Music Really Is Intoxicating, After All

jamie writes "Our reaction to the music that we love stimulates the flow of dopamine into certain sections of the brain, concludes a new study out of McGill University. The findings 'help to explain why music is of such high value across all human societies,' the scientists note."

Comments

Yup

[Pojut]

And then you have music like like mine (free to listen to/download, btw), which is designed to evoke imagery in people's minds. I created what I "heard" when I "saw" things, either in dreams or when using my imagination, but obviously that may differ from what other people see.

It's really interesting, seeing how radically different two different people's reaction can be to the same sound.

Not suprising

[bigsexyjoe]

Don't get me wrong, it's worth researching, but it is safe to assume that anything you like doing (learning, masturbating, etc.) stimulates the production of dopamine.

One thing I read that was interesting was a Steven Pinker where he said music simulates the effect of motion on your brain. So dissonant music sounds like scary falling. Nice music makes you feel like you are being softly rocked, etc. I don't know how much that idea has been tested.

Re:'music is of such high value'

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, you can quite easily get a nice buzz by consuming a large amount of choline. Chances are you don't have any lecithin sitting around, but eat about 6 whole eggs, and you will probably notice a significant boost in your mood. I've eaten pounds of lecithin (not all at once) over the years.

On a slightly more on topic note, try listening to music a day after using amphetamines. It will feel quite flat and meaningless. No doubt because of a lack of dopamine and/or downregulation of dopamine receptors.

Re:'music is of such high value'

[Beardo the Bearded]

I'll bet all the hot chicks in highschool were just dying to go out with you...

The choir had a gender ratio of 20:1, so I was just fine in HS.