Heartbeat predicts errors in expert pianists

Summary: Changes in heart rate help the brain predict when a musician is about to make an error, researchers discover. Source: Goldsmiths University of London Working with professional pianists and experienced piano students from London conservatoires, Dr Maria Herrojo Ruiz and colleagues found that the brain receives crucial information from the heart before an error in playing occurs. This information helps the brain predict the occurrence of an upcoming error and adapt behaviour accordingly. For pitch errors, the researchers found that the heart’s inter-beat interval immediately preceding an error was larger than the previous inter-beat interval. The researchers also looked at how the heart’s natural beating cycle influences how well the brain responds in predicting and processing errors. The brain was better at predicting errors when the heart was contracting and pumping blood into the arteries (cardiac systole) than when the ventricles were relaxed and filled with blood (cardiac diastole), their study concluded. Detecting errors during any type of performance is necessary to make corrections and improve our performance next time we try it. For the first time, this study shows how, in expert musicians, detection of errors relies on integrating information from our environment (body movements used in performing and the sound they produce on a musical instrument) alongside cues from inside our body, such as heart rate activity. The research suggests that highly skilled musicians might be trained to listen to their whole bodies during performance to minimise or eliminate mistakes. A report of the research was published online in the journal NeuroImage on Tuesday 30 April. Prior research had found that simple mistakes trigger changes in autonomous nervous system activity, such as a slowing of the heartbeat or pupil dilation following errors, but the role of the body’s internal signals in error monitoring during trained movements, […]

Click here to view full article