Music can't make you feel full if you're hungry or help you pass your genes on to the next generation.
By studying the brain activity behind those chills, scientists are getting closer to understanding why music makes us feel pleasure.
In a study released Tuesday, scientists found that specific waves of brain activity increase in power when people get the chills from emotionally moving pieces of music.
He tells Inverse that musical pleasure activates some of the reward processing circuits as other "basal" forms of pleasure do, like food or sex.
Listening to music can also lead to dopamine release â the hormone associated with pleasurable experiences, he says.
"What is intriguing with music is it seems to confer no biological value and has no value for survival," he tells Inverse.
Theta waves are linked to success on memory tasks when we perceive a reward on the other side, in previous studies. »
