Music Perception skills and music reward : a Voxel-Based Morphometry Study of Individual Differences

Abstract

Individual differences in music perception skills and in levels of pleasure induced by music can be easily found in general population. The present study aims at examining whether music perception skills can influence the ability to experience positive emotional responses (i.e., pleasure) to music. We also explored whether these differences are related to differences in gray matter volume in auditory and reward areas. A sample of 125 participants completed the Spanish version of Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (BMRQ) and two online auditory, music perception tests; Jake Mandell Tone Deaf Test (JMTDT) of pitch discrimination and a simplified version of Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA) which is divided into three subtests: Scale (pitch discrimination), Off-beat (detect a delay) and Out-of-key (identify incongruent notes). In addition, voxel-based morphometry was measured in 58 of these participants. Results showed that success rates in JMTDT were positively correlated to BMRQ scores. Moreover, higher pitch discrimination was related to greater volume of gray matter in the left superior temporal gyrus (LSTG), and levels of music reward, measured with the BMRQ, were negatively related to gray matter volume of the bilateral caudate and nucleus accumbens. These results suggest that pitch discrimination skills may influence individual sensitivity to the pleasurable aspects of music listening. On the other hand, using a voxel-based morphometry approached, this study provides evidence about a relationship between pitch discrimination skills and the volume of different brain areas.