Addiction & Music: How Perception Changes
- People recovering from cocaine addiction or heroin addiction may experience a stronger urge to move to music with complex rhythms and harmonies, according to new research from Aarhus...
- The research suggests that long-term cocaine and heroin use disrupts dopamine signaling, possibly raising the threshold for non-drug stimuli, like music, to trigger pleasure.
- Researchers sought to understand if addiction, which also affects dopamine pathways, might alter the types of rhythms that feel rewarding.
Recovering from addiction? A new study reveals how the brain processes music differently.The research unveils that individuals in recovery from cocaine and heroin addiction exhibit a heightened urge to move to music with intricate rhythms and harmonies. This shift suggests that long-term substance use alters how the brain’s reward system responds to stimuli. Discover how dopamine signaling, vital for pleasure and movement, is disrupted by drug use, possibly raising the threshold for non-drug rewards, like music, to trigger pleasure. This finding provides new insights as to how music could serve as an assessment tool as well as a potential intervention when treating addiction by stimulating the downregulated neural pathways. For more, check out News Directory 3. Discover what’s next …
Addiction Alters Brain’s Response to Complex Music, Study Finds
Updated June 3, 2025
People recovering from cocaine addiction or heroin addiction may experience a stronger urge to move to music with complex rhythms and harmonies, according to new research from Aarhus University. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, explores how long-term substance use affects the brain’s reward system and its response to music.
The research suggests that long-term cocaine and heroin use disrupts dopamine signaling, possibly raising the threshold for non-drug stimuli, like music, to trigger pleasure. Prior studies indicate that music activates dopaminergic pathways linked to reward, anticipation, and movement. The “groove,” or pleasurable urge to move to music, typically peaks at moderate rhythmic complexity. Scientists have observed that this response diminishes in conditions like Parkinson’s disease, where dopamine pathways are compromised.
Researchers sought to understand if addiction, which also affects dopamine pathways, might alter the types of rhythms that feel rewarding. To investigate,they conducted an experiment involving 58 male participants. The participants were divided into three groups: 19 recovering from cocaine addiction, 16 recovering from both heroin and cocaine addiction, and 23 nonusers.The participants in recovery resided in rehabilitation centers in Italy, where substance use was prohibited during the study.
During the experiment, participants listened to musical excerpts varying in rhythmic and harmonic complexity and then rated their urge to move. The nonusers exhibited the typical inverted-U response, with the strongest groove at moderate complexity. However, the recovery group reported a substantially stronger groove response to high rhythmic complexity and a weaker response to low rhythmic complexity. Their ratings for moderate rhythmic complexity did not differ significantly from the control group. similarly, the recovery group experienced a stronger groove in response to high harmonic complexity compared to nonusers.
Researchers believe these altered groove responses indicate that long-term substance use increases the sensory intensity needed to engage dopaminergic reward systems. Complex rhythms and harmonies may provide the necessary stimulation to activate downregulated neural pathways. The findings also align with the idea that pre-existing sensation-seeking tendencies may contribute to both drug use and preferences for intense musical experiences.
Complex rhythms and harmonies may provide the sensory intensity required to activate downregulated neural pathways, consistent with the elevated reward threshold hypothesis in addiction science.
What’s next
The study suggests that groove could serve as a noninvasive tool for assessing altered reward sensitivity and movement engagement in addiction. It may also inform music-based interventions aimed at promoting well-being and social connection in recovery settings.