“Music is indivisible. The dualism of feeling and thinking must be resolved to a state of unity in which one thinks with the heart and feels with the brain,”
Music is a powerful and fantastic tool that brings individuals together, encourages empathy and communication, and helps heal social divisions. A scientific understanding of how music provides brain-to-brain social connections helps to continue to highlight that music isn’t just mere entertainment but instead is a core feature of human existence.
Our sense of social connection is rooted in essential brain mechanisms. With neuroscience, we have discovered that! Music is one of those ways.
Dr. David Greenberg, a social neuroscientist and professional musician, says, “Music connects us to our humanity.” Recently, he founded a team of social neuroscientists that introduced a model of the brain, shedding light on the social functions and brain mechanisms that underlie the musical adaptations used for human connection.
It focuses on what happens in the brain when people make music together rather than when they listen to music individually.
Their research was published by the American Psychologist and provided a neuroscientific understanding of the social connection with an excellent new map of the brain while playing music. They highlighted five essential functions and mechanisms of the brain that contribute to social connection through music. These include:
1. Empathy. This helps us to tune into how other people are and feel, and can be improved through interpersonal musical coordination.
2. Oxytocin. Called the “love hormone.” It contributes to our deep sense of feeling socially bonded with others. It is secreted when people sing together, even when the singing is improvised.
3. Dopamine. A neurotransmitter provides a sense of pleasure. Released during musical anticipation and expectation, it is pivotal for understanding reward and motivation.
4. Language structures. The back-and-forth musical dialogue in the brain (sometimes referred to as “call” and “response”).
5. Cortisol. A hormone that contributes to stress but decreases in the brain when people sing together and when listening to music in groups.
This groundbreaking research provided the foundation for a new field called the “social neuroscience of music. ” It builds on the previously established study of cognitive neuroscience in music, primarily focusing on music listening.
The study highlights “the role of oxytocin and the neurocircuitry associated with reward, stress, and the immune system. The study also shows that the social brain networks implicated in music production (in contrast to music listening) overlap with the networks in the brain involved in the social processes of human cognition—mentalization, empathy, and synchronicity.” So cool, right?
“Music is a fundamental part of our evolution, allowing for unique expressions of social ties. It can strengthen cohesion and mutual trust between people by signaling shared values. It is quite fascinating to understand the neurobiological mechanisms of music.”
~ Jean Decety, director of Child Neurosuite University of Chicago,
As a musician for many years, I was tremendously excited about this research and its implications. Proving that studying music, well.... it just Rocks!!!