Intra- and inter-brain coupling and activity dynamics during improvisational music therapy with a person with dementia: an explorative EEG-hyperscanning single case study

Clemens Maidhof; Viktor Müller; Olivier Lartillot; Kat Agres; Jodie Bloska; Rie Asano; Helen Odell-Miller; Jörg Fachner

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1155732

Intra- and inter-brain coupling and activity dynamics during improvisational music therapy with a person with dementia: an explorative EEG-hyperscanning single case study

Front Psychol. 2023 Sep 29:14:1155732. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1155732. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Clemens Maidhof^{1

2}, Viktor Müller³, Olivier Lartillot⁴, Kat Agres^{5

6}, Jodie Bloska¹, Rie Asano^{7

8}, Helen Odell-Miller¹, Jörg Fachner^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
² Josef Ressel Centre for Personalized Music Therapy, University of Applied Sciences IMC Krems, Krems an der Donau, Austria.
³ Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
⁴ RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
⁵ Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
⁶ Centre for Music and Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
⁷ Institute of Musicology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
⁸ Advanced Comprehensive Research Organization, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Objective: Real-life research into the underlying neural dynamics of improvisational music therapy, used with various clinical populations, is largely lacking. This single case study explored within-session differences in musical features and in within- and between-brain coupling between a Person with Dementia (PwD) and a music therapist during a music therapy session.

Methods: Dual-EEG from a music therapist and a PwD (male, 31 years) was recorded. Note density, pulse clarity and synchronicity were extracted from audio-visual data. Three music therapists identified moments of interest and no interest (MOI/MONI) in two drum improvisations. The Integrative Coupling Index, reflecting time-lagged neural synchronization, and musical features were compared between the MOI and MONI.

Results: Between-brain coupling of 2 Hz activity was increased during the MOI, showing anteriority of the therapist's neural activity. Within-brain coupling for the PwD was stronger from frontal and central areas during the MOI, but within-brain coupling for the therapist was stronger during MONI. Differences in musical features indicated that both acted musically more similar to one another during the MOI.

Conclusion: Within-session differences in neural synchronization and musical features highlight the dynamic nature of music therapy.

Significance: The findings contribute to a better understanding of social and affective processes in the brain and (interactive) musical behaviors during specific moments in a real-life music therapy session. This may provide insights into the role of such moments for relational-therapeutic processes.

Keywords: EEG; hyperscanning; improvisation; music information retrieval; music therapy.

Grants and funding

This research has been funded by a grant from the Music Therapy Charity (MTC), United Kingdom. We also acknowledge the support by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) under Grant No. 23H05428. This work is also partly supported by the Research Council of Norway through its Centers of Excellence Scheme, project number 262762 and the MIRAGE project, grant number 287152.