Psychophysical Effects of Music in Sport and Exercise

Two Knowbodies Talking

Dr Costas Karageorghis is a reader in sport psychology and Divisional Lead for Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences. From 2009-14, he served as Deputy Head (Research) of the former School of Sport and Education and led preparations for two REF2014 subject submissions (Sports-Related and Education). Costas has established an international reputation for his research into the psychological, psychophysiological and neurophysiological effects of music. He has captured 25 research grants during his academic career.

Marcelo Bigliassi is a PhD student at Brunel University London/United Kingdom. He has concluded a BSc and MSc in physical education at Londrina State University/Brazil, including an Erasmus period in Sports Science at Technical University of Lisbon/Portugal. He has been working with psychophysiology since 2009 by integrating physiological measures to understand psychological phenomena during conditions of exercise. He has published 19 peer-reviewed manuscripts in national and international journals, 32 abstracts and 1 book chapter. His research was acknowledged by magazines and newspapers around the world: Fitness Magazine® (US), Shape Magazine® (US), Galileu and many other Brazilian newspapers. In 2012, Marcelo developed a new application on Facebook for people to use music before, during and after different modes of exercise. The fBeat was developed in partnership with the international companies FILA® and W3Hauss®.

Costas’s music research has been featured in newspapers around the world; most recently in the Times, Independent, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Sydney Morning Herald. In both 2011 and 2016 he was the recipient of the Sportesse Award for Sport and Exercise Sciences at the annual conference of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES). The awards were for new theoretical and mechanistic work in the area of music and physical activity. He is currently working on multi-modal stimulation during physical activity that entails the use of music, video images, virtual reality and visual primes. Such work is oriented towards enhancing people's sensory experiences during physical activity, with a view to increasing exercise adherence and promoting public health.

See more of Costas' biography here: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/people/costas-karageorghis

Show notes

• Home is where the heart is: where the journey of music began
• The history of music research - applying scientific processes to explain the theories of performance enhancement
• Understanding the components of music using the Brunel Music Inventory
• The difference between synchronous and asynchronous music in exercise
• Pre-post performance variables when combining music and activity
• What are the neurophysiological mechanisms of listening to music? Are affects of music more emotionally or physically driven, or both?
• How can music impact the perception of fatigue during activity?
• The supportive role music can play in the public health initiatives to increase physical activity
• The principle of entrainment - musical influences on sympathetic or automatic body and mind processes
• The direct and indirect impacts of music on working muscles
• Is the ergogenic affect of music turning into a debate on mind-body efficiency?
• An explanation for why different people may like or dislike certain songs
• The three attentional styles of people that may determine musical integration with activity
• The great debate: which gender is the better dancer? The evolutionary and sociological theories that may explain why women are more adept to move well with music
• A complete portrayal of Costa’s research can be found in his new book: Applying Music in Exercise and Sport (Human Kinetics, 2017)
• Check out the diverse practices and findings from inside the labs @savibrunel