The Music Drug

A while back I bought an MP3 player and re-entered the world of alternative music that I left behind after moving to NY (1990) & no longer having access to good college radio stations to keep me up to date. Wow, that's 15 years to catch up on. On the inaugural run with my new player I noted the distinct high I felt from the music coursing through my veins combined with the endorphins from the running.

I revisit the topic today in response to this link (via Smooth Pebbles) to an interview with Daniel Levitin, a former record producer turned neuroscientist specializing in, you guessed it, music and the brain. Quote:

Music activates the same parts of the brain and causes the same neurochemical cocktail as a lot of other pleasurable activities like orgasms or eating chocolate -- or if you're a gambler winning a bet or using drugs if you're a drug user. Serotonin and dopamine are both involved.

Furthermore, different types of music can be used for different effects, as we probably already know. There are particular kinds of music I look for when I'm exercising, and even within that subgroup of musical styles, I scan the folders for even more specific songs at the end of my run when I really need a kick to keep it going to the end. Another interesting phenomenon I've noticed is that the range of music I enjoy while biking is much greater than the range I listen to while running.

I first heard about Levitin's work on NPR a few weeks ago. You can listen to him here, along with links to a series of other NPR stories about music & the brain.