Anhedonia to music and mu-opioids: Evidence from the administration of naltrexone.
Music's universality and its ability to deeply affect emotions suggest an evolutionary origin. Previous investigators have found that naltrexone (NTX), a μ-opioid antagonist, may induce reversible anhedonia, attenuating both positive and negative emotions. The neurochemical basis of musical experience is not well-understood, and the NTX-induced anhedonia hypothesis has not been tested with music. Accordingly, we administered NTX or placebo on two different days in a double-blind crossover study, and assessed participants' responses to music using both psychophysiological (objective) and behavioral (subjective) measures. We found that both positive and negative emotions were attenuated. We conclude that endogenous opioids are critical to experiencing both positive and negative emotions in music, and that music uses the same reward pathways as food, drug and sexual pleasure. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence for the evolutionary biological substrates of music.
Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Canada.
Adiel
A
Mallik
Department of Psychology, McGill University, Canada.
Mona Lisa
ML
Chanda
Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Canada.|Department of Psychology, McGill University, Canada.|School of Computer Science and School of Music, McGill University, Canada.
Daniel J
DJ
Levitin
D000328:Adult; D059445:Anhedonia / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009146:Music / Q000523:psychology*; D009271:Naltrexone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*
D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D009271:Naltrexone