jismart2024001: Study on the effects of different sounds on brain dynamic activity

Abstract

The relationship between sound comfort and psychophysiological health is complex. This study aims to explore the effects of various sound pressure levels (SPLs) on psychological and physiological responses, utilizing dynamic features of brain activity to evaluate sound comfort. Two sound types (traffic noise and spring water sound) and five SPLs (40dB, 45dB, 50dB, 55dB, and 60dB) were tested, with no sound serving as the control condition. The psychological responses and electroencephalogram (EEG) of 38 young college students were collected. The results indicate that compared to no sound, spring water sound significantly enhances sound perception, with sound comfort votes (SCV) and sound pleasure votes (SPV) increasing by 0.10-0.95 and 0.05-1.10, respectively. Brain oscillatory activity showed that α power, associated with relaxation, initially increased and then decreased with increasing SPLs of spring water sound. At 50dB spring water sound, α power linked to comfort, peaked at 2.10μv². Conversely, the α power for traffic noise diminished with increasing SPLs. This study provides a methodology for evaluating psychophysiological sound comfort and enhances understanding of how brain activity changes under sound exposure can improve the indoor acoustic environment.