For professional musicians, the ability to regulate emotional states is far more than a matter of personal wellbeing; it is a critical element that shapes the quality and consistency of their performances. This connection between emotion and artistry has intrigued researchers for decades, yet many questions remain about the underlying physiological mechanisms by which emotional states influence musicians’ technical and expressive capacities on stage. In a groundbreaking study led by cognitive neuroscientist and saxophonist Aiko Watanabe at Keio University, Japan, new light has been shed on how recalling positive memories can modulate autonomic nervous system activity and, in turn, enhance musical performance.
At the heart of this research lies the autonomic nervous system (ANS), the involuntary control center of body functions such as heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure. Within the ANS, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) acts as the body’s rapid response system, governing our “fight or flight” reactions when faced with stress or challenge. While excessive SNS activation is often connected to anxiety or performance hindrances, emerging evidence suggests that a calibrated elevation of SNS activity may actually be beneficial for musicians tasked with delivering emotionally resonant and technically complex performances under pressure.
Previous investigations have hinted at the role of positive emotional states in modulating SNS activation, indicating that a musician’s psychological frame can impact physiological arousal and thus influence performance quality. However, the precise pathways and mechanisms by which these emotional recollections translate into physiological changes and performance outcomes remained unclear. The current study sought to fill this gap with an innovative approach, combining cognitive neuroscience with live performance assessments among wind instrument specialists.
Involving thirty-six professional classical wind musicians — spanning instruments such as flute, horn, and trombone — the research implemented a controlled experimental design wherein participants were prompted to recollect either a positive autobiographical memory, a negative one, or no memory at all immediately before performing a standardized musical piece. During the memory recall phase, participants’ cardiac activity was continuously monitored through electrocardiography (ECG) to capture subtle fluctuations in autonomic regulation.
The study’s central physiological measure was the ratio of SD2 to SD1, derived from heart rate variability metrics, widely regarded as a marker for SNS activation. Interestingly, those musicians who engaged in recalling positive memories exhibited a marked elevation in this ratio compared to peers in the other groups, revealing enhanced sympathetic nervous system activity against a backdrop of positive emotional valence. These findings aligned with subjective reports where performers rated their emotional valence, arousal, and performance achievement significantly higher under positive memory recollection conditions.
Importantly, this research challenges the prevailing notion that physiological arousal is globally detrimental to performance. Instead, it underscores a nuanced interpretation: it is the subjective perception and cognitive evaluation of bodily arousal — in this case, reinterpreted through the lens of positive emotional memories — that governs whether heightened autonomic activity becomes facilitative or obstructive. As Associate Professor Shinya Fujii, the study’s lead investigator, remarks, the “positive framing” of bodily states enables musicians to harness physiological arousal as a motivational and expressive resource, rather than succumb to anxiety.
These insights hold profound implications for performance psychology and the pedagogy of musical training. By incorporating strategies that encourage deliberate recollection of positive experiences, musicians might learn to reframe the somatic sensations associated with SNS activation from negative manifestations of anxiety to energizing signals of readiness and focus. This cognitive-emotional reframing could empower performers to step onto demanding stages with renewed confidence and expressiveness, transforming physiological stress responses into creative fuel.
Beyond the realm of music performance, the findings suggest transferable applications in other high-pressure domains where optimal performance hinges on emotion regulation—such as athletics, public speaking, and theater arts. Leveraging the ability to recall positive autobiographical episodes as a mental rehearsal tool could represent a low-cost, accessible intervention with wide-ranging benefits for professionals who regularly engage in stress-laden tasks.
From a neuroscientific perspective, the study aligns with the conceptual framework that emotional memory retrieval involves widespread neural networks linking limbic structures with autonomic control centers, thus modulating both subjective experience and bodily physiology. The confluence of memory, emotion, and autonomic function invites further exploration into how these dynamic systems interact during creative and complex motor tasks like musical performance.
The integration of quantitative biometric measurement with subjective evaluation forms another strength of the study’s methodological approach. By triangulating participants’ physiological data with self-assessments and peer evaluations of performance, the research paints a holistic picture of how cognition, emotion, and physiology coalesce to influence artistic outcomes. This multi-layered analytic framework exemplifies the cutting edge of performance neuroscience research.
While the study sheds light on the positive modulatory effects of sympathetic activation induced by emotional memory recall, it also opens avenues for deeper investigation into how different types of emotional states might differentially influence the autonomic response spectrum. For instance, exploring the role of neutral or negatively valenced memories on autonomic balance and performance could reveal further intricacies in emotion-performance interactions.
As music education increasingly embraces scientific insights to enhance practice and performance, findings such as these promote the adoption of interdisciplinary approaches that blend psychological techniques with physiological monitoring. This can facilitate personalized training regimes, tailored to help individual musicians optimize their emotional and physiological states prior to and during live performances.
Ultimately, the work spearheaded by Watanabe, Fujii, and their colleagues underscores the profound power of the mind-body connection in artistic expression. By harnessing the evocative force of positive emotional memories to reshape autonomic arousal, musicians gain a tangible tool for transcending stress and unlocking deeper levels of technical mastery and emotional communication on stage. This research paves the way not only for enhanced musical performances but also for a broader recognition of the role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies as essential components of optimal human performance.
Subject of Research: People
Article Title: Enhanced subjective performance achievement in wind instrument playing through positive memory recall: effects of sympathetic activation and emotional valence
News Publication Date: 3-Sep-2025
References:
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1544069
Image Credits: Credit: Shinya Fujii from Keio University
Keywords: Psychological science, Neuroscience, Music, Memory, Mental health, Stress responses, Emotions, Anxiety, Stress management, Cognition
