Chemical Reaction: Music And Dopamine
A network of auditory cortex nerves (the corticofugal network) helps with the recognition and cataloguing of the different audio patterns.
If a pattern matches with a familiar one already in the brain, it releases dopamine, which is the main reason why (your favourite) music is so emotionally intense. Sounds are pleasurable because they match something already inside us.
MORE IDEAS FROM THE ARTICLE
- Around the age of 30-35, when people have settled into life, the music stops being something to experience, and more of something to remember.
- Listening to new music can be a ‘risky’ way to invest your time and attention, as you may or may not like it. Most people who are adults or in the middle ages have their younger days packed nicely in a playlist, having all that they could possibly need in terms of music.
People can get angry, even riotous when they are presented with something they don’t know or recognize.
Much before the phrase ‘confirmation bias’ became mainstream, most of us have been practising it in the things we like, be it clothing brands, beauty ideas or music. We all are trapped in the echo chambers where we love the things we know well, just because they are familiar, and therefore lovable.
- Liking, recognizing, or remembering new information and patterns is harder for the brain, and listening to new music is no exception.
- Our brains resist the unfamiliarity of life, as change is always feared, with the uncertain and the new being relatively less attractive than the old and familiar.
- Old music (stuff we have listened to in the past) is therefore soothing, comfortable and familiar.
RELATED IDEAS
- It's inaccurate to assume that everything chemical is bad, and everything natural is good.
Eg: Poison ivy is natural, but that's not something you want to put on your skin.
- Ingredients are not intrinsically bad, it's about how they're used and in what quantity.
Eg: Think of a puddle of water — not a big deal, but a tsunami can be catastrophic.
- A product labelled as 'natural' tells us nothing about ingredient safety or sustainability but it makes patients and consumers feel better.
- Nightmares and night terrors typically happen at different points in the sleep cycle. Nightmares occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the stage of sleep when vivid dreaming is most likely to happen. Night terrors typically happen during non-REM sleep, specifically stage-three sleep. This stage is also called deep sleep.
- how you might react when you wake up-
- With nightmares, you may wake up easily and still feel scared but ultimately be able to think clearly. But when it comes to night terrors, you may be hard to wake up, and be confused if someone does manage to wake you.
Cryptocurrency is a form of payment that can be exchanged online for goods and services. Many companies have issued their own currencies, often called tokens, and these can be traded specifically for the good or service that the company provides. Think of them as you would arcade tokens or casino chips. You’ll need to exchange real currency for the cryptocurrency to access the good or service.