Thread by @garwboy

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner @Neuro_Skeptic OK, so, why does the human brain respond so positively to music? Here's what I understand, based on all the stuff I've absorbed over the the years.

Obviously this isn't a simple thing. Requires a thread of uncertain length, so [Cracks knuckles], here it is.

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner @Neuro_Skeptic A number of things cause us to experience pleasure or reward of some description. Novelty. Familiarity. Meaningful and successful communication. Suppression of our threat-detecting centres. Patterns. Things of high sensory significance

Music can stimulate all of this

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner At the primitive level, rich and informative communication with other humans is something we're very geared toward liking.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.100…

Music being a very rich form of communication means it can have a stronger positive impact.

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner There's also how it provides low-level stimulation that occupies the more subconscious threat-seeking attention processes. A silence can be unsettling, but background music is soothing. The threat-seeking bits of your brain keep you on edge, music can keep them occupied 'safely'

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner This can explain why music can *help* you concentrate, not distract. You threat-seeking regions are occupied by it, like giving an irritable child a toy so you can work

Weirdly, the most effective music for concentration? Video game soundtracks.
theguardian.com/education/2016…

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner Sort of makes sense I guess, it's a format refined over decades to be stimulating without distracting from the thing you're focusing on (the game itself)

But that's an aside.

So there's two ways music is rewarding; rich communication, and quiets the stress-inducing brain bits

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner On the most fundamental level, music seems to cause a direct pleasure response via the level of syncopation it provides

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncopati…

Hard to define succinctly, but I've always thought of it as 'predictable randomness'. Yes that's a contradiction, but to explain...

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner The human brain responds positively to familiarity (safe, secure, no danger or uncertainty) and novelty (new, interesting, informative). These are technically opposite things, but a stimulus can provide both at the same time

books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr…

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner E.g Franchises. Familiar characters and worlds, engaging with new things and situations

theguardian.com/science/brain-…

The right mix of both can be very attractive and rewarding (hence Disney can afford to own half the planet at this point)

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner But, one thing that does provide a deeply-fundamental mix of novelty and familiarity is music, particularly via syncopation, which is essentially the 'complexity' of music. This often determines how much we like it, or not.

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner Too little syncopation, complexity, and it's too predictable. No stimulation or reward. Like a ticking clock. Very predictable, very simple, no enjoyment.

Too much, and it becomes jarring. To chaotic, no patterns, can't process the structure e.g. Free Jazz is often scorned

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner Most music we know straddles the sweet spot between too much or too little syncopation. There's a lot of research on this via the Hedonia institute, which focuses on funk/groove music as the perfect example.

journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner The balance between too much and too little complexity will differ from person to person, hence musical tastes vary so wildly. But much modern pop exploits this aspect. Even if it's forgettable fluff, it's still 'catchy', because it provides a stimulating pattern we easily grasp

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner The pattern stuff is essential, I'd argue. The human brain is dedicated to seeking out patterns, to make sense of the world. And if it can find rich, interesting ones (that it can grasp), it really likes this

See also: conspiracy theories. Our brains just don't like randomness

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner And this does seem to have a deeper impact than we realise, in that it's strongly tied to our sensory and emotion processing. Smoothness and flow = good emotions, jaggedness and sharpness (randomness?) = bad emotions

Recent paper on this here royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.10…

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner To draw comparison between music and humour, humour seems to rely more on 'resolving uncertainty'

cosmicshambles.com/words/blogs/de…

Music seems more about providing recognisable complexity, so familiarity is a more important aspect for pleasure

journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner Ergo, this explains why comedians and musicians get opposing reactions

Comedian tells a familiar joke = Lazy. Head it! Booo!

Musician plays a song everyone knows = Yaaaaaaaayyyy!

And often the opposite is true for new jokes v new songs.

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner The social and cultural aspect is also important. Can't stress how much our brains are geared toward communicating with others, and how successful communication can be very rewarding, especially if it's complex.

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner A lot of theories about humour suggest it evolved as a means to both enhance group cohesion and demonstrate intellectual health and prowess. People laugh way more easily in groups. And showing how easily you introduce and resolve uncertainty (jokes) suggests a powerful brain

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner For instance, when was the last time a dating profile *didn't* insist on GSOH?

I'd argue that music goes even further. It's a much longer, deeper, richer form of communication than a quick joke, so stimulates more of the brain, via the methods discussed in this thread

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner But music also has the added reward of it enhancing group harmony and interaction. Humans are instinctively inclined to 'join in' with any stimulating sensory thing which increases group harmony. Hence we laugh more in a crowd, hence we can't help but dance to a catchy rhythm

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner Music offers this too. You feel isolated or pissed off at those around you, music can provide numerous rewarding stimulation in its own right, but can also make you feel understood, recognised, part of a group/culture that likes this sort of thing. And human brains love that.

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner Ergo so much of music is a shared experience. Raves, concerts, gigs, buskers, all that.

And hence styles of music have such a strong impact on cultures and trends. Blues music. Punk. Metal. Rock. All way more influential than 'enjoyable noise' would suggest.

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner So, think that covers it all?

Also, @greg_jenner, I don't know exactly why that particular cord is so resonant to you, but here are some options:

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner 1. It stands out as a particularly atypical (novel) aspect of an already liked song/tune.

Or, you recognise it as the point when this song 'gets going', so is tied to a great deal of anticipation and reward, packs more oomph, so to speak

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner 2. It's a somewhat 'chaotic' sound, but is long and consistent, so strikes the ideal balance of novelty/familiarity in your own brain as a result

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner 3. You recognise it as a particularly bold or intriguing element of a song, so your appreciation of it, the song, and the musicians is increased. Presumably it was high already, so it stands out even more.

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner 4. All that I've just said, but you also first heard the song at a particularly emotional point in your life, and it therefore carries more significance due to the impact of it.

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner That aspect, by the way, is why the music of your teens is invariably 'best'

nature.com/articles/nrn36…

Your developing brain means that's when your emotional reactions are at their most potent, so any music that stimulates them then is most influential on you and your brain

@janinegibson @helcatwill @greg_jenner So yeah. All that, basically.

Sorry about the long thread, but it's a complex issue. And, you know, you did ask 😉

Earlier @greg_jenner asked about why music is so rewarding to the human brain.

This loooong thread is my response. If you'd ever wondered this yourself, here's a possible explanation

https://twitter.com/garwboy/status/1186249753132261377