State-dependent auditory-reward network connectivity predicts degree of pleasure to music

Abstract

Abstract Music can evoke pleasurable and rewarding experiences. Past studies that examined task-related brain activity revealed individual differences in musical reward sensitivity traits, and linked them to interactions between the auditory and reward systems. However, state-dependent fluctuations in spontaneous neural activity in relation to music-driven rewarding experiences have not been studied. Here, we used functional MRI (N=49) to examine whether the coupling of auditory-reward networks during a silent period immediately before music listening can predict the degree of musical rewarding experience. We used machine learning models and showed that the functional connectivity between auditory and reward networks, but not others, could robustly predict subjective, physiological, and neurobiological aspects of the strong musical reward of chills. Specifically, the right auditory cortex-striatum/orbitofrontal connections were related to neural positive arousal responses, whereas the auditory-amygdala connection was associated with physiological arousal. Moreover, the predictive model of auditory-reward network derived from one sample of individuals replicated in an independent dataset using different music samples. The current study reveals the role of pre-task brain state in efficiently connecting sensory and reward systems leading to an intensely rewarding experience.