Binaural and/or stereo self-listening as a tool for musical performance simulation

Evaluating immersion and neural responses

Resumen

This exploratory study investigated the effects of binaural and stereo self-listening on musicians’ neural responses during the mental simulation of their own musical performances. Six musicians participated in two EEG-monitored sessions in which they listened to binaural and stereo recordings of their performances in a counterbalanced order. Our hypothesis was that binaural recordings, by preserving head-related transfer functions, would elicit stronger neural activation related to spatial perception, emotional engagement, and motor simulation compared to stereo recordings. The study examined differences in brain activity related to sensory, motor, and emotional processing between the two conditions. The results indicated that binaural self-listening induced broader cortical activation patterns aligned with sensorimotor and emotional processes, while stereo recordings were associated with greater frontal activation linked to cognitive effort and attentional control. These findings suggest that binaural self-listening enhances mental performance simulation and may offer a promising tool for therapeutic interventions targeting music performance anxiety in contexts where physical practice is not feasible. Future research should employ larger samples and inferential analyses to strengthen these initial findings.