We all have specific songs to listen to for when we are feeling joyful, down, anxious, or when we are studying, working out, or simply when we want to calm our nerves. How does music transform our mood? What causes the goosebumps we feel when we listen to a song we really enjoy? The transformative property of music has been utilized as a therapeutic tool for emotional support, such as in music therapy. Music therapy has been proven to increase one’s quality of life, and provide them an outlet to express their feelings through singing, dancing, listening, and creating music. Music therapy may be used to help trauma survivors treat PTSD symptoms, but it can also be used to help those with mental health needs, developmental and learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and more across populations of all ages.

The immediate happiness we feel when we start listening to music can be attributed to the release of dopamine, known as our “happy” neurotransmitter, from a region of the brain referred to as the nucleus accumbens. This structure is largely responsible for the feeling of euphoria when ingesting addictive substances, and is known as the pleasure and reward center. In other words, music has a similar effect as cocaine. Another region of the brain, the amygdala, which is responsible for processing emotions, is responsible for the goosebumps we feel when we hear music that we enjoy. The common idea that classical music will soothe one’s nerves is true. The hypothalamus, which is responsible for regulating body temperature, metabolism, and our heart rate also lights up in an MRI scan when listening to music. Furthermore, when listening to classical music, our heart rate may decrease. Another benefit of music is that it may improve our endurance when exercising, and can even improve symptoms of dementia. 

Despite the differences in our preferences for genres, music still has a unifying effect on its listeners. For instance, a study conducted by Daniel Abrams, a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine, required participants to listen to four symphonies by William Boyce while inside of an fMRI machine. The results of this study showed that each participant had the exact same regions of their brain activated when listening to these symphonies. These regions were responsible for movement, attention, memory, and planning. Physiologically, music has a much more significant role than simple background sounds. Across other animal species, music has served as a crucial method for communication, particularly mating calls in birds. 

One popular  notion about music is that it makes the listener smarter. While this may not necessarily be entirely accurate, there is still some truth to this idea. Some of us can focus tremendously better when listening to music while doing homework or studying, but for others, music can hinder our performance. Interestingly, this variation depends on our personality and our need for external stimulation. A study by Manuel Gonzalez and John Aiello of Baruch College and Rutgers University, respectively, found that for those who require external stimulation so as to not get bored, listening to background music may worsen their focus, while the vice versa was observed. “Background music” refers to non-lyrical music in this study. Whether music improves one’s cognitive performance becomes more complex when deciding to listen to music with or without lyrics. Adding lyrics may provide too much stimulation, such that performance will decrease as the listener cannot focus on the mental task along with the lyrics they are listening to.  

Another interesting effect of music is that it may improve the memory of a patient suffering from Alzheimer’s. Although music may not transform their brain to a young, robust one, it may evoke emotions and memories that an Alzheimer’s patient had stored in their long term memory. Furthermore, musical memories are often kept intact in patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s, proving the significance of music on the regions of our brain responsible for cognitive thinking, movement, and memory. 

References:

Bushak, Lecia. “This Is Your Brain On Music.” Medical Daily, Medical Daily, 11 Mar. 2014,  www.medicaldaily.com/your-brain-music-how-our-brains-process-melodies-pull-our-heartstrings-271007.

Graff-Radford, Jonathan. “How Music Can Help People with Alzheimer's.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 20 Apr. 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/expert-answers/music-and-alzheimers/faq-20058173#:~:text=Research%20suggests%20that%20listening%20to,relatively%20undamaged%20by%20the%20disease.

May, Cindi. “Does Music Boost Your Cognitive Performance?” Scientific American, Scientific American, 3 Mar. 2020, www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-music-boost-your-cognitive-performance/.

“Music and the Brain: What Happens When You're Listening to Music.” Pegasus Magazine, University of Central Florida, www.ucf.edu/pegasus/your-brain-on-music/.

“What Is Music Therapy?” American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), American Music Therapy Association, www.musictherapy.org/about/musictherapy/.

“Who Can Benefit From Music Therapy?” Music Therapy Connections, Music Therapy Connections, 13 Aug. 2019,  musictherapyconnections.org/who-can-benefit-from-music-therapy/#:~:text=Music%20Therapy%20can%20benefit%20the,physical%20disabilities%2C%20and%20acute%20and