How music affects the human brain

People have been using music for centuries to communicate, to express their emotions and to evoke certain feelings in another person. Nevertheless, only in the 50s of the last century, European and American doctors began to notice that certain melodies contributed to a faster recovery of patients. Since then, scientists around the world have been looking for an answer to the question – how does music affect the human brain, emotions and behavior?

Modern research shows that different melodies help relieve stress, overcome depression, anxiety and anger, speed up the recovery of patients after surgery, and even reduce the risk of developing senile insanity. Listening to different styles of music can make us feel both positive and sad. It is only important to know what and when to listen.

How our brain perceives sounds

Sound is nothing more than a wave of mechanical vibrations propagating in a certain medium. It can pass through liquids, solids, gases. When this wave, moving through the air, reaches our ear, or rather, the eardrum, we hear certain sounds.

Different sounds entering the inner ear activate different areas of the brain. Interestingly, the result of such influence often depends on the musical training of a person. That is, for different people, the same melody can cause different emotions and provoke the activity of different parts of the brain. However, there are some general patterns of music influence.

The brain is the control center of the human body. It consists of two hemispheres: the right (responsible for intuition, creativity, imagination) and the left (responsible for verbal information, analytical thinking, logic, language abilities). That is, the right hemisphere of the brain processes information intuitively, visually, and creatively, while the left hemisphere processes information through analytical thinking, logic, and complex mathematical calculations. But both hemispheres do not work offline, but are interconnected by the corpus callosum – a plexus of nerve fibers.

Everything that happens to a person every second throughout life affects the brain to one degree or another. And music is no exception. Under its influence, the exchange of information between the two hemispheres is activated, allowing them to work in harmony. Since music is non-verbal information, it affects the right hemisphere. But as soon as words are added to the melody, the influence on the left side of the organ begins. Thus, any song activates both hemispheres. By the way, as scientists have discovered, the temporal lobe of the brain (the so-called auditory cortex) can be influenced not only by a really heard melody, but also by an imagined one.

And it was also found that sounds can affect the neuroplasticity of the brain, that is, its ability to form new neural connections. Brain cells interact with each other throughout life. But the patterns of this interaction can change over time. This happens, for example, after brain injuries or in the course of a person growing up (under the influence of life experience, the structure of the brain also changes).

But as it turned out, there is another factor that can affect the neuroplasticity of the brain. It `s music. In the course of scientific observations, scientists have found that sometimes, when neurons lose the ability to interact with each other in familiar combinations, under the influence of certain melodies, they begin to lay an alternative route for themselves. Thus, music therapy helps patients recover from severe traumatic brain injuries (when speech or memory is affected).

Does the brain like music

If you think that there are no people on the planet who would not like music of any direction at all, then you are mistaken. Scientists say that approximately 5% of the world’s population is absolutely indifferent to musical sounds. Employees of McGill University (Canada) compared the processes occurring in the brain of music lovers and people who cannot tolerate music.

It turned out that in anti-music lovers, while listening to any melody, the parts of the brain designed to process sound signals are not activated. It also turned out that pleasure hormones are not produced in their bodies against the background of music.

But at the same time, these parts of the brain of anti-music lovers are not always “silent”. In other cases, they react quite adequately. Why this is so remains to be seen by researchers. In the meantime, it is known that while listening to melodies, most people’s mood improves, depression and apathy disappear, that is, music definitely has a beneficial effect on the brain, we can say that he likes it.

An international group of scientists conducted a study in which they proved that the love of melodies in people is laid down at the genetic level and is closely related to the production of dopamine (the brain neurotransmitter responsible for the feeling of pleasure). And the more a listener likes a melody, the more dopamine the body produces.

How different melodies affect our emotions

Research shows that music can affect the neural network of the brain, thereby stimulating certain emotions and causing changes in mood. Probably, many had to watch how small children, to the melody they like, first begin to smile, and then move to the beat. Another example is lullabies. For centuries, in all countries of the world, mothers sing songs to their babies. Children listen, calm down and fall asleep. Often, mothers themselves fall asleep to lullabies, and even earlier than babies.

