Sound box created to later be used with EEG Studies and possibly midi data
As of right now this is only functional using MacOS
PHYS Independent Study
The Physics approach to a new Musical Cosmology
By Joshua McMahon
ABSTRACT Sonic stimuli has been observed to impact intrapersonal behaviors and interpersonal interactions for millenia. This experiment aims to surface variances in both the responses such stimuli elicit, and the features of the stimuli (tempo, timbre, progression frequency distributions, duration, volume, etc.) in order to design a spectrum from which the sonic stimuli themselves can be optimized to yield desired responses and correlated with more specific emotions and states of being. Recorded reactive response to sound stimuli is correlated to physical experience and the subjective interpretation of sensation .
INTRODUCTION
Is it possible to create music that accelerates learning in children? Is it possible to create moving soundtracks to ensure the emotional safety of astronauts during space exploration and the inevitable martian colonization? Is it possible to scientifically document the harmful effects of certain language patterns on human psychology? Is it possible to bring about new cures or treatments of neurological disease by using sound therapy?
Music , its taste, purpose, and creation for a long time has been something widely regarded as having purely subjective qualities. Sound itself however is a mechanical phenomena with definite physical characteristics. Psychophysics is the intersection of physics and psychology, being that it quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they produce. Psychophysics is more completely described as "the analysis of perceptual processes by studying the effect on a subject's experience or behaviour of systematically varying the properties of a stimulus along one or more physical dimensions". Psychoacoustics, which this experiment focuses on, is a branch of psychophysics that involves the study of audiology and sound perception. The discipline itself is a little more psychology based, this experiment however focuses on the objective Electroencephalography data from subjects. It is my understanding that to even begin to try and answer some of the above listed questions is the beginning of a massive endeavor to which no human alone would be able to make sense of the data. My goal is to form the framework to a solid beginning by which a database of neurological responses is created so that with the help of machine learning and other AI assisted efforts, researchers will be able to make new strides into the understanding of how the very structure of sound might elicit a specific cognitive response. In a more practical observation when we consider systems, we recognize that each input will have or in some way alter the output. It is my belief that through a multitude of complex cognitive associations human hearing is directly and yet subtly transformed into altered perspective and behavior. My goal is to begin the path to quantifying these things outside of cognitive bias whether that be individual psychologies or the permutations of social and cultural norms. Multiple subjects will be sampled mapping and grading their response from the most elementary parts of music theory to complex sound. Purpose The purpose of this research is to create a database for the cognitive reaction to acoustic stimuli. In this experiment we employ electroencephalography to examine the electrical activity of the human brain. This project does not seek to examine every integer valued frequency but rather utilizes music theory to provide a logical structure to follow. We begin with elementary music theory with notes played in pure tones, and through stages the experimentation will complexify, moving to intervals, chords, progressions, and so forth. Because of the sheer volume of data collected the expectation is that a machine learning AI will be necessary in identifying certain trends.
Our Research Questions SOCIOLOGICAL QUESTIONS Is it possible to treat or cure neurodegenerative diseases using sound therapy? Is it possible to ensure the emotional safety of astronauts for long range travel? Is it possible to accelerate learning in children in the school environment? Is it possible to speed up or deliver faithfully the incarceration-rehabilitation process?
