Inter-subject correlations of EEG reflect subjective arousal and acoustic features of music

BACKGROUND: Research on music-induced emotion and brain activity is constantly expanding. Although studies using inter-subject correlation (ISC), a collectively shared brain activity analysis method, have been conducted, whether ISC during music listening represents the music preferences of a large population remains uncertain; additionally, it remains unclear which factors influence ISC during music listening. Therefore, here, we aimed to investigate whether the ISCs of electroencephalography (EEG) during music listening represent a preference for music reflecting engagement or interest of a large population in music. METHODS: First, we selected 21 pieces of music from the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart of 2017, which served as an indicator of preference reflecting the engagement and interest of a large population. To ensure even representation, we chose one piece for every fifth song on the chart, spanning from highly popular music to less popular ones. Next, we recorded EEG signals while the subjects listened to the selected music, and they were asked to evaluate four aspects (preference, enjoyment, frequency of listening, and arousal) for each song. Subsequently, we conducted ISC analysis by utilizing the first three principal components of EEG, which were highly correlated across subjects and extracted through correlated component analysis (CorrCA). We then explored whether music with high preferences that reflected the engagement and interest of large population had high ISC values. Additionally, we employed cluster analysis on all 21 pieces of music, utilizing the first three principal components of EEG, to investigate the impact of emotions and musical characteristics on EEG ISC during music listening. RESULTS: A significant distinction was noted between the mean ISC values of the 10 higher-ranked pieces of music compared to the 10 lower-ranked pieces of music [t(542) = −1.97, p = 0.0025]. This finding suggests that ISC values may correspond preferences reflecting engagement or interest of a large population. Furthermore, we found that significant variations were observed in the first three principal component values among the three clusters identified through cluster analysis, along with significant differences in arousal levels. Moreover, the characteristics of the music (tonality and tempo) differed among the three clusters. This indicates that the principal components, which exhibit high correlation among subjects and were employed in calculating ISC values, represent both subjects’ arousal levels and specific characteristics of the music. CONCLUSION: Subjects’ arousal values during music listening and music characteristics (tonality and tempo) affect ISC values, which represent the interest of a large population in music.