Page 1 of 11 Impulse: The Premier Undergraduate Neuroscience Journal 2013 Music genre preference and tempo alter alpha and beta waves in human non-musicians. Nicole Hurless 1 , Aldijana Mekic 1 , Sebastian Peña 1 , Ethan Humphries 1 , Hunter Gentry 1 , David F. Nichols 1 1 Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia 24153 This study examined the effects of music genre and tempo on brain activation patterns in 10 non- musicians. Two genres (rock and jazz) and three tempos (slowed, medium/normal, and quickened) were examined using EEG recording and analyzed through Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis. When participants listened to their preferred genre, an increase in alpha wave amplitude was observed. Alpha waves were not significantly affected by tempo. Beta wave amplitude increased significantly as the tempo increased. Genre had no effect on beta waves. The findings of this study indicate that genre preference and artificially modified tempo do affect alpha and beta wave activation in non-musicians listening to preselected songs. Abbreviations: BPM – beats per minute; EEG – electroencephalography; FFT – Fast Fourier Transform; ERP – event related potential; N2 – negative peak 200 milliseconds after stimulus; P3 – positive peak 300 milliseconds after stimulus Keywords: brain waves; EEG; FFT. Introduction For many people across cultures, music is a common form of entertainment. Dillman- Carpentier and Potter (2007) suggested that music is an integral form of human communication used to relay emotion, group identity, and even political information. Although the scientific study of music has investigated pitch, harmony, and rhythm, some of the social behavioral factors such as preference have not been given adequate attention (Rentfrow and Gosling, 2003). A sequence of studies by Rentfrow and Gosling (2003) observed individual differences in music preference. This was one of the first studies that developed a theory of music preference that would research basic questions about why people listen to music. Music preference was found to relate to personality and other behavioral characteristics (Rentfrow and Gosling, 2003). Music preference may interact with other facets to produce significant individual differences in response to music (Rentfrow and Gosling, 2003). The behavioral relationship between music preference and other personal characteristics, such as those studied by Rentfrow and Gosling (2003), is evident. However, the neurological bases of preference need to be studied more extensively in order to be understood. To assess neurological differences based on genre and tempo, changes in brain waves while listening to music can be measured via electroencephalogram (EEG) or event-related potential (ERP) (Davidson, 1988). Neurological Measures of ERP and EEG Both EEG and ERP techniques measure electrical current on the scalp that passes through the meninges of the brain and the skull (Frith and Friston, 2013). These electrical readings are very small in comparison to an electrical signal created by somatic neurons, and the greater the number of neurons in the brain that fire at the same time, the stronger the EEG/ERP signal (Frith and Friston, 2013). The