RESEARCH QUESTIONS How does the structure of sound illicit a specific cognitive response? Is it possible to create a method for quantification of acoustic effect? Is it possible to create consistent standardized responses to acoustic stimuli? What can be accomplished with the research? METHOD OF APPROACH The Body, as a complex system of transduction. Transduction is defined to be the process of converting one form of energy to another. Energy is a quantitative property that must be transferred to an object, state, or phase into another. The law of conservation says that the total amount of energy in a system can not be created or destroyed. Energy may change from one state to another. When we hear sound, sound waves are focused through the outer ear, then modulated by the middle ear, and are funneled into the vestibulocochlear nerve in the inner ear. Hollow channels in the inner ear are filled with liquid and contain a special tissue studded with microscopic hairs that project out into the fluid.These hairs are mechanoreceptors that release a chemical neurotransmitter when stimulated. Sound waves moving through fluid flows against the receptor cells of the organ of Corti. This organ transduces auditory signals and minimises the hair cells’ extraction of sound energy. With a resulting chemical catalyst the cell depolarises, and creates an action potential which sends information to the temporal lobe of the brain. Inside the temporal lobe is the auditory cortex that performs basic and higher functions for processing auditory information.The primary auditory cortex is the first region of the cerebral cortex to receive auditory input. From a study, “the neurons of the primary auditory cortex can be considered to have receptive fields covering a range of auditory frequencies and have selective responses to harmonic pitches.”I’m hoping that later this may be the basis for electro-topographical grading for the neural activity of the brain and how perceptions of sound are formed. The neuron, an electrically excitable cell, sends information via specialized connections called synapses with a signaling process that is part chemical and part electric. Due to variations of voltage gradients across their membranes. We are able to conduct electrophysiological monitoring to record electrical activity of the brain and measure voltage fluctuations resulting from the currents traveling down ion channels within the system of neurons.
Music Theory, as the lens to a vast ephemeral- physical universe. Each music note has distinct physical features. The pitch of a note that we experience is caused by the frequency of the wavelength sound. Music as we experience it, is an amalgamation of sounds, that when they collide take on and express different features. These infinitely varying features cause us to form and feel a multitude of sensations, emotion, thought, aspiration, inspiration, doom, relief, and resolve and countless others to name. While there are many qualities to sound, this experiment is only examining the effect of pitch and the harmonies or dissonances of its combinations. The scope of the experiment is quite large data wise and will require a significant time resource on the part of the research team and the trial participants. The aspiration of this study is to go into the depths of music and push its understanding further than has been previously considered.
Figure 1. Illustration of Evolving Musical Complexity When we begin to think about recording this information, we see just how massive the endeavor is once confronted with what seems like an infiniteness to its expression. If we were to examine the theoretical limit to the number of samples we would take in Phase III of the project then we see the number of possible chord combinations and that some trimming is necessary.
Figure 2. Theoretical Number of Chords by Complexity
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
The listener will be presented with auditory stimuli for a period of time dictated by a programmed sequence. The initial experimental range will begin with notes C3 and end with note C6 using a single oscillator. This is to measure the brain’s response to pure tones along the predefined structure of music theory. In the next phase the signal's complexity is evolved with the introduction of the interval(2 frequencies) through a series of tests. The next level of complexification will be the exploration of chords.
A headset is placed on a research volunteer. A random selection of both men and women will be necessary. There is a pre experiment survey for demographic data and trial assessment for subjective data. The objective quantitative data is provided by predetermined input signals and the neurophysiological response.
Figure 3. Experimental Model
In the initial pure tone experimentation, notes along the chromatic scale are tested All 12 notes in multiple octaves are expressed in all waveshapes. In the secondary interval tone experimentation. Notes are tested following the chromatic scale. All 12 notes in fewer octaves and intervals of interest are expressed in all wave shapes.On greater complexity of the chords to be examined in later tests, select octaves and select chord types will be examined only using the sine waveshape.
Figure 4. Sequence selection illustration
Figure 5. Data collection sequence flowchart
A sequence is selected using the developed software. Once the sequence is activated it will record the eeg data and, with later revisions, mark any evoked potentials (EP) or event-related potentials (ERP).
WORK PLAN
PHASE I(complete) Researching Articles EEG Headset Purchased Learn to Code(Python) Form the experimental steps Build a sound synthesis gui
PHASE II Study BCIs, Emotiv API's Attach a data collection mechanism to sound synthesis triggers Determine survey questions for subjective responses
PHASE III Data collection, testing on small sample Data analysis and write-ups Vectorize responses using NLP and ML
PHASE IV Experimentation with larger sample Continue writing thesis and revise when necessary Submit draft to committee for review
PROGRESS
A framework has been designed as to how a custom built sequence will run. So far several widget have been created to test certain functionalities and designs for smaller scoped tests. While these widgets are employed to test the feasibility of certain methods, they are designed to aid in the development of a matrix building device that can store, classify, and tag information gain on every eeg scan.
Figure 6. Snapshot of current progress.
A second feature will need to be created in order to analyze the newly developed matrix of EEG data.
REFERENCES
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