Musical Anhedonia: Why some people’s brains are wired to dislike music

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Transcript

00:00Some people genuinely feel nothing when they hear music.

00:03Not boredom, not dislike, just zero emotional response.

00:07It's called Musical Anadonia, and it affects up to 5 to 10% of the population.

00:12Their ears work fine. They can recognize melodies, rhythms, even dance to the beat.

00:16But their brain's reward system doesn't care.

00:19Researchers in Barcelona built a test, the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire,

00:23that measures how much music moves you.

00:25The 20-item test breaks down music enjoyment into five key areas.

00:30Musical Seeking, Emotion Evocation, Mood Regulation, Social Reward, and Sensory Motor Response.

00:35It asks, do you get chills? Do you hum along? Or is it all just background noise?

00:40Studies suggest that while some people can develop music anadonia following a traumatic brain injury,

00:45more often the condition is genetic.

00:46They found the disconnect between sound and pleasure might help us understand other reward-related issues

00:51like gambling, food addiction, and even depression.

00:54So while you may cry every time you hear Landslide by Stevie Nicks

00:57or pumped up when Eye of the Tiger plays at a sports game,

01:00some people hear those same songs and feel nothing.

01:03Their brains are just playing a different tune.

01:05But what do you think? Are you one of the 5%? Do you believe in anadonia?

01:09Let us know in the comments and follow us here for more.