Physiological Measures Regress onto Acoustic and Perceptual Features of Soundscapes

2013

There is no exact model for the relationship between the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and evoked or perceived emotion. Music has long been a privileged field for exploration, while the contribution of soundscape research is more recent. It is known that health is influenced by the sonic environment, and the study here presented aimed to investigate the nature and strength of relationships between soundscape features and physiological responses linked to relaxation or stress. In a controlled experiment, seventeen healthy volun-teers moved freely inside a physical installation listening to soundscape recordings of nature, urban parks, eateries, and shops, reproduced using 3D ambisonic techn…