Listening to music relaxes us, encourages us, brings us happiness. Now, a study carried out by researchers from McGill University in Montreal (Canada) has concluded that the pleasure we feel with music activates the same brain areas as sex or drugs, causing the same effect both physically and mentally. .
Based on the pleasure that sex, drugs and music produce in the body, the experts had the participation of a group of students from the same university who were asked to bring their favorite songs for the experiment. The group was divided into two sections: the first was given 50 milligrams of naltrexone (a drug used in the treatment of acute opiate poisoning) and the second was given a placebo as a control group.
The scientists wanted to find out if naltrexone was able to reduce positive and negative sensations in the brain – in this case in relation to music – just as it happens when it is used as a treatment with opiates.
They also placed sensors on the faces of the volunteers to obtain an electromyogram (which examines the peripheral nervous system and the muscles involved) to monitor the electrical activity of various facial muscles. They also recorded their heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and skin conductivity before and during the experiment.
One hour after taking the drug naltrexone, participants were able to listen to their list of favorite songs along with others selected by the scientists. The experiment was repeated a week later, swapping the groups : those who had taken placebo took the drug and vice versa.
The results showed that in both experiments, the consumption of naltrexone reduced the response of the participants , to the point that they even claimed that listening to their favorite song no longer generated the same feeling. This is because naltrexone blocked 80% of the mu and delta receptors , present in neurons to which endorphins or exogenous such as morphine or heroin bind.
“We have shown here that the opioid system is responsible for mediating between positive (pleasant) and negative (sad) emotional responses to music,” comments Daniel J. Levitin, leader of the work.
The study has been published in Nature’s Scientific Reports journal.
