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Article
Musical Anhedonia and Rewards of Music Listening: Current Advances and a Proposed Model
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
  • Amy M. Belfi, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • Psyche Loui
Abstract

Music frequently elicits intense emotional responses, a phenomenon that has been scrutinized from multiple disciplines that span the sciences and arts. While most people enjoy music and find it rewarding, there is substantial individual variability in the experience and degree of music-induced reward. Here, we review current work on the neural substrates of hedonic responses to music. In particular, we focus the present review on specific musical anhedonia, a selective lack of pleasure from music. Based on evidence from neuroimaging, neuropsychology, and brain stimulation studies, we derive a neuroanatomical model of the experience of pleasure during music listening. Our model posits that hedonic responses to music are the result of connectivity between structures involved in auditory perception as a predictive process, and those involved in the brain's dopaminergic reward system. We conclude with open questions and implications of this model for future research on why humans appreciate music.

Department(s)
Psychological Science
Research Center/Lab(s)
Intelligent Systems Center
Keywords and Phrases
  • Anhedonia,
  • Emotion,
  • Music,
  • Pleasure,
  • Reward
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2020 New York Academy of Science, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
3-1-2020
Publication Date
01 Mar 2020
Disciplines
Citation Information
Amy M. Belfi and Psyche Loui. "Musical Anhedonia and Rewards of Music Listening: Current Advances and a Proposed Model" Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Vol. 1464 Iss. 1 (2020) p. 99 - 114 ISSN: 0077-8923; 1749-6632
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/amy-belfi/16/