Music Thread #36475 TNG. Music is as good as sex, they say.

[Bev]

Listening to new music can boost the brain and give it a chemical 'reward' similar to sex, researchers have found.

Using MRI scans, Canadian scientists found that areas in the reward centre of the brain - the same part activated when we have sex or eat our favourite foods - became active when people heard a song for the first time.

The more the listener enjoyed what they were hearing, the stronger the connections were.



Using MRI scans, Canadian scientists found that areas in the reward centre of the brain became active when people heard a song for the first time

HOW THEY DID IT

Participants in the study listened to 60 previously unheard music excerpts while undergoing functional resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning.

They then provided bids of how much they were willing to spend for each item in an auction.

Researchers used a similar interface and prices as iTunes.

To replicate a real life scenario as much as possible and to assess reward value objectively, individuals could purchase music with their own money, as an indication that they wanted to hear it again.

When people listen to a piece of music they have never heard before, activity in one brain region can reliably and consistently predict whether they will like or buy it, this is the nucleus accumbens which is involved in forming expectations that may be rewarding,' says Dr. Valorie Salimpoor of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, who led the study.



Participants in the study listened to 60 previously unheard music excerpts while undergoing functional resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning, providing bids of how much they were willing to spend for each item in an auction.

The researcher say their findings show exactly why we find listening to new music rewarding.

'What makes music so emotionally powerful is the creation of expectations.

'Activity in the nucleus accumbens is an indicator that expectations were met or surpassed, and in our study we found that the more activity we see in this brain area while people are listening to music, the more money they are willing to spend.

'The brain activity in each participant was the same when they were listening to music that they ended up purchasing, although the pieces they chose to buy were all different,'

'These results help us to see why people like different music – each person has their own uniquely shaped auditory cortex, which is formed based on all the sounds and music heard throughout our lives.

'Also, the sound templates we store are likely to have previous emotional associations.'



Researchers say their discovery explains the emotional reaction we have when hearing new music - and could even predict whether or not we will buy a song

The second important finding is that the nucleus accumbens doesn't work alone, but interacts with the auditory cortex, an area of the brain that stores information about the sounds and music we have been exposed to.

The more a given piece was rewarding, the greater the cross-talk between these regions.

'This is interesting because music consists of a series of sounds that when considered alone have no inherent value, but when arranged together through patterns over time can act as a reward,' says Dr. Robert Zatorre, researcher at The Neuro and co-director of the International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research.

'The integrated activity of brain circuits involved in pattern recognition, prediction, and emotion allow us to experience music as an aesthetic or intellectual reward.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...rewarding.html


First, anyone claiming that listening to Kylie bleedin' Minogue is as good as sex needs to find a new partner - but I digress.

I know we covered this before in a thread of yore but we never got a satisfactory answer. What goes on in the brain that attracts different people to different genres? Why does someone like classical music whereas others (like me) would sooner repeatedly stab their own eardrums with rusty and assorted blunt implements than listen to it?

Someone once floated the theory that it was down to the prevailing note or key that a song was written in but I'm not convinced. My favourite bands all play in the same key/tempo but I do like other songs of an entirely different style.

I used to think it depended on the music your mother listened to whilst you were in utero or maybe the music you heard when you were aged from birth to a few weeks old, but anecdotal evidence from posters leaned toward ruling this out.

Any thoughts?

[Steven L. Akins]

Originally Posted by Bev

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...rewarding.html


First, anyone claiming that listening to Kylie bleedin' Minogue is as good as sex needs to find a new partner - but I digress.

I know we covered this before in a thread of yore but we never got a satisfactory answer. What goes on in the brain that attracts different people to different genres? Why does someone like classical music whereas others (like me) would sooner repeatedly stab their own eardrums with rusty and assorted blunt implements than listen to it?

Someone once floated the theory that it was down to the prevailing note or key that a song was written in but I'm not convinced. My favourite bands all play in the same key/tempo but I do like other songs of an entirely different style.

I used to think it depended on the music your mother listened to whilst you were in utero or maybe the music you heard when you were aged from birth to a few weeks old, but anecdotal evidence from posters leaned toward ruling this out.

Any thoughts?

Whatever type of music people like, it usually has a common thread running through it.

Some people like loud hard rock or heavy metal music; while others (like myself) can't stand it.

Most of the music I like (alternative) has been decribed by others as "music to slit your wrists to" because it tends to be melancholy, like my own personality.

I believe thinking people tend to prefer certain types of music, whereas physical people like a different sort.

As for country music, that must resonate to its own unique audience, I suppose - not terribly bright people who have bought into being obedient workers and rule-followers who enjoy doing as they are told by momma, daddy, God and country.

[Bruce Howard]

Originally Posted by Bev

Any thoughts?

