If the right song is on the radio, it can put us in a good mood from now on. But why actually? What is known about the neurological basis of this effect? Experiments show that the messenger substance dopamine is primarily responsible for the high feelings. Its release in the brain not only means that listening to music makes us happy. The release of the happiness hormone also causes us to want to do it over and over again.
Hardly any external stimulus can influence our mood as strongly and directly as music: It makes us cry, awakens memories – or causes veritable exhilaration. This effect is so pleasant that we strive for it every day. We turn on the radio when our favorite song is playing, sing in a choir or go to a concert. “Being able to experience joy through complex acoustic or visual stimuli such as music and works of art is one of the most fascinating qualities of human beings,” write Laura Ferreri from the University of Barcelona and her colleagues. But how can this phenomenon be explained? To find out, the scientists examined what happens in the brain when listening to music.
Focus on happiness hormone
She was particularly interested in the role of the neurotransmitter known as the happiness hormone dopamine – a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in our reward system. Is there a direct connection between this substance and the positive feeling that many people associate with music? The researchers tested this with 27 test subjects, to whom they administered the dopamine precursor levodopa, once a placebo and once the dopamine blocker risperidone at least one week apart. The latter blocks the signaling pathways mediated by the happiness hormone in the brain.
After each administration of medication, the actual experiment followed: music was played to the participants. They got to hear their personal favorite songs as well as ten other songs selected by Ferreri’s team. While listening to the music, the test subjects were asked to rate this experience: how good did they feel by listening to the respective songs? Would you be willing to buy the song you heard – and if so, at what price? The scientists also examined the body reactions of the test persons by measuring the skin conductivity. This method can be used to measure emotional arousal, among other things, because positive feelings or stress change the sweat secretion and thus also the conductivity of the skin.
No goose bumps
The results showed that if the effects of dopamine in the brain were blocked by risperidone, the music experience for the participants changed significantly. So they found the music less pleasant and were not motivated to spend a lot of money on the purchase of the pieces they heard. This was also shown by their physical reactions, as Ferreri and her colleagues report. Accordingly, the diminished feeling of happiness, in addition to the changed skin conductivity, can be read from another interesting detail: The music did not give goose bumps to the test subjects – a typical sign not only for cold, but also for positive arousal.
The situation was completely different when Levodopa was given. If the availability of dopamine was artificially increased by this means, the music had an even stronger effect than usual. The subjects felt more elation and generously spent money. “So you were motivated to listen to the music again,” the team wrote. Her body reactions also revealed that the music touched her. “This enabled us to demonstrate a direct connection between dopamine, the joy and motivation triggered by music,” the researchers state. “Enjoying a piece of music, wanting to hear it again and being willing to spend money on it – all of this has to do with the release of dopamine,” concludes co-author Antoni RodrÃguez Fornells.
Source: Laura Ferreri (University of Barcelona) et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi: 10.1073 / pnas.1811878116