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Dopamine modulates reward experiences Most Popular this week

elicited by music
HEALTH & MEDICINE
Date: January 24, 2019 Boy Or Girl? It's In The
Father's Genes
Source: University of Barcelona

Summary: A new study reveals a causal link between dopamine and

human reward response to music listening. Researchers Scientists Print First
3D Heart Using
pharmacologically manipulated dopaminergic transmission of
Patient's Biological
27 participants while listening to music and showed causal Materials
link between dopamine and pleasure. While levodopa
Synthetic Speech
increased hedonic experience and motivation, risperidone led
Generated from Brain
to a reduction of both. These results shed light on Recordings
neurobiology and neurochemistry underpinning reward
responses, contributing to an open debate on human MIND & BRAIN
pleasures.
Experiences of
'Ultimate Reality' or
Share: a b v e g d 'God' Confer Lasting
Benefits to Mental
Health
FULL STORY
Scientists Restore
Some Functions in a
Pig's Brain Hours After
A new study published in Proceedings of the National Death
Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals a causal link
Smelling With Your
between dopamine and the reward responses in humans Tongue
when listening to music. The study was conducted by
researchers from the Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group
LIVING & WELL
of the University of Barcelona and the Bellvitge Biomedical
Scientists Determine
Research Institute of Bellvitge Biomedical Research Four Personality
Types Based on New
Institute (UB-IDIBELL), the Human Data
Neuropsychopharmacology group and the PKPD modeling
Novel 5-Minute
and simulation groups at the Biomedical Research Institute Workout Improves
Blood Pressure, May
of Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and Universitat Boost Brain Function
Autònoma de Barcelona, and the Montreal Neurological
Just 20 Minutes of
Institute of McGill University. Contact With Nature
Will Lower Stress
a d v e r t i s e m e nt Hormone Levels,
Reveals New Study

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Scientists Unlock New Role for

Nervous System in Regeneration

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190124110958.htm[29/04/2019 23:50:55]
Dopamine modulates reward experiences elicited by music -- ScienceDaily

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Researchers pharmacologically manipulated the dopaminergic transmission Reality
of twenty-seven participants while they were listening to music and showed
for the first time a causal link between dopamine and musical pleasure and MIND & BRAIN
motivation. While the dopamine precursor levodopa increased the hedonic Magnets Can Help AI
experience and motivational responses, such as willingness to purchase a Get Closer to the
song, the dopamine antagonist risperidone led to a reduction of both. These Efficiency of the
Human Brain
results critically shed new light on the neurobiology and neurochemistry
underpinning reward responses, contributing to an open debate on human Coal Could Yield
pleasures. Treatment for
Traumatic Injuries
Humans usually take part in pleasurable experiences such as listening to
music, singing or playing. Understanding how the brain translates a Synthetic Speech
sequence of sounds, such as music, into a pleasant rewarding experience is Generated from Brain
thus a challenge. Recordings

In this study, researchers addressed whether dopamine, a neurotransmitter

LIVING & WELL
playing a major role in the regulation of pleasant experiences and motivation
to behave in certain ways, has a direct function in the positive experience The Dead May Outnumber the
Living on Facebook Within 50 Years
induced by music. In order to answer this question, the authors manipulated
the dopaminergic synaptic availability for the participants' neuronal Smelling With Your
receptors. In the three different sessions, separated by one week at least, Tongue
the experts orally administrated to each participant a dopamine precursor
(levodopa, which increases dopaminergic availability), a dopamine
Experiences of
antagonist (risperidone; to reduce dopaminergic signaling), and placebo
'Ultimate Reality' or
(lactose; as a control). Researchers predicted that if dopamine plays a 'God' Confer Lasting
causal role in music-evoked reward, levodopa and risperidone should lead Benefits to Mental
Health
to opposite effects regarding musical pleasure and motivation.

Laura Ferreri, UB-IDIBELL researcher and first signer of the study, says it
"sheds new light on the role of the human dopaminergic system regarding
abstract rewards." Moreover, "these results challenge previous evidence
conducted in animal models, where dopaminergic manipulations showed a
clear role of dopamine in motivation and learning, but a controversial
function in regulating hedonic responses in primary rewards such as food."
The researcher concludes that these results "show that dopaminergic
transmission in humans can play different roles than those proposed in
affective processing, particularly in abstract cognitive activities such as
listening to music."

Electrodermal response

The authors indirectly measured changes in pleasure and reward using

electrodermal activity, which is a very sensitive technique to evaluate
emotional changes (in this case, the hedonic impact of music). In each
session, participants listened to their favourite songs apart from other ten
singles (the chosen singers and bands were Alejandro Sanz, Amaia
Montero, Antonio Orozco, Auryn, Birdy, Katy Perry, Maldita Nerea, Melendi,
One Direction and Taylor Swift). The objective was for them to evaluate the
experience subjectively (real time ratings and general pleasure rating for
each song). Also, motivational responses were measured by asking
participants how much of their own money they would pay for each song. To
control the implication of rewarding processes under a non-music condition,
researchers carried out a task in which the impact of monetary reward was
evaluated -a task in which participants could win or lose money.

Overall, the results straightforwardly revealed that pharmacological

interventions modulated the reward responses elicited by music.
Risperidone, in contrast to levodopa, impaired participants' ability to
experience chills, which is considered a physical manifestation of the peak
pleasure experience to music listening. As seen in changes in electrodermal
activity, participants' ratings on emotional response were higher under
levodopa and lower under risperidone, ratings that were also compared with

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190124110958.htm[29/04/2019 23:50:55]
Dopamine modulates reward experiences elicited by music -- ScienceDaily

placebo administration. These results parallel those observed when using

money as a reward, being the increase in emotional arousal larger under
levodopa and lower under risperidone. Finally, participants were willing to
spend more money under levodopa than under risperidone, indicating that
they were more motivated to listen to the music again when dopaminergic
transmission was enhanced than when it was blocked.

Antoni Rodríguez Fornells, ICREA researcher and head of the UB-IDIBELL

group, says this study "shows for the first time a causal role of dopamine in
musical pleasure and motivation: enjoying a piece of music, deriving
pleasure from it, wanting to listen to it again and be willing to spend money
for it... it all depends on the released dopamine."

a d v e r t i s e m e nt

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Barcelona. Note: Content may be

edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Laura Ferreri, Ernest Mas-Herrero, Robert J. Zatorre, Pablo Ripollés,

Alba Gomez-Andres, Helena Alicart, Guillem Olivé, Josep Marco-
Pallarés, Rosa M. Antonijoan, Marta Valle, Jordi Riba, Antoni Rodriguez-
Fornells. Dopamine modulates the reward experiences elicited by
music. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019;
201811878 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1811878116

Cite This Page:

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University of Barcelona. "Dopamine modulates reward experiences elicited

by music." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 24 January 2019.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190124110958.htm>.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190124110958.htm[29/04/2019 23:50:55]
Dopamine modulates reward experiences elicited by music -- ScienceDaily

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190124110958.htm[29/04/2019 23:50:55]