EEG Differences Between Music Imagery and Music Perception

This study examines the differences of EEG signals between music perception and music imagery. The subjects were asked to listen to a musical piece they knew by heart, to imagine listening to the piece and to mentally count backwards. The presences of different frequencies during the 3 conditions were determined and the strongest effects are presented in this paper. The frontal part of the scalp showed an increase in gamma-band activity during the musical conditions, but also during the counting condition. It seems that music listening or imagination has the effect of more gamma-band activity in the frontal cortex. Furthermore performing mental tasks has the effects of more gamma-band activity in this same region.