EEG Responses to Arabic Music Scales

Overview

Recent studies showed that various factors can contribute to the efficiency of a music therapy such as the type of music used, the type of instrument, the ethnicity, musical preference of the subjects and many others. Investigators noticed that most of studies and clinical trials, while acknowledging the importance of ethnicity and musical preferences, use the Western Music type in their investigations and practice. While in the Middle East, Music Therapy played a tremendous role in the 10th century since the "scales theory" of the famous Scientists El Farabi and Avicenna, very little countries of the Middle East are investing in scientific studies using Arabic Music as a therapeutic tool. This study will be an electroencephalogram (EEG)-based investigation on correlations of multiple factors that can influence the cortical responses of the subject to the music and self-reported state of emotion and anxiety.

This is the first clinical study involving Music in Qatar and the Gulf region, and the first study to explore Arab Music Scales using a combination of EEG and self-reported assessements. Using EEG, investigators will analyze the full brain activity of brainwaves produced by up to 100 subjects in response to the audio musical stimuli. 24 different audio recordings have been designed to investigate on different acoustic cues: * with versus without quartertones * known music versus improvisation * Maqam Saba (sad) versus maqam Kurd (happy) * 3 different Middle Eastern instruments: Ney, Oud and Qanun * Two pitches: from Re or from Sol The presentation of the audio stimuli clips will be randomized by the SuperLab5 software and EEG brainwaves will be recorded using the Power Lab (AD instrument). Between every audio clip, recording will be paused to ask the subjects to self-report on their emotional and anxiety states using a self-evaluation questionnaire. Subjects will be randomly assigned to morning of afternoon sessions of recording. Using bioinformatic tools, investigators will perform a correlation study between EEG results, emotional self-report from the PANAS-X questionnaire, as well as answers to another questionnaire asking for their age, gender, ethnicity, right or left handedness, musical preferences, and if the subject plays an instrument. The outcomes will have direct applications on the development of personalized Music Therapy in the region for treatment and management of mental health conditions, neurodegenerative diseases and other conditions that are of high prevalence in the region.