26isfam116 10.3205/26isfam116 urn:nbn:de:0183-26isfam1164 Meeting Abstract Snell Snell Jason J

New York University

author German Medical Science GMS Publishing House

Düsseldorf

610 20260612 engl This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Dieser Artikel ist ein Open-Access-Artikel und steht unter den Lizenzbedingungen der Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (Namensnennung). M0652 116 International Society for Arts and Medicine The Healing Arts – Forging Alliances of Arts & Medicine Presentation Abstracts Berlin 20260618 20260620 26isfam116 TextBackground: Musical neurofeedback is emerging as a non-pharmacological route to altered states, yet little is known about how instructions, perceived agency, and real-time brain, music mapping shape mystical experience and autonomic regulation.Objectives: To test whether active engagement with an authentic EEG-driven music system yields stronger mystical-type experiences and heart rate variability (HRV) gains than passive ambient listening or frustrated non-responsive “sham” feedback.Methods: Participants completed two 12-minute music sessions on separate days in a quiet ambient NYU “Renewal Room,” with Muse EEG and ear-clip photoplethysmography recording EEG and interbeat intervals before, during, and after listening. Sessions included Authentic neurofeedback and Bogus ambient conditions, later regrouped as Passive (Authentic + Bogus with “relax and listen” framing), Active (Authentic with playful or explicitly mapped brain-music instructions), and Frustration (Bogus audio with active-style instructions but no true feedback). Outcomes included Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ) scores, pre/post HRV (SDNN), and band-limited EEG power.Results: Passive sessions showed mid-range MEQ (mean ≈3.23, n=63) and small HRV increases (~+9%). Active sessions yielded higher MEQ (≈3.90, n=23), larger HRV gains (~+22%), and a “relaxed high-clarity” EEG profile with stable theta, modest alpha increases, and greater beta/gamma rises. Frustration sessions showed intermediate MEQ (≈3.59, n=5) but HRV decreases (~-10%) and more volatile beta/alpha dynamics.Conclusion: Clear instructions, transparent mapping, and genuine controllability appear central to eliciting MEQ-validated mystical states and enhanced autonomic flexibility in musical neurofeedback, positioning these systems as promising, lower-risk complements to psychedelic-assisted and contemplative interventions within arts-in-medicine settings. 0 0 0 0