Effect of Music and Biofeedback on Alpha Brainwave Rhythms and Attentiveness

This study investigated the effect of two music stimuli and silence on alpha rhythm production in the temporal lobes of 30 musicians and 30 nonmusicians. The experiment consisted of a no-feedback and an alpha-feedback presentation.

Analysis of time spent in alpha showed significantly more alpha rhythm content in electroencephalograms of musicians than in electroencephalograms of nonmusicians. Comparisons of results evidenced no significant differences among aural conditions used nor between the no-feedback and alpha-feedback presentation.

Analysis of verbal reports of attentiveness indicated that subjects ascribed a significantly lower attentiveness rating to silence conditions than to either music condition. Correlational analysis between time spent in alpha and verbal reports of attentiveness showed that an extremely low correlation existed between the two dependent measures.