Schedule of Events | Symposia

Age-dependent predictors of musical reward sensitivity in brain structures

Poster Session D - Monday, March 31, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Jinyu Wang¹ (jinyu.wang.csu@gmail.com), Benjamin Kubit¹, Nicholas Kathios¹, Edward Large², Psyche Loui¹; ¹Northeastern University, ²University of Connecticut

The neural mechanisms of individual differences in musical reward have gained increasing attention in recent years. Previous studies examined the link between musical reward sensitivity and white matter structural connectivity as well as functional activation and connectivity in auditory and reward area. However, the relationship between brain morphometry and individual differences in musical reward sensitivity is less investigated. Here we explored this relationship with brain anatomical and survey data from 161 young and older adults. Individual difference in musical reward sensitivity was measured by Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (BMRQ). We extracted cortical thickness and subcortical volumes from FreeSurfer segmentation and parcellation as features to predict musical reward sensitivity, using Random Forest algorithm with 5-fold cross-validation. Musical reward sensitivity was significantly higher in young adults than in older adults group, t(159)=4.04, p<.001. Feature importance analysis identified brain structures metrics predictive of musical reward sensitivity: in young adults, musical reward sensitivity was best predicted by volume of putamen, and thickness of inferior temporal cortex, parahippocampal cortex, postcentral cortex, and rostral anterior cingulate, primarily associated with reward and sensory processing. In older adults, musical reward sensitivity was best predicted by thickness of frontal pole, parahippocampal cortex, and entorhinal cortex, and volume of putamen and brainstem, more associated with memory processes. These results implicate age-specific pathways for experiencing reward from music: while young adults may engage more with music though reward and sensory areas, older adults may engage with musical reward though memory-associated areas, where music evokes past experiences and emotional responses.

Topic Area: EMOTION & SOCIAL: Development & aging