Do you get goosebumps when listening to music?

If you feel lump in a throat, feel moved or experience chills while hearing your favourite tunes it means that you are more in touch with your emotions than those who do not. The study run by University of California Phd student Matthew Sachs has shown that those with intense emotional response to music have structural differences in brain and possess “a higher volume of fibers that connects their auditory cortex to the areas associated with emotional processing, which means the two areas communicate better”.

The findings are to be further tested to better understand how depressive disorders can be treated with music. Since “depression causes an inability to experience pleasure of everyday things”, music therapy could help to “explore feelings”.

Love for music can lead to a mental wellbeing. Virtuoso Bears can help grow that love in babies from day one. 

"Larger tract volume from pSTG to aIns and mPFC in Chill responders: (A) Diffusion tractography showed increased tract volume between auditory perception regions in the STG and emotional and social processing regions in the aIns and mPFC. (B) Tract volume between the STG, aIns and mPFC was significantly larger in individuals who frequently experience chills in response to music compared to matched controls. **P < 0.01 uncorrected. ‡ P < 0.05 after Bonferroni correction. Error bars denote standard error."