perfectionism cognitions in explaining variance in performance anxiety above the variance explained by other variables, such as trait perfectionism. These findings demonstrate that perfectionism in musicians has both positive and negative elements.

Characteristics of the athletes' brain: evidence from neurophysiology and neuroimaging.

We review research on athletes' brains based on data obtained using non-invasive neurophysiological and neuroimaging methods; these data pertain to cognitive processing of visual, auditory, and somatosensory (tactile) stimulation as well as to motor processing, including preparation, execution, and imagery. It has been generally accepted that athletes are faster, stronger, able to jump higher, more accurate, more efficient, more consistent, and more automatic in their sports performances than non-athletes. These claims have been substantiated by neuroscientific evidence of the mechanisms underlying the plastic adaptive changes in the neuronal circuits of the brains of athletes. Reinforced neural networks and plastic changes are induced by the acquisition and execution of compound motor skills during extensive daily physical training that requires quick stimulus discrimination, decision making, and specific attention. In addition, it is likely that the manner of neuronal modulation differs among sports. We also discuss several problems that should be addressed in future studies.

Motor/autonomic stress responses in a competitive piano performance.

The present study examined the effects of psychological stress on performance quality, autonomic responses, and upper extremity muscle activity in skilled pianists through comparisons between stressful (competition) and nonstressful (rehearsal) conditions. We observed increased levels of subjective anxiety, autonomic arousal, and electromyographic activity in the competition condition, which could contribute to the impairment of performance quality. The results provide important practical implications for enhancing performance quality as well as preventing playing-related musculoskeletal disorders in musicians.

Music performance anxiety in skilled pianists: effects of social-evaluative performance situation on subjective, autonomic, and electromyographic reactions.

Music performance anxiety (MPA), or stage fright in music performance, is a serious problem for many musicians, because performance impairment accompanied by MPA can threaten their career. The present study sought to clarify on how a social-evaluative performance situation affects subjective, autonomic, and motor stress responses in pianists. Measurements of subjective state anxiety, heart rate (HR), sweat rate (SR), and electromyographic (EMG) activity of upper extremity muscles were obtained while 18 skilled pianists performed a solo piano piece(s) of their choice under stressful (competition) and non-stressful (rehearsal) conditions. Participants reported greater anxiety in the competition condition, which confirmed the effectiveness of stress manipulation. The HR and SR considerably increased from the rehearsal to competition condition reflecting the activation of sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. Furthermore, participants showed higher levels of the EMG magnitude of proximal muscles (biceps brachii and upper trapezius) and the co-contraction of antagonistic muscles in the forearm (extensor digitorum communis and flexor digitorum superficialis) in the competition condition. Although these responses can be interpreted as integral components of an adaptive biological system that creates a state of motor readiness in an unstable or unpredictable environment, they can adversely influence pianists by disrupting their fine motor control on stage and by increasing the risk of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders.