by Michaela Price
Think of your favorite songs: the melodies and harmonies, the emotion and story behind the lyrics, the exciting experience of hearing your favorite band perform live. Sometimes the strong emotion and overall pleasurable experience of hearing your favorite song or band can produce goosebumps as if you were cold or cause a chill to run down your spine. That physiological chill response is called musical frisson. One of the earliest studies on the emotional and physiological responses to music found that “shivers down the spine” was the most common physiological response to music. That particular study attempted to determine what types of musical passages evoked various physiological responses as well. For instance, shivers and goosebumps were most commonly experienced during passages with new and sudden changes in harmonies. The scientists reported other physiological responses to music as well, such as laughter, a lump in the throat, and tears.
Figure 1. Music can evoke emotion. Image source.
Researchers have shown that musical frisson is associated with autonomic nervous system arousal, including increased heart rate, increased respiration (breathing) rate, increased electrical conductivity of the skin (electrodermal skin conductance response), and decreased temperature. Therefore, scientists can use the musical frisson response as an objective measure of strong emotions. Furthermore, scientists discovered that musical frisson experienced while listening to pleasurable music is associated with the release of dopamine, which is a chemical in the brain that is involved with the feelings of pleasure and reward. Musical chills can be evoked by several strong emotions during songs, not just happiness, but also love, nostalgia, sadness, and peacefulness. So if you’re ever in need of a mood change, maybe try listening to music!
