The Rewarding Aspects of Music Listening Are Related to Degree of Emotional Arousal

BACKGROUND: Listening to music is amongst the most rewarding experiences for humans. Music has no functional resemblance to other rewarding stimuli, and has no demonstrated biological value, yet individuals continue listening to music for pleasure. It has been suggested that the pleasurable aspects of music listening are related to a change in emotional arousal, although this link has not been directly investigated. In this study, using methods of high temporal sensitivity we investigated whether there is a systematic relationship between dynamic increases in pleasure states and physiological indicators of emotional arousal, including changes in heart rate, respiration, electrodermal activity, body…

• MU
  McGill University
• CF
  Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology
• CI
  Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• NS
  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada