Josep Marco Pallarés, a neuroscientist at the University of Barcelona, reflects on a conversation he had with colleagues at a conference a decade ago. He spontaneously remarked that everyone loves music. However, he soon began to question this assertion when confronted with clinical cases where patients experienced no pleasure from music at all.
Over the past ten years, Pallarés and his team have delved into the neural mechanisms underlying a phenomenon they have termed specific musical anhedonia, which refers to the inability to derive enjoyment from music.
The neural basis of pleasure
Typically, enjoyment arises from the interaction of brain circuits that manage sensory perception—whether it be taste, touch, or sound—and the reward pathways that release dopamine in response to pleasurable experiences. For a considerable period, researchers attributed the absence of pleasure in activities enjoyed by most people to dysfunctions within these circuits.
If the auditory processing areas of the brain are compromised, it can inhibit an individual’s ability to enjoy music because they cannot perceive it correctly. Alternatively, even if auditory perception is intact, an absence of dopamine release from the reward circuits can also prevent enjoyment of music. However, Pallarés argues that this conventional understanding is somewhat limited.
“When the reward circuit fails, a person can’t derive enjoyment from any experience, not just music,” Pallarés explains. “Yet, some individuals have no hearing difficulties and find pleasure in other activities, such as winning money, but still cannot appreciate music.”
