The Neuroscience Surrounding Feel Good Music
Exploring Dopamine, Songs, and Emotional Arousal
Music is a big part of many of our lives. When we go through the trials and tribulations of a particularly traumatic circumstance, we might find ourselves hunkered down, listening to a song that encapsulates how we feel.
We might be feeling exceptionally well at times also, riding on a temporary high and appreciating that positive bubble while it lasts.
We might listen to a whimsical tune or two, amplifying or maintaining those feelings of momentary euphoria, and you’re able to carry on with your day, motivated to keep going.
Either way, music is noted to be an incredibly creative way for our brains to process and understand information, especially when such information is emotionally charged and imprinted in our minds in the years that follow.
Despite this, music is shrouded in a strange sense of mystery since it’s not a mechanism that our caveman ancestors had to develop out of necessity as they did for sleep, food, and shelter.
Music is a pretty rewarding activity, even if it wasn’t that important for our immediate survival.
The desire to keep going, to satisfy our carnal pleasures, is often centralized on various feel-good…
