BBC News (01/16/25)

As part of a new study into the effects of live music on the human body, concert goers are being wired up with special heart rate monitors to compare reactions between those watching performances live and others watching on a stream in a separate enclosed room. Researchers from the Univeristy of Bristol and Bath, who are part of the MyWorld project, are carrying out the tests at St George's Bristol. Professor Ian Gilchrist comments, "We know that when audience members are immersed or engaged in content, their heart rates become synchronized, which is amazing. So, this means we can use the heart rate as a marker of how engaged audiences are." Gilchrist also says he and his team of scientists want to use this experiment as a way to "amplify locally, regionally but also nationally how important live events are." MyWorld is a U.K. government-funded project based that aims to deliver "science engineering technology to boost the creative industries."

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