"Neuro Music Workshop Vol.02 - Chapter 2 Pleasure and Reward of Music" was distributed on DOMMUNE on Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Continuing from the first episode, DOMMUNE representative Naohiro Ukawa, VIE representative director Yasuhiko Imamura, and VIE's chief music officer Shinya Fujii held a conversation on the theme of "musical pleasure and reward." The program lasted for two and a half hours, with the first 90 minutes talking about the ``mystery of the brain that perceives music as a reward,'' and the second half featuring a live neuromusic DJ performance, just like last time. This time, we would like to share with you some of the talks that were particularly exciting.
▼Distribution of the 1st “Music and Brain Science”
https://www.youtube.com/live/mlnnkhsb8Uw?feature=shared
▼Last distribution report
https://vie.style/blogs/magazine/
The program began with a discussion theme of "What kind of music brings pleasure." In a scene where participants were asked to rate their experiences of pleasure and goosebumps from music on a scale of 1. None at all, 2. Rarely, 3. Occasionally, 4. Often, 5. Very often, Mr. Ukawa said, "For me, it's number 6, it happens every day. It's not just very often, it's beyond that," which elicited laughter. Furthermore, he said, "Every day, music pharmacists from around the world visit here (DOMMUNE Studio) and because it's edited in real-time every day, it would be strange not to get goosebumps."
In a survey conducted in 1995, it was found that "3. Occasionally" was the most common response. Mr. Ukawa commented, "The goosebumps are greatly influenced by the sound system, and I think everyone would rate it as 6 if they visited DOMMUNE every day. In fact, goosebumps are a phenomenon that appears in places unrelated to the ears." Mr. Fujii also empathized with this, saying, "When listening to music, we receive various sensory stimuli simultaneously, so it's often thought that goosebumps come from stimulation through the ears. However, it's because we feel the texture beyond the sound that we experience goosebumps and appreciate the unique experience of live music."
Furthermore, when asked, "What kind of songs give you goosebumps?" Mr. Ukawa mentioned, "It's important that scenes and pleasure are linked. For instance, if you want to go to Hawaii and listen to exotic music, you'll get goosebumps. Similarly, after discussing Swiss media art, listening to field-recorded music allows you to immerse yourself in the scene while listening to the music." He emphasized the importance of alignment between what one seeks and the world of music. Just as one can empathize with breakup music when experiencing heartbreak, the extent to which you can project yourself onto the music determines the impact. He illustrated this point with familiar examples.
In an experiment to determine how many times people experience goosebumps within a single song, it was revealed that the song individuals chose themselves elicited the highest number of goosebumps. It was emphasized that what gives goosebumps varies from person to person, and there's likely a circuit in the brain that triggers goosebumps when listening to a particular song. Additionally, it was noted that "The Post War Dream" by Pink Floyd ranked second among songs that induced goosebumps. After listening, Mr. Imamura also nodded in agreement, saying, "The lyrics must resonate with English-speaking people as well."
Furthermore, an experiment was introduced where it was shown that the number of times one experiences goosebumps decreases gradually when listening to the same song repeatedly. Mr. Ukawa expressed surprise, saying, "I thought the number of times I got goosebumps would increase." Mr. Fujii explained, "Once you experience goosebumps while listening to a song, your brain remembers it and may crave it more. Conversely, if you seek it too much, you may develop a tolerance and it may no longer have an effect. Just like with medication, if you prescribe it too many times, it may stop working, and there can be side effects." He used a metaphor of medication to illustrate this point.
Furthermore, Mr. Ukawa speculated that the variation in the number of goosebumps might be influenced by the "abstractness of the music." He explained, "The songs used in the experiment were emotionally rich, and each time you listen to them, you might recall similar scenes. However, with more abstract music, what you perceive changes depending on the situation in which it's placed." He elaborated that the mental state (the "set"), the environment (the "setting"), and the music are closely intertwined, suggesting that we perceive music through this interaction.
Under the theme of "Objective Evaluation of Musical Pleasure," a technique for measuring goosebumps using a camera was introduced, eliciting laughter with comments like, "It's like the goosebumps police!" Additionally, recent research has been conducted to examine how humans react when experiencing pleasure from music using biological data such as body temperature, heart rate, and breathing. It was mentioned that data has shown activation of the sympathetic nervous system when experiencing pleasure from music.
Finally, under the main theme of "What Happens in the Brain When Listening to Music," Mr. Ukawa reflected, "I think it's important to listen to music and be able to project oneself, to integrate with the music. Since the mind and body don't lie, if you're truly integrated, pleasure-inducing substances like dopamine might be released in the brain."
Firstly, it is said that there are three types of rewards. Primary rewards refer to substances or situations that generate basic motives and emotions such as food, shelter, and clothing. Taking water as an example, water is an essential necessity for living organisms, and it is crucial to learn and reinforce behaviors that lead to access to water. Thus, items necessary for survival are designed using the brain's reward system, and learning what behaviors lead to those rewards plays a very important role in brain function.
Furthermore, secondary rewards refer to money, which can be traced back to primary rewards. Money itself cannot be consumed like food, but it symbolizes value and offers infinite options for exchange that can be traced back to primary rewards.
Tertiary rewards refer to art such as music and paintings. Unlike primary and secondary rewards, art is not directly linked to survival. However, humans can experience joy and pleasure from art, and it can even influence behavior by sparking motivation. So, what exactly happens in the brain when experiencing joy from this tertiary reward of art?
It is said that research on music and the brain began in the 1990s. As Pinker said, "Music is entertainment and not necessary for humans." Whether the reward circuits in the brain are activated when listening to music is a very important debate. If these circuits are not activated, it becomes difficult to argue that music is essential for humans. In fact, a paper published by Blood & Zatorre in 2001 revealed that listening to music activates the same brain circuits as rewards. Mr. Ukawa commented, "It seems that 'No music, no life' has indeed been proven."
In 2011, using machines called PET and MRI, brain activity was measured while participants listened to music and experienced pleasure. It was found that dopamine was released in a region called the nucleus accumbens, which plays a crucial role in the reward circuitry of the brain. Mr. Ukawa remarked, "There's a sense of intake when listening to music. It's because we're seeking external factors that we might want to listen to a particular song or feel goosebumps when we listen to a song we've chosen. If we could pull out music memories from the brain and release dopamine, then that could be considered true intrinsic motivation." In relation to intrinsic motivation, Mr. Fujii discussed how brain circuits can diverge when there's a discrepancy between predictions and actual experiences (prediction error), citing examples from brain activity when listening to familiar versus new music in a certain environment, reflecting not only the individual's state but also the emergence of intrinsic motivation.
It's been said that when one doesn't feel joy while listening to music, the brain's reward system isn't activated, and research is also being conducted on what kind of musical developments can induce pleasure in people. "By stimulating the brain, we can alter the rewards obtained from music. The era of stimulating the brain while listening to music has arrived," Mr. Fujii remarked. He then joked, "Let's make music like drugs," bringing laughter to the audience as the 90-minute discussion came to a close. Please stay tuned for the eagerly awaited unveiling of information about the third night!
▼2nd “Music Pleasure and Rewards” distribution