One of the reasons for such emotional changes is the hormone oxytocin, the production of which is activated against the background of singing. It is this hormone that is called the reason for the close relationship between mother and child listening to lullabies.

Researchers suggest that oxytocin reduces the activity of brain regions responsible for fear and anxiety, so the release of the hormone makes a person more calm and trusting. In some cases, oxytocin interferes with the production of cortisol, the stress hormone. In addition, scientists have found that listening to music promotes the production of the hormone dopamine, which is responsible for the feeling of pleasure.

What is better for the brain: a cheerful or sad melody

A group of scientists from Finland and the UK found that even sad melodies can trigger processes in the brain that improve mood. Summing up the observation, the researchers pointed out that people, oddly enough, experience a special kind of satisfaction and emotion while watching tragic films or listening to sad songs.

Japanese scientists also made their contribution to the study. They determined that sad experiences for our brain are usually associated with romantic feelings, and for some people in a state of sadness it is useful to listen to minor music, as it acts on the brain as a psychological trick – it makes it easier to survive your own tragedy.

At the same time, male and female brains react differently to sad and aggressive music. In women, against the background of such melodies, the part of the brain responsible for emotional control is activated. For men, the opposite is true. Therefore, it is better not to listen to minor motives for the stronger sex in a state of sadness.

An interesting experiment with listening to major and minor melodies was conducted by scientists from Ireland. They found evidence that listening to certain music can affect the perception of another person’s emotions. Participants were given several photographs of strangers and asked to determine what emotion a facial expression conveyed. As a result, it turned out that under cheerful melodies, people considered happiness in unfamiliar faces, while under sad tunes in the same photographs, the subjects saw neutral or sad facial expressions.

Music and…

…memory

In 2014, the American film Alive Inside was released. The plot is based on a story about an employee of a nursing home who one day decided to conduct an experiment and brought an iPod with different styles of music to the hospital. What happened next shocked everyone: Alzheimer’s patients, listening to different songs, began to recall events from their past.

But what is most surprising is that the story told in the film is not fiction, but a fact that has a scientific explanation. Back in 2009, researchers at the University of California discovered an area of ​​the brain that links music and memories. That is, having heard a melody from the past, a person begins to remember the emotions and events associated with it.

… performance

Most studies show that listening to music can improve performance. But at the same time, it is important to know which songs are best to listen to at work.

Cheerful, positive melodies always activate creative abilities and improve the ability to work in a team. This was discovered by the Dutch experts. During the experiment, scientists suggested that several work teams listen to sad, cheerful, calm, disturbing music while working, and the control group worked in silence. As a result, it turned out that the best results of the work were shown by the group for which cheerful melodies sounded.

In addition, scientists have found that listening to instrumental music is beneficial for increasing concentration and productivity at work. Melodies with words, on the contrary, distract a person’s attention from solving problems. But for people whose work is connected with monotonous actions and does not require increased concentration, on the contrary, it is more useful to listen to songs. They are distracting and make work less boring.

American researchers back in 1972 conducted an experiment during which they found that people doing monotonous work increase their productivity if music plays in the background. Twenty years later, scientists discovered that musical accompaniment is useful even in the work of surgeons, and mathematical problems are easier to solve with the sounds of a classic or a rock song.

In addition, it was found that listening to the sounds of nature positively affects the efficiency of the work of people of different specialties. But to get the most out of music in the workplace, it’s helpful to alternate periods of quiet work and work to the sound of melodies.

…creativity

Different sounds affect the rhythms of the brain in different ways. Music causes alpha and theta waves to fluctuate. In creative people, the picture of brain fluctuations has some peculiarities. In particular, when there is a surge of alpha waves, a person feels a desire to create, inspiration rolls over him. A surge in theta waves has a similar effect, but they are also responsible for relaxation and sleep.

