If listening to your favorite song feels as satisfying as a good meal or a romp in the hay, that’s because it probably is.
From the May 2011 issue; published online June 28, 2011
According to a study published in January by neuroscientist Valorie Salimpoor at the Montreal Neurological Institute, music can activate the same reward circuits in the brain as food and sex.
Participants listened to their songs of choice in a PET scanner, which detects the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine, and again in an fMRI scanner, which measures brain activity. The scans showed that just before feeling enjoyable chills in response to the music, listeners experienced a dopamine rush near the frontal striatum, a brain region associated with anticipating rewards, followed by a flood of dopamine in the rear striatum, the brain’s pleasure center. “It’s like you’re craving the next note,” Salimpoor says. That cycle of craving and fulfillment may be what keeps music lovers coming back for more.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.............................................
