Enjoyment and Zone 2 - The Neuroaffective Basis of Performance in Unity - Decolonial Neuroscience SfN 2025 Brain Bee Ideas

PhD in Piano Performance

First-Person Consciousness

"I am consciousness in presence. When I play, I am not just technique or intention—I am a body that breathes, listens, and attunes to the moment. I don’t seek perfection but unity: that place where my gestures dissolve into sound, where tension softens, and music flows through me. Where I forget myself is where I belong."

Introduction: Evidence-Based Science and Enjoyment

High-level musical performance can no longer be explained solely through repetition or technical skill. Scientific evidence—from EEG and fNIRS—reveals that interpretive success depends on physiological states of emotional safety and neuroaffective balance.

EEG (Electroencephalography)

EEG tracks dynamic brain microstates that reflect the dissolution of the tensional self during flow states. Alpha and theta waves, especially in the prefrontal cortex, indicate emotional regulation and creative relaxation—physiological markers of enjoyment.

fNIRS (Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy)

fNIRS measures cerebral oxygenation in real time. Stable levels in the dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortex indicate sustained attention and shared awareness. The ideal performance state occurs when prefrontal SpO₂ levels remain between 92–94%, known in our framework as Zone 2.

What Is Zone 2?

Zone 2 is a physiological-emotional state of balance between effort and ease. In this state:

• Interoception (internal sensations) and proprioception (body position) are aligned for flow, not fight-or-flight;
  
  

• The mTOR pathway (linked to metabolic stress) is deactivated, enabling neuroplasticity and executive focus;
  
  

• The body doesn’t prepare for defense—it prepares to belong and to resonate.
  
  

In piano practice, entering Zone 2 means tuning into the act of listening, becoming fully embodied in the musical moment.

Enjoyment: Knowledge That Lives in the Body

Enjoyment is not mere pleasure. It is an active state of affective metacognition where the performer:

• Is aware of themselves without being distracted by ego;
  
  

• Experiences sound as environment, not as task;
  
  

• Generates meaning through listening, not control.
  
  

This state arises when there is psychological and physiological safety—when the body feels at home, not under threat.

Decolonial Vision: The Body Does Not Serve—It Knows

Western traditions often reduced the body to a servant of the mind. In a decolonial perspective, the body is knowledge. Amerindian epistemologies teach us that:

• The body thinks through movement;
  
  

• Musical performance is relational and spiritual;
  
  

• Enjoyment is embodied cognition, not an exception.
  
  

In Zone 2, the body becomes living intelligence. The performer enters DANA—a spirituality encoded in DNA that guides life beyond ideology or control.

Conclusion: Measuring to Acknowledge, Not to Dominate

Using EEG, fNIRS, SpO₂, or HRV doesn’t mean reducing the performer to data. It means acknowledging what the body already knows. Evidence-based science can help us validate, protect, and cultivate these states of enjoyment and unity.

References (no links)

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• Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and Cognitive Monitoring.
  
  

• Concina, E. (2019). The Role of Metacognitive Skills in Music Learning and Performing.
  
  

• Power, A., & Powell, S. (2018). Understanding the Experience of Group Music-Making.
  
  

• Schiavio, A., & Høffding, S. (2015). A Pre-Reflective and Enactive Account of Joint Musical Performance.
  
  

• Rosa, R., Spahn, C., & Altenmüller, E. (2020). How Do Musicians Experience Flow?
  
  

• Ferronato, S. B., & Araújo, S. (2021). Fronteiras Entre Corpo e Pensamento.
  
  

• Pereira Jr., A. (2007–2023). Theory of Triple-Aspect Monism.
  
  

• Damasio, A. (1999). The Feeling of What Happens.
  
  

• Graeber, D., & Wengrow, D. (2021). The Dawn of Everything.
  
  

• Berntson, G. G., & Khalsa, S. S. (2021). Neural Circuits of Interoception.
  
  

• Cionek, J. Original concepts: Zone 2, Enjoyment, DANA, Apus, Human Quorum Sensing (HQS), Tensional Selves, Damasian Mind.