Ayyildiz Ceren, Milne Andrew J, Irish Muireann, Herff Steffen A
Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 22;15(1):30967. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-12604-4.
Music can shape the vividness, sentiment, and content of directed mental imagery. Yet, the role of specific musical features in these effects remains elusive. One important aspect of human musical performances is the presence of micro-variations-small deviations in timbre, pitch, and timing, driven by motor and attentional processes. These variations enhance perceived "naturalness" compared to mechanical playing without such variations. Here, we investigated whether random micro-variation, as opposed to mechanical playing, affects mental imagery characteristics. One hundred participants performed a directed mental imagery task where they imagined a journey, accompanied either by drumming with micro-variation, drumming without micro-variation, or silence. Participants rated the vividness, distance and time travelled of their imagined content, alongside free-format content responses. Bayesian multilevel regression model showed that repetitive quasi-isochronous drumming enhanced mental imagery vividness, with a stronger effect observed when the drumming contained random micro-variation. Drumming with random micro-variation also increased imagined distance and time travelled compared with silence. Furthermore, individual traits in absorption, ability to imagine vividly, and level of musical training interacted with auditory conditions to further shape mental imagery characteristics. The findings have implications for the use of music to support imagery in creative, recreational, and therapeutic settings.
音乐可以塑造定向心理意象的生动性、情感和内容。然而，特定音乐特征在这些效果中的作用仍然难以捉摸。人类音乐表演的一个重要方面是存在微观变化——由运动和注意力过程驱动的音色、音高和节奏方面的微小偏差。与没有这种变化的机械演奏相比，这些变化增强了感知到的“自然度”。在这里，我们研究了与机械演奏相对的随机微观变化是否会影响心理意象特征。100名参与者执行了一项定向心理意象任务，他们想象一次旅程，同时伴有有微观变化的击鼓、没有微观变化的击鼓或安静环境。参与者对他们想象内容的生动性、距离和旅行时间进行评分，同时给出自由格式的内容回答。贝叶斯多级回归模型表明，重复性的准等时击鼓增强了心理意象的生动性，当击鼓包含随机微观变化时，效果更强。与安静环境相比，有随机微观变化的击鼓还增加了想象的距离和旅行时间。此外，注意力集中程度、生动想象能力和音乐训练水平等个体特征与听觉条件相互作用，进一步塑造了心理意象特征。这些发现对于在创意、娱乐和治疗环境中使用音乐来支持意象具有启示意义。
