Many musicians will use music to disclose internal aspects of their lives to others. Music can function as a type of socialization as we relate to certain songs but also struggle to understand others, much like our social relationships. In other words, music can be seen as a socializing activity because it may train the listener in social awareness and empathetic relationships (Leman, 2007). Empathy, the tendency to share/relate to the emotions of others unconsciously (not knowingly), is thought to go hand in hand with an individual’s musical experience (Wallmark, Deblieck & Lacoboni, 2018). So, if our individual differences in trait empathy influence how we process social stimuli, would our level of empathy influence how we process music?
To answer this question, a study was conducted by Wallmark, Deblieck and Lacoboni (2018) which investigated the neural pathways that underly the relationship between music and trait empathy by conducting two experiments using an fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery). fMRIs measure the activity in certain areas of the brain by detecting changes in blood flow. In the first experiment, an fMRI looked at how empathy influenced participants’ processing of single vocal and musical sounds. In the second experiment, which looked at the relationship between empathy and music processing, required participants to listen to ‘liked’,‘disliked’, ‘familiar’ and ‘unfamiliar’ music clips while being monitored on an fMRI. Afterwards, participants filled out a standard questionnaire which assessed their empathy levels after both procedures. To their surprise, the present study demonstrated that empathy was correlated with neurophysiological differences in the way individuals process music.
Sensorimotor areas of the brain were more modulated by trait empathy when processing isolated vocal and musical sounds in experiment 1 and cognitive areas were more modulated when listening to ‘familiar’ music in experiment 2 (Wallmark, Deblieck and Lacoboni, 2018). Sensorimotor areas, the brain’s “pain circuit” which includes the anterior cingulate cortex, and somatomotor areas of the brain have been found in previous studies to be implicated in emotional empathy, also found in the current study. The prefrontal cortex (including medial, lateral and orbital portions), which is involved in a number of different functions, including: emotional regulation and mentalizing was highlighted. Also, the dorsal striatum (contains the basal ganglia), involved in musical pleasure, was another area highlighted in experiment 2. In other words, empathic individuals experience more pleasure/reward when listening to familiar music than those with low-empathy (Wallmark, Deblieck and Lacoboni, 2018) as well as having a greater involvement in areas that process social information.
Overall, the results from this study suggest that individuals with higher empathy process familiar music with higher activity in their reward system and areas that process social information than individuals that have low-empathy. From these results, we can not only conclude that individuals with higher empathy process music differently than those with low empathy, but we can also conclude that music is a socializing activity even when listening by ourselves.
Wallmark, Z., Deblieck, C., & Iacoboni, M. (2018). Neurophysiological Effects of Trait Empathy in Music Listening. Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 12, 66.