I am a virgin, and planning to be forever alone and I have stopped masturbating 5 months ago.


I find sex to be overrated, and masturbation/ejaculation is a stupid addiction.


Music is also overrated, and that is how these two seemingly unrelated subjects are associated in my brain.


This study does not seem to be correct in their conclusions at least in terms of equating these two as equal.


"The integrated activity of brain circuits involved in pattern recognition, prediction, and emotion allow us to experience music as an aesthetic or intellectual reward."


(But does listening to music have the same or similar sort of Neurochemical effects on addictive behaviours as Sex does?)

Reference
http://www.health-science-spirit.com/neurosex.html

[Bev]

Originally Posted by Steven L. Akins

Whatever type of music people like, it usually has a common thread running through it.

Some people like loud hard rock or heavy metal music; while others (like myself) can't stand it.

Most of the music I like (alternative) has been decribed by others as "music to slit your wrists to" because it tends to be melancholy, like my own personality.

I believe thinking people tend to prefer certain types of music, whereas physical people like a different sort.

As for country music, that must resonate to its own unique audience, I suppose - not terribly bright people who have bought into being obedient workers and rule-followers who enjoy doing as they are told by momma, daddy, God and country.

I'm not disagreeing for the sake of it but I do disagree. What you're saying, basically, is that a love or an appreciation for a genre is partly ideological, then.

I like songs that ideologically, I shouldn't like. example being Maiden's Run To The Hills which is pro-Valdez and anti-British, when it comes down to it.

White man came across the sea
He brought us pain and misery

He killed our tribes, he killed our creed
He took our game for his own need

We fought him hard, we fought him well
Out on the plains we gave him hell

But many came, too much for Cree
Oh will we ever be set free

And some songs that I should like because of their ideology, I don't. I mean "Smash the IRA" - fits my ideology perfectly. To the ear - it's horrid but I like other songs by the same band.

So if you're saying that we like songs that match personality or mood, I don't think that's correct or, at least, not universal.

Originally Posted by Bruce Howard

I am a virgin, and planning to be forever alone and I have stopped masturbating 5 months ago.


I find sex to be overrated, and masturbation/ejaculation is a stupid addiction.


Music is also overrated, and that is how these two seemingly unrelated subjects are associated in my brain.


This study does not seem to be correct in their conclusions at least in terms of equating these two as equal.


"The integrated activity of brain circuits involved in pattern recognition, prediction, and emotion allow us to experience music as an aesthetic or intellectual reward."


(But does listening to music have the same or similar sort of Neurochemical effects on addictive behaviours as Sex does?)

Reference
http://www.health-science-spirit.com/neurosex.html

First - TMI and allow me to be the first to welcome you to andy's Deviant Ignore list.

Second - I'm not actually putting too much store by the findings although I do believe that music brings pleasure. I just don't understand why the individual brain enjoys one genre over the others.

[Steven L. Akins]

Originally Posted by Bev

I'm not disagreeing for the sake of it but I do disagree. What you're saying, basically, is that a love or an appreciation for a genre is partly ideological, then.

I like songs that ideologically, I shouldn't like. example being Maiden's Run To The Hills which is pro-Valdez and anti-British, when it comes down to it.


And some songs that I should like because of their ideology, I don't. I mean "Smash the IRA" - fits my ideology perfectly. To the ear - it's horrid but I like other songs by the same band.

So if you're saying that we like songs that match personality or mood, I don't think that's correct or, at least, not universal.

Music is both lyrics and melody - the melody has to fit the person's personality as much as the lyrics.

Take your typical heavy-metal music listener. They aren't terribly "deep" in terms of personality. They tend to be more physical. They are fairly shallow, they place a lot of value on their physical appearance and a desire to project toughness. They are confrontational and are the sort that get into physical altercations. The music they enjoy is loud, angry, and obnoxious, like their own personality.

Your typical alternative music listener is quite different. They tend to have more depth, are more intellectual, more introspective. Their desire in life is to achieve an untroubled state of coziness and comfort, and they are troubled by those things preventing them from achieving that. The music they tend to enjoy reflects that in its softer, more melodious tones and deeper, more poetic lyrics.

[Bev]

Originally Posted by Steven L. Akins

Music is both lyrics and melody - the melody has to fit the person's personality as much as the lyrics.

Fair point.

Take your typical heavy-metal music listener. They aren't terribly "deep" in terms of personality. They tend to be more physical. They are fairly shallow, they place a lot of value on their physical appearance and a desire to project toughness. They are confrontational and are the sort that get into physical altercations. The music they enjoy is loud, angry, and obnoxious, like their own personality.

Thanks a bleedin' lot!

Nah - that's not accurate at all. The music is loud and angry, but that's it. Not obnoxious to me, but I can see how it is to those who don't like it.

