Imaging shows why music makes us happy

Thanks to new imaging data, scientists may have discovered why music puts listeners into a good mood. 

Using PET and functional MR imaging exams, experts were recently able to see opioid receptors activate in different regions of the brain known to be associated with pleasure while individuals listened to their favorite music in real time. The team published their findings in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine, where they suggested their study’s results could open doors for new treatment alternatives for a number of conditions. 

“Neuroimaging studies indicate that music-induced pleasure engages the same hedonic circuitry as biologically salient primary rewards, including regions such as the ventral striatum, orbitofrontal cortex, and insula,” Academy Research Fellow Vesa Putkinen, from the University of Turku in Finland, and colleagues noted. “However, the majority of these studies have been conducted using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which is unable to resolve the underlying neurochemistry.” 

Researchers sought to examine how the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) system might activate while listening to music. To do this, they had a group of study participants undergo two imaging exams— PET imaging using the agonist radioligand [¹¹C]carfentanil and a functional MRI scan—while some of their favorite artists played in the background. 

PET imaging revealed listening to music increased binding of [¹¹C]carfentanil in multiple cortical and subcortical regions of the brain, including the ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex, which is known to house “hedonic hotspots.” That same binding in the nucleus accumbens was found to be associated with a number of participants getting chills while listening to the playlist, which the group attributed to striatal opioid release. 

On MRI, the team observed a correlation between the number of opioid receptors released and more significant reactions on PET imaging. 

“These results show for the first time directly that listening to music activates the brain’s opioid system," the group wrote. "The release of opioids explains why music can produce such strong feelings of pleasure, even though it is not a primary reward necessary for survival or reproduction, like food or sexual pleasure.” 

Putkinen added that since the opioid system is also involved in pain relief, their findings could be significant for treating both pain and mental health disorders.