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Towards a neural basis of music-evoked emotions
Abstract
Music is capable of evoking exceptionally strong emotions and of reliably affecting the mood of individuals. Functional neuroimaging and lesion studies show that music-evoked emotions can modulate activity in virtually all limbic and paralimbic brain structures. These structures are crucially involved in the initiation, generation, detection, maintenance, regulation and termination of emotions that have survival value for the individual and the species. Therefore, at least some music-evoked emotions involve the very core of evolutionarily adaptive neuroaffective mechanisms. Because dysfunctions in these structures are related to emotional disorders, a better understanding of music-evoked emotions and their neural correlates can lead to a more systematic and effective use of music in therapy.
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“Given that music listening can trigger activity in brain regions linked to the experience of (intense) emotions [8,34–36]”
From The Effect of Music on the Human Stress Response (2013) · cites this paper as [36]
In the citing paper
“It appears that music listening prior to the experience of stress may add to, facilitate, or increase subsequent HPA axis activation by a staggered activation of a partly shared neuronal network.”
From The Effect of Music on the Human Stress Response (2013) · cites this paper as [36]
In the citing paper
“Studies showed that sound can exert a significant action on the brain (200–204) by activating a large number of cortical and subcortical areas, and, particularly, the limbic and paralimbic areas devoted to emotional processing (205).”
From The Multidisciplinary Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia. A Narrative Review of Non-Pharmacological Treatment (2018) · cites this paper as [204]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Koelsch, S.
- Affiliations
- Freie Universität Berlin (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Koelsch, Stefan
- ORCID
- Koelsch, Stefan
- Venue
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-03
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 131-137
- ISSN
- 1364-6613 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2121938245
- Cited by
- 651
- References
- 91
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 47 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 50 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 41 · 2016: 41 · 2015: 40 · 2014: 54 · 2013: 60 · 2012: 27
- FWCI
- 2.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- music-evoked emotion, neural basis of emotion, limbic system, emotional disorders, music therapy, functional neuroimaging, lesion studies
- MeSH terms
- Acoustic Stimulation, Auditory Perception, Brain, Emotions, Humans, Limbic System, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Music, Neural Pathways
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