When a powerful chorus or instrumental breaks sends tingling ripples down the arms and legs of your body, you’re lost in the song. Your hair may be standing up on its own. You may have experienced this sensation yourself.
This phenomenon can happen in live or recorded music. It has been well documented over time. One question remains: How is it possible?
Researchers set out to discover the answer. A recent study in Frontiers in Neuroscience that mapped out brain electrical activity during musical chills sheds more light on how music activates the brain’s pleasure, reward, and stress centers and has been published in
The Study
Neuroscientists based in France used high-density electroencephalography (HD-EEG) to illustrate patterns of cerebral activity when people are subjected to pleasurable musical chills. Eighteen volunteers, 11 women, and seven men participated. All participants reported feeling chills while listening to enjoyable music before the study.
HD-EEG was used to place electrodes on large areas of participants’ scalps to measure brain electrical activity. After being hooked up, participants listened to five of the chill-inducing music excerpts provided by researchers and three additional neutral ones selected by researchers. They were then asked to share their feelings of pleasure.
You did this by pressing the four buttons corresponding to the experience’s intensity: neutral, low or high pleasure, and chills. A chill event was defined as a high level of emotional satisfaction combined with a physical sensation such as goosebumps, tingling sensations, or hair standing on its end.
The scans showed the presence of theta activity. This is associated with attention, reward anticipation, and memory. These abilities are crucial for musical and emotional processing. These abilities are key to musical and emotional processing.
Neuroscience and Evolution
These findings suggest that music enjoyment serves an evolutionary purpose.
Thibault Chabin, the lead researcher in this study, said, “Old brain connections essential for survival and implicated with motivated behaviors–such sex, food money, etc. are also involved in musical pleasure processing.” So, we now know how it works, but we must also understand what music does to make it enjoyable and rewarding.
Experts have debated for years whether music is a part of our biology. Music is often viewed as a side effect of human existence. However, some experts believe that music gives our species an advantage.
Consider the fact music has been shown to stimulate the release of oxytocin in the brain, which promotes bonding. Evolutionary perspectives suggest that the advent of music led to increased interdependence and social cohesion. Those who worked in a team were more likely to survive.
A German cave contained the oldest known musical instruments, a collection of 43,000-year-old flutes made from mammoth ivory and bird bone. These instruments are believed to have been used for ritual and recreation the first time they were made.
Kathleen Howland, Ph.D., professor of music therapy at Berklee College of Music, says that the flute would have sounded great in a cave. This would have allowed for bonding that would have strengthened survival. “The arrival of the flute would have markedly changed the Homo sapiens community. “
Music has been used historically to maintain social cohesion. Music is often used to identify groups. Think about the national anthems of today, protest chants or the camaraderie that can be evoked by singing along at live concerts.
According to anthropologists, these music styles may have originated from coordinated territorial defense signals similar to wolves howling at each other. Early humans created music to promote survival.
Music for Mental Health
Music’s primal qualities can still be of great benefit to us today. Music has been calming since the beginning of time, even before the invention of the flute.
Howland said, “I could see babies being born calmed by the music.” “It is instinctive that they knew how to sing to babies. It would have saved precious calories for their survival if they weren’t in distress.”
Howland, a music therapist, knows how certain music types can help with anxiety and depression. Studies have also shown that music may boost the immune system and help treat conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
Howland states that there are many ways to reach that sweet spot, such as meditation, yoga, and tai-chi. Still, music therapy has an intuitive and ubiquitous sense of immediacy that can be used to bring that intentionality to someone in pain or anxious in the hospital.
Music can be an effective tool in times of uncertainty and stress. Sharing the joy of listening to your favorite song with a friend, or even combining visual arts interpretations like drawing and painting, can enhance music’s positive mental effects.
Howland states, “If you are in a state of high stress, like we are, then you can get to a point where time seems to be warping in just three to five minutes.” It’s easy to access and a wonderful resource to share.
The Future of the Future
This was the first study to use high-density EEG during music listening sessions. Chabin hopes to improve our understanding of musical pleasure. The foundation for illustrating brain activity related to musical pleasure has been established. The following research phase can now be done outside the lab using EEG.
Chabin states, “This was the first step in our research in laboratory conditions before we moved on to other experiments in natural settings during concerts in which music emotions can be transmitted between people.”
Wireless mobile EEG systems allow for simultaneous monitoring of the brain activity of individuals within a group. Understanding the emotional synchronization between groups will help us better understand music’s role in our lives.
Howland states, “We will finally unlock its magic,” We’re working harder at it. It’s beautiful.”
Rodriquez