““Music boosts dopamine, lowers cortisone And it makes you feel great.
Your brain is better on music.””
Music can move us, shake us, change our moods, help bring us up, or gently put us to sleep. We all know music affects us, but what about the more profound significance, the science of it, and the health aspects?
Scientists are researching what happens when we listen to music and how it produces such an enormous effect on our brains.
Daniel Levitin, a prominent psychologist who studies "the neuroscience of music," says. "We're using music to better understand brain function in general."
He wrote the #1 best-selling book, "This Is Your Brain on Music." As a cognitive neuroscientist specializing in music perception and cognition, he has fundamentally helped change the way scientists think about auditory memory. He is also known for helping us understand the role of the cerebellum in music listening.
In his book, he shares observations related to all sorts of music listeners. For instance, today, teenagers listen to more music in one month than their peers living during the 1700s listening to during their entire existence.
The journey, and his journey, to discover what chemical processes occur when we put on music is far from over, but scientists have clues.
How Music Benefits Your Health
Listening to music feels good, and we enjoy it. But how can it translate into physiological benefits?
Patients undergoing surgery were randomly selected in a study to either listen to music or take anti-anxiety drugs before surgery. Scientists tracked patients by measuring their levels of the stress hormone — cortisol.
The results? The patients who had listened to music had less anxiety and lower cortisol levels than those who took drugs. Levitin says, "Music is less expensive, easier on the body, and does not have side effects."
Seventeen participants who had little or no music training also took part in a study where they listened to four symphonies by composer William Boyce of the late Baroque period. The researchers found synchronization in many key brain areas suggesting that the participants perceive the music the same way. And regardless of their differences, they shared a similar neurological experience.
The Next Frontier in the Science of Music
Using music as a way to understand the function of a healthy brain, researchers can now receive insights into health problems associated with neurological or psychological functioning.
Levitin also comments, "Knowing better how the brain is organized, how it functions, and what chemical messengers are working and how they're working -- this will allow us to formulate treatments for people with brain injury, or to combat diseases or disorders or even psychiatric problems.
Music is fundamental to our world, to our health, to our well being. Perhaps even more so than learning any other thing. Music is the wonderful bridge to our brain, our health and our well-being. It is no wonder so many people love to learn how to play music!