Music comes with so many benefits. Listening to songs uplifts mood and brings joy. But there’s also more to this than meets the eye.
Songs that you can grove to are actually beneficial. Researchers found that dancing to musical rhythms is more than just a common hobby. In fact, researchers from Japan have found that musical beats make you feel good as well as enhance brain function. So, it may be time to put on those ear pieces and dance the day away.
A study was recently conducted and the findings were published in Scientific Reports. The researchers from the University of Tsukuba found how music you can groove to is able to increase measures of executive function in the brain. This was found in an associated brain activity observed in those who were asked to dance along with the beat.
It has to be music that elicits the sensation of groove. Simply put, groove is “a rhythm that induces the sensation of “wanting to move to the music.” This is able to bring out pleasure as it enhances behavioral arousal levels.
It’s been known that exercise also gives the same benefits. It also has the ability to improve executive function. The same can be achieved by listening to groove music. Until now, no studies have examined this and looked into the effect of this type of music on executive function or brain activity in the affected regions. An example would be the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (l-DLPFC). In this study, the researchers made it a point to measure it.
“Groove rhythms elicit groove sensations and positive affective responses, but whether they influence executive function was unknown,” stated lead author of the peer-reviewed study Professor Hideaki Soya. “Accordingly, in the present study, we conducted brain imaging to evaluate corresponding changes in executive function, and measured individual psychological responses to groove music.”
In order to find the connection between grooving and brain function, the team conducted functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) with a color-word matching task. Their goal was to study inhibitory executive function before and after the participants listen to music. They also had a survey done and these asked about each participant’s subjective experience when they listened to groove music.
“The results were surprising,” said Professor Soya. “We found that groove rhythm enhanced executive function and activity in the l-DLPFC only in participants who reported that the music elicited a strong groove sensation and the sensation of being clear-headed.”
They believe that the psychological responses to listening to groove music could be a predictor to the changes in executive function and l-DLPFC activity.
“Our findings indicate that individual differences in psychological responses to groove music modulate the corresponding effects on executive function. As such, the effects of groove rhythm on human cognitive performance may be influenced by familiarity or beat processing ability,” explained Professor Soya.
There are several strategies to use when it comes to enhancing executive function. These also have several potential applications, from preventing dementia in for the older population to helping employees improve their performance at work.
Groove music also comes with a myriad of positive effects when it comes to executive function. Some of which may include the effects of positive emotions and of rhythmic synchronization.
Basically, dancing, or any other form of exercise or movement, can be made even better when accompanied with groove music.
Recommended For You
