Brains "in concert": Frontal oscillatory alpha rhythms and empathy in professional musicians. Babiloni, C., Buffo, P., Vecchio, F., Marzano, N., Del Percio, C., Spada, D., Rossi, S., Bruni, I., Rossini, P. M, & Perani, D. NeuroImage, 60(1):105–116, 2012. Publisher: Elsevier Inc. ISBN: 1095-9572 (Electronic)\r1053-8119 (Linking)
Brains "in concert": Frontal oscillatory alpha rhythms and empathy in professional musicians [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
Playing music in ensemble represents a unique human condition/performance where musicians should rely on empathic relationships. Recent theories attribute to frontal Brodmann areas (BAs) 44/45 and 10/11 a neural basis for "emotional" and "cognitive" empathy. We hypothesized that activity of these structures reflects empathy trait in professional musicians playing in ensemble. Simultaneous electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha rhythms (8-12. Hz) were recorded in three saxophone quartets during music performance in ensemble (EXECUTION), video observation of their own performance (OBSERVATION), a control task (CONTROL), and resting state (RESTING). EEG source estimation was performed. Results showed that the higher the empathy quotient test score, the higher the alpha desynchronization in right BA 44/45 during the OBSERVATION referenced to RESTING condition. Empathy trait score and alpha desynchronization were not correlated in other control areas or in EXECUTION/CONTROL conditions. These results suggest that alpha rhythms in BA 44/45 reflect "emotional" empathy in musicians observing own performance. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.
@article{babiloni_brains_2012,
	title = {Brains "in concert": {Frontal} oscillatory alpha rhythms and empathy in professional musicians},
	volume = {60},
	issn = {10538119},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.12.008},
	doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.12.008},
	abstract = {Playing music in ensemble represents a unique human condition/performance where musicians should rely on empathic relationships. Recent theories attribute to frontal Brodmann areas (BAs) 44/45 and 10/11 a neural basis for "emotional" and "cognitive" empathy. We hypothesized that activity of these structures reflects empathy trait in professional musicians playing in ensemble. Simultaneous electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha rhythms (8-12. Hz) were recorded in three saxophone quartets during music performance in ensemble (EXECUTION), video observation of their own performance (OBSERVATION), a control task (CONTROL), and resting state (RESTING). EEG source estimation was performed. Results showed that the higher the empathy quotient test score, the higher the alpha desynchronization in right BA 44/45 during the OBSERVATION referenced to RESTING condition. Empathy trait score and alpha desynchronization were not correlated in other control areas or in EXECUTION/CONTROL conditions. These results suggest that alpha rhythms in BA 44/45 reflect "emotional" empathy in musicians observing own performance. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.},
	number = {1},
	journal = {NeuroImage},
	author = {Babiloni, Claudio and Buffo, Paola and Vecchio, Fabrizio and Marzano, Nicola and Del Percio, Claudio and Spada, Danilo and Rossi, Simone and Bruni, Ivo and Rossini, Paolo M and Perani, Daniela},
	year = {2012},
	pmid = {22186679},
	note = {Publisher: Elsevier Inc.
ISBN: 1095-9572 (Electronic){\textbackslash}r1053-8119 (Linking)},
	keywords = {Alpha rhythms, Electroencephalography (EEG), Empathy, Expert musicians, Standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic},
	pages = {105--116},
}

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