Music and the Brain

Brain-scan study explores music's effects on brain.
The AP (1/10) reports that "people like music for the same reason they like eating or having sex: It makes the brain release a chemical that gives pleasure," according to a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Investigators "described brain-scanning experiments with eight volunteers who were chosen because they reliably felt chills from particular moments in some favorite pieces of music. That characteristic let the experimenters study how the brain handles both anticipation and arrival of a musical rush."
The Los Angeles Times (1/9, Brown) "Booster Shots" blog reported that "PET scans showed increased dopamine release when subjects listened to pleasurable music (as opposed to 'neutral' music). The fMRI results showed the researchers that the increased dopamine activity occurred both during periods of anticipation of hearing the favorite bits of music and during the listening experience itself -- although different parts of the brain were involved."