Music

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.

Not everyone enjoys music—but a new study finds that people with musical anhedonia still feel pleasure when music makes them want to move. This suggests the groove response may rely on motor-related brain systems, not traditional reward circuits.

Listening to classical music may calm the fetal heartbeat, according to new research. The study found that heart rate patterns became more orderly after music exposure.

Adults with ADHD who engage in long-term music practice may gain cognitive advantages, according to a new study published in Psychological Research.

Older adults can learn a variety of musical skills—even without prior training—according to a new study from Switzerland and Germany.

Women with major depression experienced emotional and daily-life improvements after group music therapy, though clinical depression scores remained unchanged.

Music enjoyment isn’t just about taste or culture — it’s also influenced by our DNA, according to a large twin study.

New brain imaging study shows nostalgic music triggers powerful emotional and autobiographical brain responses, especially in aging listeners.