How Music is Connected to the Emotional Centres of the Brain

Music can bring us joy, sadness and many other emotions. But how does this happen? It is all to do with how the music we listen to interacts with certain parts of our brains. The specific parts of our brain which aid emotional processing are the cerebellum, the amygdala, the prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens.

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The cerebellum (the ‘little brain’ or ‘reptilian brain’) is part of the central nervous system. It is responsible for several functions such as motor coordination and regulating emotions. It regulates emotions using its connections to the limbic regions of the brain such as the amygdala, hippocampus and the septal nuclei.

It has been found that when listening to music, the cerebellum is activated. This was shown through an experiment where brain scans were taken of orchestral music conductors as they listened to Bach. It was recorded that the cerebellum helped conductors interpret rhythm. More specifically, when the chorale rhythm was changed so that it was different from the score, blood flow to the cerebellum increased. Therefore, this experiment shows us that the biology of the cerebellum fluctuates when listening to music and that the cerebellum is involved in the processing of rhythm.

In another experiment, the size of cerebellums from musicians versus non-musicians were compared. It was found that musicians who had started learning precise finger movements from an early age had 5% larger cerebellums than non-musicians. This suggests that music may also benefit the brain or aid its development in various ways. The two experiments mentioned show that research into how the cerebellum is connected to music already exists in the scientific community.

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As mentioned, the cerebellum also interacts with the amygdala, which is part of the limbic system. The amygdala is a collection of cells near the base of the brain, which crosses into both the left and right hemispheres. It remembers and stores emotions. The amygdala includes three layers of neurons. The top layer is responsible for responding to music, in particular happy music.

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The prefrontal cortex is also involved in responding emotionally to music. It aids emotional regulation and has connections to neurotransmitters responsible for mood stabilization, such as serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. The prefrontal cortex is located at the front of the brain and is divided into several subregions. The major functions of the prefrontal cortex include controlling attention, planning, reaction, as well as anticipating situations, impulse control and emotional responses. When listening to music, the prefrontal cortex shows activation in areas that help executive functions. Executive functions are higher-level functions that control other cognitive abilities. They can be separated into organizational (e.g., attention, planning and sequencing) and regulatory (e.g., initiation of action, self-control and emotional regulation) subsets.

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The nucleus accumbens is another part of the brain involved in emotional response to music. Located in the ventral striatum, it is responsible for mediating reward responses to certain behaviours and as a result, reinforces addictive behaviours in drug use. This is interesting as many people who like listening to music or participate in music-playing often suggest music is ‘like a drug’. There is some scientific truth behind this. Interacting with music causes the nucleus accumbens to interact with certain chemicals, dopamine and serotonin which are responsible for feelings of happiness. Indeed, one animal study showed that dopamine and serotonin levels are higher in animals exposed to music.

This article has explored the various connections in the brain that interact with and process music. Playing music may contribute towards the enlargement of certain brain areas and listening to music may interact with the same pathways that are responsible for secretion of ‘happy’ hormones, imitating the way our bodies react to drugs. The way music interacts with the brain is a large field of research that has an enormity of popular interest online.

Where to find out more:

• The Cerebellum: https://teachmeanatomy.info/neuroanatomy/structures/cerebellum/
• The Cerebellum and Emotion: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12311-016-0815-8
• Musicians vs. Non-musicians: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/1998/11/sounds-music-cerebellum
• How Music Stimulates Emotions Through Specific Brain Circuits: https://jonlieffmd.com/blog/music-stimulates-emotions-through-specific-brain-circuits
• The Prefrontal Cortex: https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2014/5/16/know-your-brain-prefrontal-cortex
• Music and the Prefrontal Cortex: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-18119-x
• Emotional Response to Music: https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/your-brain-on-music/your-brain-on-music/your-brain-on-music-the-sound-system-between-your-ears/
• The Nucleus Accumbens and Music: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00276-014-1360-0