Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll: Problems in Neuroscience Reporting

A new study has shown that our brains release dopamine when we listen to music. Dopamine is associated with reward. But you probably don't need science to tell you that you like music, right?

The findings are more interesting than that (see below). But the way they're being reported illustrates a larger problem with the way the media treats neuroscience research. (I wrote about these problems recently here.)

Saying dopamine is released when you listen to music is kind of like saying your hands are involved when you drive. Yes, they are. But they are part of a complex system (involving vision, hearing, proprioception, memory, and, of course, your feet). When it comes to music in your brain, dopamine isn't the whole story.

Moreover, dopamine is a very busy neurotransmitter. Your hands help you drive but that's not all they do. Dopamine is the same way. It's released during musical experiences and in lots of other situations. And this has reporters excited.

"Thrilling Music Is Like Food And Sex: More Pleasure and Anticipation Equals More Dopamine" says Medical news today. And it's not just food and sex. Dopamine is also released by drugs such as cocaine. Here's the LA Times: "Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll: Music rewards brain like sex or illegal drugs, researchers find."

WOW! Exciting! Unfortunately, there are problems with this reasoning.

Problem 1: When two experiences evoke the same type of brain response, it doesn't mean they are the same. If I told you that driving and punching both involve hands, would you conclude that punching and driving were linked? What if I told you food and music both involve dopamine?

Furthermore, dopamine is associated with reward; should we be surprised if it's released by music we enjoy? And this leads to the second problem.

Problem 2: Everything you experience has an impact on your brain (even religion, as I talk about here). Often, stories about neuroscience seem to be saying, basically, "there's a brain area for x." In this case, the reporting is focussed on a chemical, not a brain area, but the logic is the same. Is it exciting that there's a chemical involved in musical experience? There are chemicals (i.e., neurotransmitters) involved in ALL experiences. But "there's a brain area" stories continue to make headlines.

This brings us to the actual research. What it shows is actually more complicated than dopamine = music. And the news reports do go into the intricacies, at least somewhat. But the finding really has to do with the difference between anticipation of musical peaks versus the experience of the peaks themselves. It identifies different dopaminergic pathways involved in the two types of experiences. And it uses an exciting methodology to do so.

But most people aren't experts on the striatal dopaminergic system or positron emission tomography. If you aren't, the bottom line is, chemicals are involved in the experience of music, and those chemicals are also involved in drugs, sex, and food. That's an oversimplified and unsurprising finding.

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