12 Facts about Music and How They Affect The Human Brain Will Amaze You
Perhaps the most mysterious thing on earth is the human brain. As something still under research, scientists are still discovering new aspects of this amazing organ in our body that determines who we really are. Our brain works in wonderful ways more than we can comprehend. It is also influenced by several external stimuli and responds in kind in ways that are near magical. Music is one such thing that can affect the brain in deeper ways that you can imagine and these facts about music and how it affects you will give you some good insight about how complex your mind really is.
1Why you can get chills listening to certain music
The chills that you get listening to music are due to the brain releasing dopamine as it anticipates the peak of a favored song. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter or a chemical messenger considered one of the feel-good chemical that is released by the brain responsible for motivation and addiction. According to studies, the reason why music has always influenced emotional events and situations is due to the release of dopamine as the brain’s response towards music that appeals to an individual.
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2There are few activities in life that utilizes the entire brain, and music is one of them
Researchers used FMRI or Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to record a group of individuals listening to music. They discovered that in the process, several neural networks were activated in the brain where music engages the auditory areas, in turn, activating motor, emotional, and creative areas of the brain.
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3Playing music regularly will physically alter your brain structure
The term plasticity applied to the ability of the brain depicts its ability to change over time when influenced by eternal triggers. These changes occur influenced by education, experiences, and the learning process which affected changes in the connections between the neurons. A study involving musicians found that the volume of the cortex was highest in professional musicians, middle level in amateur musicians and the least in non-musical people.
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4Your brain responds to music the same way it responds to your favourite food
As mentioned earlier, Dopamine, the neurotransmitter is associated with feelings of euphoria associated with physical intimacy, addiction, motivation, addiction and even food. Because dopamine is released when we do the things we like, it enables us to derive feelings of pleasure derived from such activity.
A study on instrumental music and its effects on the brain found that dopamine affects us the same way when waiting for a favoured part of music or the anticipation of a musical rush which triggered the same response as anticipating the taste of your favourite food.
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