Reward prediction errors arising from switches between major and minor modes in music: An fMRI study

TL;DR

This fMRI study investigates how the brain processes reward prediction errors when listeners experience switches between major and minor musical modes, revealing neural correlates linked to emotional and predictive aspects of music perception.

Contribution

The study provides novel insights into neural responses to mode switches in music, highlighting specific brain regions involved in processing positive and negative reward prediction errors.

Findings

Increased activity in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex for Major-Major chords.

Enhanced frontoparietal network activity for Major-Minor switches.

Regions associated with interoception for minor mode switches.

Abstract

Evidence has accumulated that prediction error processing plays a role in the enjoyment of music listening. The present study examined listeners' neural responses to the signed reward prediction errors (RPEs) arising from switches between major and minor modes in music. We manipulated the final chord of J. S. Bach's keyboard pieces so that each major-mode passage ended with either the major (Major-Major) or minor (Major-Minor) tonic chord, and each minor-mode passage ended with either the minor (Minor-Minor) or major (Minor-Major) tonic chord. In Western music, the major and minor modes have positive and negative connotations, respectively. Therefore, the outcome of the final chord in Major-Minor stimuli was associated with negative RPE, whereas that in Minor-Major was associated with positive RPE. Twenty-three musically experienced adults underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while listening to Major-Major, Major-Minor, Minor-Minor, and Minor-Major stimuli. We found that activity in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (extending into the ventromedial prefrontal cortex) during the final chord for Major-Major was significantly higher than that for Major-Minor. Conversely, a frontoparietal network for Major-Minor exhibited significantly increased activity compared to Major-Major. The contrasts between Minor-Minor and Minor-Major yielded regions implicated in interoception. We discuss our results in relation to executive functions and the emotional connotations of major versus minor mode.