Your typical alternative music listener is quite different. They tend to have more depth, are more intellectual, more introspective. Their desire in life is to achieve an untroubled state of coziness and comfort, and they are troubled by those things preventing them from achieving that. The music they tend to enjoy reflects that in its softer, more melodious tones and deeper, more poetic lyrics.

Oh I see, so I'm some sort of violent thicko and you're a deep, introspective, intelligent, higher being, is that it?

Nah. I'm not disagreeing for the sake of it or because I disagree with your assessment of rock fans but again, I don't think that's right. It's not personality based because all sorts of people like all sorts of genres - what about the corporate suit who has metal on his ipod but who wouldn't say boo to a goose? What about the INXS listener who can't resist getting drunk and starting shite every weekend?

Their desire in life is to achieve an untroubled state of coziness and comfort

Mine too. And classical music fans. And Motown fans. And fans of whatever that new wave shite that Armstrong posts and every other genre. We all want that. Listening to twenty minutes of my genre and I assume yours too - helps achieve that if only momentarily.

[M.N. Dalvez]

Take your typical heavy-metal music listener. They aren't terribly "deep" in terms of personality. They tend to be more physical. They are fairly shallow, they place a lot of value on their physical appearance and a desire to project toughness. They are confrontational and are the sort that get into physical altercations. The music they enjoy is loud, angry, and obnoxious, like their own personality.

It's funny you mention this. I was talking to a friend of mine, who works in hospitality, and he swears blind he would much rather organise metal or punk nights than any other type of music - because the crowds are usually majority White, and while the music and fashion is loud and often obnoxious, the people themselves are often very well-behaved and sociable. (Mind you, he's built like a brick shithouse, I don't imagine people are too rude with him at all.)

Contrast this with 'club nights' and R 'n' B and hip-hop/rap nights, which (even if the majority are White) usually feature some pretty over-the-top and dangerous behaviour - mass armed brawls, people throwing heavy things over balconies, people setting fire to things in crowded nightclubs ...

To mention another sub-group, the fans of 'alternative music' ('indy kids' in the local youth parlance) are well-behaved, but quite soul-less? A very dispirited, wishy-washy, group of people. Who the fuck else goes to the pub and sits on the floor to watch a band play? Who sits on the floor to listen to anyone speak or perform, outside of kindergarten? And they don't defend themselves, either, which I just don't approve of.

My boys are metal-heads, and if I say so, they are both very well mannered, also. Mind you, that's because my wife and I have made damn sure they have good manners!

[M.N. Dalvez]

Don't be stupid, I'm not NM Valdez. I'm an Australian with Dutch ancestors, that's all you need to know.

[EDLIE Stampton]

Originally Posted by M.N. Dalvez

Don't be stupid, I'm not NM Valdez. I'm an Australian with Dutch ancestors, that's all you need to know.

Deleted sport. Sorry.
I can give you something white then.A nice bit of clog dancing.
Related to Irish,Appellation flat foot,English horn dance and loads of other white folk dances.
But I wont because I like Martha and her snake hips to much.

Whitetop Mountain Band, Martha's Flatfooting, Floydfest 2010 - YouTube

Whitetop Mountain Band, Martha's Flatfooting, Floydfest 2010 - YouTube

They have been to Oz but nothing on the horizon at the moment.
http://whitetopmountainband.tripod.com/index.html

[EDLIE Stampton]

It dont get any better than this.A real white family playing real white music.
When I was a kid we had the odd sing song around my house.We played our own music.Dad on the harpsichord me on the whistle Eddy on the guitar.
What the fuck has happened to white folk communication and interaction.
What the fuck has happened to the modern white man.Is he just a cunt that watches the electronic jew in the corner.
Look kids we were once white now we are MT fucking V.
Lets have a snigger while our race and culture dies.
Traditional music can keep our race alive.It gives us something that is un corruptible and is ours and only ours.

When You Say Nothing At All ~ Heads Carolina Tails California - YouTube

When You Say Nothing At All ~ Heads Carolina Tails California - YouTube

[Amy Moore]

I like a wide genre of music. Punk, garage "wn" music, disco, metal, modern, 80's, 90's, 2000's ( I'm fucked if i know what half the bloody genre's are even called these days). But if i like it I like it, if i don't well I just don't. I'll listen to whatever my mood guides me to fucking listen to. Labels suck. Sometimes I want to listen to Portishead, sometimes I want to listen to five finger death punch and metallica. sometimes I want to listen to Chopin, Rachmaninoff or Bach, sometimes I want to listen to Landser, Skrewdriver and People Haters.

Music is a wonderful thing it can cater to any mood. It's ridiculous to pin everybody into certain genre.

[Amy Moore]

Ps: counting all the assholes in the room..I'm definitely not alone. Ohhh that is so my fav song lately...reminds me of VNN...LOL