  Song appreciation involves a broad range of mental processes, and different
neural networks may be activated by different song types. The aim of the
present study was to show differential functional connectivity of the
prefrontal cortices while listening to breakup and rebellious songs. Breakup
songs describe romance and longing, whereas rebellious songs convey criticism
of conventional ideas or socio-cultural norms. We hypothesized that the medial
and lateral prefrontal cortices may interact with different brain regions in
response to these two song types. The functional magnetic resonance imaging
data of fifteen participants were collected while they were listening to two
complete breakup songs and two complete rebellious songs currently popular in
Taiwan. The results showed that listening to the breakup songs, compared to the
rebellious songs, enhanced the coupling between the medial prefrontal cortex
and several emotion-related regions, including the thalamus, caudate, amygdala,
hippocampus, and right inferior frontal gyrus. This coupling may reflect the
neural processes of pain empathy, reward processing, compassion, and
reappraisal in response to longing and sorrow expressed by the breakup songs.
Compared to the breakup songs, listening to the rebellious songs was associated
with enhanced coupling between subregions in the prefrontal and orbitofrontal
cortices. These areas might work in concert to support re-evaluation of
conventional ideas or socio-cultural norms as suggested by the rebellious
songs. This study advanced our understanding of the integration of brain
functions while processing complex information.
