For many of us, music is something that can always improve our mood.
Hearing one of our favorite songs can turn our day around and instantly make us feel better. Music has the ability to make us feel immense pleasure, almost like a powerful drug. A new study conducted at McGill University says that music actually affects the same part of the brain as opioids do. Similarly, these chemicals are also activated when participating in activities like eating sweets or exercising.
The study notes that people “consistently rank music as among the top ten things in their lives that bring pleasure, above money, food and art.”
In the study, participants were asked to bring two of their favorite songs, ones that usually produced feelings of pleasure for them- such as the chills. Some participants were then given naltrexone, a drug that blocks activity of opiates. Naltrexone has been recognized for treating addiction conditions. Other participants were given a placebo drug. The participants who took the naltrexone noted that their favorite songs were not causing any pleasure.
McGill University neuroscientist Daniel Levitin told Newsweek that participants told researchers that their favorite songs “still sounded pretty, but they weren’t moved by it” after taking the opioid-blocking drug.