What happens in our brain when we listen to music? People seek music and when they do, a chemical called dopamine is released in their brain. VeryWellMind states the central nervous system can be directly affected by dopamine.

Dopamine

A common misconception people have about dopamine is that it produces feelings of pleasure, which would be better characterized as a chemical release known endorphins. VeryWellMind says dopamine is the "feel-good chemical" and allows us connect good by connecting that feeling to certain behaviors.

Dr. Erica Knowles, a psychology professor at Berklee College of Music says that there are differences between dopamine and endorphins.

"Dopamine is funny because it's asscociated with endorphins, people see it as a neurotransmitter that makes us happy...," Knowles said,"Dopamine generally does not do it, in very rare cases can it have that effect, but it's usually the endorphins are the main factor."

Dopamine is also activated when threatened, which can cause the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS). Dopamine causes the fight or flight response in some people when faced with an extremely stressful scenario. According to Britannica, SNS is a part of the Nervous System that functions in response to when we might be sweating or an increased temperature, and prompts the fight or flight responses, to prepare ourselves in case of danger.

Knowles said people have a different reaction when listening to music, depending on their familiarity with the piece.

“If it’s a familiar piece, we know what’s coming, we have expectations...as we listen to familiar music, we start to see dopamine being released in our brain. And when we get our expectations, we get our endorphins released, and endorphins is generally what makes us feel that pleasure…Unfamiliar music is a little different, because it has to do with if you’re familiar with that genre and if you have expectations…”

With this in mind, do deaf individuals feel the same dopamine release as hearing individuals do when they feel the vibration from music? Knowles says that although there hasn’t been any research to her knowledge on this, there must be some dopamine released, otherwise they wouldn't enjoy or seek out the vibration of the music.

The Health Benefits of Listening to Music

According to Cognition Today, there are many advantages to listening to music, such as stress regulation, anger regulation, anxiety regulation, and sleep aid. To most, music is a source of comfort, and oftentimes listening to music can result in a better mood or a distraction from the negative attributes. According to NAMM Foundation, music can help individuals with learning difficulties, especially those learning a language.

"Musical experience strengthens many of the same aspects of brain function that are impaired in individuals with language and learning difficulties, such as the neural timing precision which allows differentiation between speech syllables," NAMM said.

Healthline says doctors at John Hopkins see the benefit of listening to music to stimulate the brain and recommends others to do the same. Music has also been shown to improve memory. People with Alzheimer's won't get their memory back, however, in some cases it can help jog the memory of their youths.

Though music is seemingly a simple concept as a way for us to enjoy the sound, there are several health benefits to it as well. Dopamine, the feel-good chemical is only one sliver of the multitude of positive outcomes to our mind and body.