Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.11.08.373217v1?rss=1 Authors: Farrugia, N., Lamouroux, A., Rocher, C., Lioi, G. Abstract: In this paper, we describe the results of a single subject study attempting at a better understanding of the subjective state during musical improvisation. In a first experiment, we setup an ecological paradigm measuring EEG on a musician in free improvised concerts with an audience, followed by retrospective rating of the mental state of the improviser. We introduce Subjective Temporal Resolution (STR), a retrospective rating assessing the instantaneous attention of the musician towards short or long musical events. We identified high and low STR states using Hidden Markov Models in two performances, and were able to decode those states using supervised learning on instantaneous EEG power spectrum, showing increases in theta and alpha power with high STR values. In a second experiment, we found an increase of theta and beta power when experimentally manipulating STR in a musical improvisation imagery experiment. These results are interpreted with respect to previous research on flow state in creativity, as well as with the temporal processing literature. We suggest that a component of the subjective state of musical improvisation may be reflected in an underlying mechanism responsible for modulating subjective temporal processing of musical events. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info