Sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll have more in common that we thought. A new study, published online today (January 9) in Nature Neuroscience,demonstrates for the first time that music causes the release ofdopamine in the brain, just like other pleasurable stimuli, such asfood, drugs, and sex.
Read more: Musical pleasure - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/57915/#ixzz1AfdTnMIK
Even the anticipation of a pleasurable musical crescendo results in therelease of dopamine, the authors report. "This is what music theoristshave been telling us for centuries," said Robert Zatorre,a neuropsychologist at McGill University in Quebec, Canada, and seniorauthor on the study -- that a resolution of dissonance or the crescendoof a song emotionally affects the listener.
To assess the biological mechanism behind a pleasurable musicalexperience, the team conducted PET and fMRI brain scans while measuringthe "chills" -- aka changes in temperature, skin conductance, heartrate and breathing -- that participants felt in response to theirfavorite songs, which ranged from classical to jazz to techno and evenbagpipes. The researchers found that during peak emotional moments,when patients got the "chills," dopamine was released in two areas ofthe brain: First, in the caudate, an important part of the brain'slearning and memory system, during anticipation of a musical peak, thenduring the peak experience, in the nucleus accumbens, a key site ofreward and pleasure pathways.
The results may explain why music is so highly valued in society,said Zatorre, a trained organist who doesn't listen "to anythingcomposed past 1750," he laughs. "Art in general has survived since thedawn of human existence, and is found in all human societies. Theremust be some strong value associated with it," he added. "This study ismaybe one step in the direction of acknowledging that there's a wholelot more out there to understand about what is valuable and rewardingin the human experience."
Try it for yourself: Listen here to some of the most popular songs selected by participants. Which tunes give you a dopamine rush?
Salimpoor, V.N., et al., "Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music," Nat Neuro, doi:10.1038/nn.2726.
Read more: Musical pleasure - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/57915/#ixzz1AfdgzZhA
| 
发表于 2011-1-11 05:38
