Music as a real-time fMRI neurofeedback interface for modulating interhemispheric connectivity: effects on mood and recruitment of the putamen and insula

Music is a universal language that transcends cultures and is deeply rooted in human evolutionary history. Its creation and appreciation recruit the limbic and reward systems, leading to the evocation of emotions ranging from happiness and sadness to tenderness and grief. Here, we investigate the potential of music as an interventional tool in a novel neurofeedback connectivity-based experiment. This study proposes a musical interface for real-time fMRI neurofeedback that is adaptable to diverse experimental paradigms, namely the ones aiming at improving mood and other affective dimensions. Using a previously developed motor imagery connectivity-based approach, we evaluate its feasibility and efficacy by comparing the modulation of bilateral premotor cortex (PMC) activity during functional runs with real versus sham (random) feedback in 22 healthy adults. We also assess its performance against a visual feedback interface. The experiment involves a 50-minute MRI session, including anatomical scans, a PMC functional localizer run, and four neurofeedback runs (two with active feedback and two with sham feedback). Pre- and post-session questionnaires assess the neurobehavioral impact on mood, musical background (as a potential predictor of NF success), and subjective feedback experiences. During neurofeedback, participants perform motor imagery of finger-tapping, with feedback delivered as a dynamic, pre-validated chord progression that evolves or regresses based on the functional connectivity between left and right PMC. We found that our implementation of music-based feedback was successful, with participants managing to modulate their own connectivity using the proposed interface. The modulation performance was similar for active and sham NF runs, possibly due to the power of music to boost neuromodulation, but the network recruitment was stronger for active NF, including in the insula, putamen, and target ROIs. Behaviorally, we found a decrease in tension and an improvement in the overall mood of the participants after the session. When comparing our results to previous NF data with a visual interface, we found stronger brain activations, in particular in NF-relevant regions such as the insula and the putamen. This work shows that it is possible to directly modulate interhemispheric connectivity using a rt-fMRI musical interface with direct effects on mood and recruitment of saliency and learning networks.