Neuropsychological Trends – 2/2007 http://www.ledonline.it/neuropsychologicaltrends/ 75 Electrocortical (EEG) correlates of music and states of consciousness Lazar Skaric 1 - Milorad Tomasevic 2 - Dejan Rakovic 1, 3 Emil Jovanov 6, 4 - Vlada Radivojevic 5 - Predrag Sukovic 1 Marko Car 5 - Dejan Radenovic 1 1 Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Belgrade, Yugoslavia 2 Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Belgrade, Yugoslavia 3 ECPD of the United Nations University for Peace, Belgrade, Yugoslavia 4 Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept. The University of Alabama in Huntsville 5 Institute for Mental Health, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Belgrade, Yugoslavia 6 Institute for Biological Research, Center for Multidisciplinary Studies, Belgrade, Yugoslavia jovanov@ieee.org ABSTRACT The study of the perception of music is a paramount example of multidisciplinary re- search. In spite of a lot of theoretical and experimental efforts to understand musi- cal processing, attempts to localize musical abilities in particular brain regions were largely unsuccessful, save for the difference between musicians and non musicians, es- pecially in hemispheric specialization and in EEG correlational dimensions. Having in mind that human emotional response to music and to art in general is limbic de- pendent, this motivated us to address our question to a similar possible neurobiologi- cal origin of musicogenic altered states of consciousness and its possible EEG correlates, “resonantly” induced by deep spiritual music. For example, as in sound-induced al- tered states of consciousness cultivated in some Eastern yogic practices. The musicogen- ic states of consciousness are evaluated within a group of 6 adults, upon the influence of 4 types of spiritual music. The most prominent changes in theta or alpha frequen- cy bands were induced in two subjects, upon the influence of Indian spiritual music, Bhajan. Keywords: Music Perception; States of Consciousness; EEG ?