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Do you get goosebumps when listening to certain songs? Experiences of chills or a lump in the throat when listening to music are fairly rare and unique. This is claimed by former Harvard student Matthew Sachs, who observed several people over the past year. They got goosebumps from listening to music and he wanted to find out what was actually happening to them.
Twenty students took part in the study, of whom ten admitted that they experienced the mentioned feelings while listening to songs. The other half did not have such feelings. Sachs looked at scans of their brains.
He found that those who perceived music emotionally and felt a physical attachment to it actually have different brain structures than those who do not perceive songs in this way.
What does the research say?
The research showed that they tend to have a denser volume of fibers that connect the auditory cortex and regions that process emotions. This means they communicate better with each other and if you get goosebumps when listening to music, you probably have stronger and more intense emotions.
Moreover, these feelings can be linked to memories evoked by certain tracks, which cannot be determined in the laboratory.
Although the study was small, Sachs is already working on further research concerning brain activity and responses when listening to music. His goal is to determine neurological reactions in order to help develop treatments for mental disorders.
“Depression causes an inability to experience joy from everyday things. Music can be used as part of therapy to help explore feelings,” Sachs added.
