Music

A new study in Psychology of Music reports that musical chills, or frisson, are common during performance. The findings suggest that these sensations reflect strong emotional reactions shaped by musical features, social connection, and personal meaning.

A recent study shows that listening to music temporarily reorganizes brain networks related to time perception.

Some music fans report higher well-being than others, but is the music itself the reason? A groundbreaking genetic study challenges this common belief.

For adults over 70, musical activities may help protect against dementia. New research indicates that frequent music listeners and instrument players had up to a 39 percent lower risk of developing the condition over the study period.

According to a new study, a 20-minute session of relaxing music can significantly reduce mental fatigue. The research identified specific changes in brain activity, providing new neural evidence for music's restorative effects on an exhausted mind.

A new study sought to determine if AI-generated music is as effective as human compositions when paired with video. While the emotional experience felt surprisingly similar, researchers discovered curious physiological signals suggesting our brains process the two very differently.

A cross-cultural study published in PNAS provides evidence that chants share distinct acoustic traits that promote relaxation. These features, including flat pitch and slow tempo, may explain why chanting has persisted in spiritual and healing practices worldwide.

A new study suggests that blinking patterns can synchronize with the acoustic features of music, and this entrainment may influence attention afterward. Researchers found that different types of music affected how older adults prepared for and responded to cognitive tasks.

For up to 10% of people, music triggers no emotional reaction at all. New research suggests the cause isn’t poor hearing or mood—but disrupted communication between the brain’s auditory processing areas and reward centers.

New research introduces a novel brain-mapping tool showing that even basic auditory rhythms can reorganize the brain’s activity. The findings highlight how external sounds influence not just the auditory cortex but the brain’s overall coordination across time and space.

Researchers have found that listening to music after learning can influence memory in unexpected ways. Emotional arousal triggered by the music may enhance either general or detailed recall—but not both—depending on the strength of the listener’s emotional response.

Researchers found that music can shape the stories we imagine. Compared to silence, music increased how vividly people imagined journeys—and made it more likely those imagined scenes involved friends, community, and social interaction, regardless of the presence of vocals.

Background music may be more than just noise for young adults with ADHD symptoms. New research shows they tend to use music more frequently—especially stimulating music—during everyday activities, potentially as a self-regulation strategy for attention and mood.

Researchers found that when caregivers sing more often to their infants, babies become noticeably happier over time. The randomized trial used real-time mood tracking and showed that even a brief music enrichment intervention can shape emotional development in infancy.

A new neuroimaging study reveals that listening to emotionally charged music during memory recall can change how we remember events. The music not only shaped what participants remembered but also altered the emotional tone of their memories one day later.