title: Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music.
abstract: Music, an abstract stimulus, can arouse feelings of euphoria and craving, similar to tangible rewards that involve the striatal dopaminergic system. Using the neurochemical specificity of [(11)C]raclopride positron emission tomography scanning, combined with psychophysiological measures of autonomic nervous system activity, we found endogenous dopamine release in the striatum at peak emotional arousal during music listening. To examine the time course of dopamine release, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging with the same stimuli and listeners, and found a functional dissociation: the caudate was more involved during the anticipation and the nucleus accumbens was more involved during the experience of peak emotional responses to music. These results indicate that intense pleasure in response to music can lead to dopamine release in the striatal system. Notably, the anticipation of an abstract reward can result in dopamine release in an anatomical pathway distinct from that associated with the peak pleasure itself. Our results help to explain why music is of such high value across all human societies.
authors.affiliation: Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. valorie.salimpoor@mail.mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Valorie N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Salimpoor
authors.forename: Mitchel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benovoy
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Larcher
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dagher
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Zatorre
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D005059:Euphoria; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009146:Music / Q000523:psychology*; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D057181:Pleasure; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012201:Reward
chemical_list: D004298:Dopamine