The neural bases of familiar music listening in healthy individuals: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

Veronica Vuong; Patrick Hewan; Maxime Perron; Michael H Thaut; Claude Alain

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105423

The neural bases of familiar music listening in healthy individuals: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2023 Nov:154:105423. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105423. Epub 2023 Oct 13.

Authors

Veronica Vuong¹, Patrick Hewan², Maxime Perron³, Michael H Thaut⁴, Claude Alain⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada; Music and Health Research Collaboratory, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2C5, Canada. Electronic address: veronica.vuong@utoronto.ca.
² Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada.
³ Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada.
⁴ Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; Music and Health Research Collaboratory, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2C5, Canada; Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.
⁵ Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada; Music and Health Research Collaboratory, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2C5, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada.

PMID: 37839672
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105423

Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that the neural activations during music listening differs as a function of familiarity with the excerpts. However, the implicated brain areas are unclear. After an extensive literature search, we conducted an Activation Likelihood Estimation analysis on 23 neuroimaging studies (232 foci, 364 participants) to identify consistently activated brain regions when healthy adults listen to familiar music, compared to unfamiliar music or an equivalent condition. The results revealed a left cortical-subcortical co-activation pattern comprising three significant clusters localized to the supplementary motor areas (BA 6), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, BA 44), and the claustrum/insula. Our results are discussed in a predictive coding framework, whereby temporal expectancies and familiarity may drive motor activations, despite any overt movement. Though conventionally associated with syntactic violation, our observed activation in the IFG may support a recent proposal of its involvement in a network that subserves both violation and prediction. Finally, the claustrum/insula plays an integral role in auditory processing, functioning as a hub that integrates sensory and limbic information to (sub)cortical structures.

Keywords: Activation likelihood estimation; Brain activation; Familiarity; Meta-analysis; Music; Music listening; Neural correlates; Neuroimaging.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Auditory Perception / physiology
Brain / physiology
Brain Mapping
Humans
Likelihood Functions
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Motor Cortex*
Music*
Recognition, Psychology / physiology