The scientists also analyzed how sounds of different strengths affect creative processes. It turned out that the optimal volume for performing creative tasks is moderate noise within 70 decibels, but noise from 85 decibels negatively affects human creativity.

…sexual attraction

Darwin also suggested that music evolved as part of evolutionary selection. Remember the birds. For males, singing is a way to attract a female. Although not every song she will respond.

Experts from the University of Vienna decided to test the theory of the “sexuality” of music on the example of people. Participants in the experiment had to look at photos of different people and answer if they were ready to go on a romantic date with the person in the photo. But before looking at the faces of strangers, the participants in the experiment were asked to listen to a few tunes. The responses were then compared with those of the control group.

It turned out that women who listened to music were more supportive of the men in the photo and were more likely than the representatives from the control group to go on a date with a stranger. As it turned out, the songs did not make any impression on the men: the answers of the representatives of both groups almost did not differ.

…playing sports

Training to music is much more useful and pleasant for our bodies than sports in silence. And all because melodies block the signals of fatigue in the brain. For example, back in the early XNUMXth century, the American researcher Leonard Ayres discovered that people usually pedal faster when listening to music. A century later, modern scientists have also found confirmation of this fact: cyclists burn more calories to the sound of different melodies.

Healing properties of music

You already know that listening to music promotes the production of dopamine, the hormone of happiness. But the human body can benefit even more from music lessons. It turned out that singing and playing various musical instruments improves attention, motor skills and activates the interaction between the two hemispheres of the brain.

Music has an analgesic effect – American scientists told about this after observing patients in the postoperative period. Patients of the orthopedic department who underwent spinal surgery took part in the experiment.

The first group of patients was offered to listen to their favorite music, the patients from the second group were recovering under normal hospital conditions. When patients in the two groups were asked to describe the nature of the pain they were experiencing, it turned out that music lovers feel much better than patients in the control group.

Why do bars play loud music?

Loud music in drinking establishments is no coincidence: under its influence, people drink more alcohol in a shorter time period. This was confirmed by French researchers. A group of scientists observed men aged 18 to 25 and found evidence that changing the volume of music affects the speed of drinking. Scientists explain this phenomenon by the effect of sound on the brain.

The louder the music, the higher the excitement and the greater the desire to drink and eat.

Character and musical preferences: is there a relationship

After analyzing the musical preferences of more than 35,5 thousand young people from all over the world, scientists followed the conclusion that lovers of the same musical trends have many common character traits.

According to observations, lovers of “heavy” music, as a rule, are calm people, but among them there are many individuals with low self-esteem. Blues and jazz are more like creative, sociable and polite people. And this kind of music is often preferred by arrogant and nervous personalities.

The classics are most often preferred by introverts with creative inclinations and high self-esteem, while passionate opera lovers are, as a rule, creative, open and polite individuals.

Reggae is the choice of people with high self-esteem, sociable, talented, but lazy. Rhythmic dance motifs do not leave indifferent extroverts with creative abilities, but, as a rule, bad manners. Fans of indie music can boast of not the best upbringing. In addition, among them there are often very lazy and underestimating people.

Rap is the choice of sociable, but slightly selfish. Country is a favorite direction of hardworking and sociable people. But at the same time, people with such musical preferences are more prone to suicide than others.

The influence of different sound frequencies on the brain

Not only the direction of the music and its volume are decisive in terms of the impact on the brain. Each note has a certain frequency, which in one way or another affects the nervous system. And this should also be taken into account when compiling a playlist in order to cause certain reactions in the brain, to affect well-being.

Music can improve health, make us happier, smarter and more active. Researchers from different countries have found a lot of evidence that different melodies affect our brain to one degree or another. Of course, this is not a reason to radically change your musical preferences. Listen to what you like and remember that the melody in the headphones should be primarily enjoyable, but do not forget about a safe volume level. Be guided by your taste and preferences, although sometimes it will not be superfluous to listen to the advice of researchers.