Behavioral outcomes from live listening experiences and ongoing neurophysiological analysis
- Research Leadership and Scientific Team
- Scope of the Preliminary Analysis
- Behavioral Outcomes from Questionnaire Data
- Interpretation, Limits and Scientific Caution
- Ongoing EEG Analysis and Next Research Phase
Preliminary Findings and Observed Effects of the 40Hz Project
Behavioral outcomes from live listening experiences and ongoing neurophysiological analysis
The first phase of the 40Hz project generated a substantial body of preliminary data aimed at understanding how structured musical experiences integrating low and sub-frequencies may influence perception, emotional states and physiological self-reports.
This article presents the initial behavioral findings collected during the 2025 public performances, while clearly outlining the limits of the current dataset and the next steps of the research.
Research Leadership and Scientific Team
The scientific direction of the 40Hz project is led by Sasha D’Ambrosio, neuroscientist and head of the research framework.
The design and interpretation of the behavioral data presented here were developed by Thiago Leiros Costa, neuroscientist and psychologist, who acts as a key bridge between artistic practice and scientific methodology and is the author of the preliminary behavioral report.
Active contributions to EEG data acquisition and early-stage signal inspection were carried out by Simone Frettoli and William Giroldini, who are currently involved in the preprocessing and analysis of the neurophysiological recordings.
Scope of the Preliminary Analysis
The results discussed in this article are based on questionnaire data collected before and after five live performances, each presented twice, and analyzed both collectively and by artist.
The analysis focuses on self-reported emotional and bodily states measured through standardized tools, including PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) and a set of general psychophysical questions.
As clearly stated in the original report, this phase was not designed to establish causal effects of 40Hz stimulation, due to the absence of a control condition and systematic manipulation of the 40Hz variable.
Instead, this phase serves to evaluate the feasibility, stability and sensitivity of the research design in real listening environments.
Behavioral Outcomes from Questionnaire Data
Across all concerts, the analysis revealed consistent and statistically significant reductions in negative affect, as measured by PANAS (p < 0.01), while no significant changes were observed in positive affect.
These results were coherent across different artists and performances, suggesting a stable general trend rather than isolated effects.
In parallel, the general psychophysical questions showed significant improvements in:
• perceived muscular tension
• mood state
• breathing stability
• reduction of negative or intrusive thoughts
Importantly, these effects did not differ significantly between artists, despite substantial differences in compositional strategies, sonic materials and degrees of sub-frequency integration.
No significant effects were observed on mind-wandering related measures, indicating that the listening experiences did not systematically alter attentional drifting within the parameters tested.
Interpretation, Limits and Scientific Caution
These results indicate that participation in the 40Hz concerts was associated with a measurable improvement in several self-reported psychophysical states.
However, the data do not allow attribution of these effects specifically to the presence of 40Hz or sub-frequencies, as no control condition was implemented.
From a scientific perspective, this limitation is critical and explicitly acknowledged by the research team.
At the same time, the consistency of the observed effects across highly diverse performances is considered a positive outcome, as it suggests that the research design is capable of detecting stable patterns in ecological, real-world listening contexts.
This phase therefore validates the methodological viability of studying music-based interventions in live environments, while clearly defining the need for more controlled experimental conditions.
Ongoing EEG Analysis and Next Research Phase
In parallel with the behavioral data, EEG recordings were collected during the performances.
The analysis of these neurophysiological data is currently ongoing and involves preprocessing, artifact removal and preliminary inspection of spectral and temporal features.
These results are not included in the present article and will be published in a dedicated report and scientific paper scheduled for January 2026, once the full dataset has been analyzed and validated.
The integration of behavioral, compositional and EEG data represents the core objective of the second phase of the 40Hz project, which will introduce controlled conditions, refined protocols and expanded statistical power to move from observation toward causal investigation.
Lascia un commento