Listening to your favourite music stimulates the same feelings in the brain as having sex or taking recreational drugs, a new study has revealed.
Researchers at the McGill University in Canada tested 17 participants who listened to music they enjoyed in the laboratory.
They discovered a way of temporarily blocking the natural opiods produced when having a good time.
The researchers then measured participants' responses to music, and found that even the participants' favourite songs no longer elicited feelings of pleasure. These opiods are similar to the ones provoked by sex, gambling or taking drugs, the study claimed.
In their report, the researchers said: ‘We conclude that endogenous opioids are critical to experiencing both positive and negative emotions in music, and that music uses the same reward pathways as food, drug and sexual pleasure. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence for the evolutionary biological substrates of music.’
Dr Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist at McGill University in Canada as well as a musician and record producer, said: ‘The impressions our participants shared with us after the experiment were fascinating. One said: “I know this is my favourite song but it doesn’t feel like it usually does”. Another admitted: “It sounds pretty, but it’s not doing anything for me”.’
The report was published by journal Scientific Reports.
Researchers at the McGill University in Canada tested 17 participants who listened to music they enjoyed in the laboratory.
They discovered a way of temporarily blocking the natural opiods produced when having a good time.
The researchers then measured participants' responses to music, and found that even the participants' favourite songs no longer elicited feelings of pleasure. These opiods are similar to the ones provoked by sex, gambling or taking drugs, the study claimed.
In their report, the researchers said: ‘We conclude that endogenous opioids are critical to experiencing both positive and negative emotions in music, and that music uses the same reward pathways as food, drug and sexual pleasure. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence for the evolutionary biological substrates of music.’
Dr Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist at McGill University in Canada as well as a musician and record producer, said: ‘The impressions our participants shared with us after the experiment were fascinating. One said: “I know this is my favourite song but it doesn’t feel like it usually does”. Another admitted: “It sounds pretty, but it’s not doing anything for me”.’
The report was published by journal Scientific Reports.
