Information-Based Analysis of the Coupling Between the Alterations of Heart and Brain Activities in Response to Auditory Stimuli

Abstract

In this work, we investigated the coupling among the activities of the brain and heart versus the changes in auditory stimuli using information-based analysis. Three music were selected based on the difference in their complexity. We applied these auditory stimuli on 11 subjects, and accordingly, computed and compared the Shannon entropy of electroencephalography (EEG) signals and heart rate variability (R–R time series). The results demonstrated a correlation among the alterations of the information contents of EEG signals and R–R time series. This finding shows the coupling between the activities of the brain and heart. This analysis could be expanded to analyze the activities of other organs versus the brain’s reaction in various conditions.