Music has been a powerful vessel for conveying feelings, messages, and stories for hundreds of years. A simple tune can evoke forgotten memories, inspire creativity, or calm the soul. The connection between music and emotions is no secret. The real mystery lies in how the wiring of the brain is able to break down complex musical rhythms and translate them into the intense reactions people experience.
Scientists have discovered that music activates almost all areas of the brain, not just those responsible for processing sounds, such as the auditory cortex and temporal lobe. At the University of Florida, neuroscientist Kiminobu Sugaya and famous violinist Ayako Yonetani are highly interested in how music impacts brain function and human behavior. They turned to MRI screening to get a visual representation of brain activity while listening to music. They found that many areas were engaged in trying to decipher the melodies, with some major regions being the frontal cortex, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. These regions of the brain are linked to decision-making, creating expectations, emotional regulation, and long-term memory storage, all of which play a large role in shaping one’s reactions. Moreover, these regions report back to the autonomic nervous system that regulates involuntary actions such as breathing and heart rate. This is done as the body registers musical cues, connects them to corresponding situations, and reacts accordingly. A haunting melody can spike your heart rate as the brain is put on alert to be wary, or an adrenaline rush can flood your veins while listening to a heroic score for an action scene.
“People tend to associate many emotional and physical memories with certain songs, which can enhance their mood or functional abilities.”
The two professors also established that there is no advantage to listening to a specific musical genre. A popular theory was published in a 1993 study called the Mozart effect, claiming that having babies listen to classical music would make them smarter. This theory was debunked by subsequent studies through the 2010s showing no evidence of increased intelligence as a result of listening to classical music. However, Sugaya and Yonetani found that it is more impactful for people to hear their favorite music, whatever genre that may be. People tend to associate many emotional and physical memories with certain songs, which can enhance their mood or functional abilities.
Researchers have only touched the surface of the relationship between music and how it can strike a chord with people in unique ways. With music being interlinked with memories, intense emotions, and the release of different hormones, it has powerful implications as a tool for healing and motivation, providing more reason to detangle the neural mechanics behind this phenomenon. In the meantime, we can continue to enjoy the intricate beauty of this universal language that has resonated with us for centuries.
