Do you love music? Almost every one of us does, At least any sort of art form. And have you ever experienced chills running down your spine or your hair standing on your skin? This is commonly known as ‘Goosebumps’ or it can also be named ‘frisson’.
This bodily reaction is a triggering done by our brain when we usually listen to emotionally moving music, or any other art form which succeeds to move us emotionally. Some scientists who have been studying this behavior have tagged it as “Skin Orgasm” since the sensation is not only physical it is also psychological. But not everybody experiences ‘Goosebumps’ to music. Scroll down to find out why.
A Harvard University student; Mathew Sachs have conducted an experiment to study this behavior of the human body. Involving 20 participants to this test, he played emotionally stimulating music and collected feedback to know if they had ‘Goosebumps’ or not.
Sachs himself had ‘Goosebumps’ or ‘Frisson’ listening to ‘Whole Lotta Love’ by Led Zeppelin, when he was young.
What did the results say?
Half of the participants said that they have experienced the sensation and the other half did not. All 20 participants were required to participate in a brain scan after the experiment. Sachs studied the brain scans of the people who had ‘Goosebumps’ and of the other half who did not.
By studying the scans, he found out that the people who experienced the sensation had denser brain fibers. They create stronger connections and impulses between auditory processes and emotions, while the others didn’t have dense fibers like them.
How does music trigger such sensations?
Music is an expression of emotion in auditory form so, when we pay attention to music, the listener parallels his/her emotions with the music. Any past memories or sudden changes in harmonies, textural differences in the audio, and dynamics will most likely create this feeling.
Why does this make the brain amazing?
People who get this sensation have denser brain fibers. They will cause the brain to influence and have stronger emotional triggers than a person with less dense brain fiber. So, psychological issues such as depression and anxiety can be easily kept out by influencing yourself with uplifting music and other things that trigger this sensation.
It will create better mental health and also you will be more open to experiencing life positively. It definitely does help in your creativity, being an interesting person, having a successful love/ family life, and much more.
So if you feel this wonderful feeling, you are one of the lucky ones to experience life in a much better way!
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h/t: Auxx
Languages, music, and cinematography are some of the most interesting things to me. Love to explore more about the world and share it with all of you online!
Hotelier | Writer | Music/Movie Enthusiast | Human!
