Most people only think of drugs as something a person can eat, smoke, or place into their blood stream. Thats the way I think of drugs as well. They make you feel better when you don’t feel good and can change your mood from angry or sad to happy in a matter of seconds. The only problem with drugs is that they are not good for your body and can be insanely addictive. Now think about music. Everybody listens to music, but why? Listening to your favorite song, makes you happy. This is because of a chemical called Dopamine. Dopamine is commonly released in the brain and makes you feel good so that you will do that thing again. It is released during times when you are doing things that feel good like eating your favorite food or having sexual intercourse. Listening to a certain genre of music can make you feel entirely different than another genre may have you feeling. It can bring on very intense feelings as well. Songs can bring back memories of good or bad times that a person never forgets. From my personal experience, when I’m down or tired, my favorite songs make me feel like I’m in heaven or utopia. I also know of a few songs that will put me in a horrible mood because they remind me of difficult times, or better times that I no longer have. Music can bring us into what feels like a different place, far away from the problems going on in our lives. Although it can’t make us hallucinate, music brings on a lot of the same feelings that we experience when we are high on drugs like marijuana, various prescription pills, or ecstasy. Dopamine is a very interesting chemical; it is basically what keeps us happy.
Sources:
http://www.upressonline.com/2014/02/how-music-can-affect-the-brain-like-a-drug/
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/09/news/la-heb-music-dopamine-20110109
The release of dopamine making you feel happier is a good reason as to why girls go crazy for boy bands such as One Direction. Their music makes them feel happy, so they automatically associate their good feelings with the boys in that band. Making their existence kind of like a drug, I guess.
Im not sure if you are aware of this but another way that music can act like a drug is by singing. Singing is a really cheap form of therapy because it releases endorphins. Endorphins are also released when a person participates in exercise. This hormone is constantly linked to the feeling of euphoria. Another hormone that is released during singing is oxytocin. This hormone enhances feelings of trust. If you would like to read more : http://ideas.time.com/2013/08/16/singing-changes-your-brain/
This topic is beyond interesting! I personally listen to music everyday and if I don’t I feel like something’s missing. I have experienced the highs and lows that music can put you through but I thought that it was all just a way of connecting with the music. Now that I know chemical changes happen when listening to music that are kind of like a drug makes me view how much and what kind of music I listen to differently. It is like an addiction.
I personally love to listen to music. There are plenty of songs that make me happy. When I’m trying to get excited for something I listen to “pump up” music to get myself energized and happy. There are definitely plenty of songs that also put a damper on my mood. Strangely, I find that It can be satisfying to listen to sad music when you also feel sad. It would be interesting to see why this is. As you explained, dopamine is accompanied by pleasure, but why does sad music also make you feel better? I found an article that helps to explain it. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/24/music-and-health_n_4847373.html
I cannot picture life without music. I think that your blog is very relevant because most people do not go a day without listening to music. Music evokes emotion and I think that is because there are so many genres and different types of music so music is relatable to almost all people. I found an article that proves that music evokes emotion: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/music-and-art-move-us.htm People relate music to their life, memories, and they’re emotions. It can make people sad as well as happy. Next time you listen to music, pay extra attention to how it makes you feel.
I have have studied different things that cause a rise or drop in ones dopamine levels and to my amazement music actually caused a rise. I feel as though its not the music itself that is able to cause the rise, but it is the memories or feelings that it causes someone the remember or feel. So in my opinion yes it is a drug because we all have experienced how there is that one song that we all love that we play over and over and over again and we cant explain why. I think the reason is not only the dopamine but the idea that it causes such an increase in brain activity whether it be memories or just any feeling. I would like to see a study though that may in fact show the addictiveness of music, as i feel that would help this argument a great deal.
I believe that music can be a powerful way to evoke emotions that are latched onto certain memories. It could be an event that occurred while the song was playing or the lyrics of a song can often be related to your life. I listen to music that I can personally relate to and that is why it is such a powerful thing. It shows that other people go through the same things that you do.