Neuroaesthetic of music and its clinical applications

While not having any obvious survival value for humans, aesthetic music enjoyment can be regarded as a basic phenomenon of life. Even infants seem to enjoy music; for example, they are calmed down by the tunes sung by their own mothers. The feelings of pleasure triggered by music processing (similarly to other arts) must have a biological basis, i.e., must be founded on specific brain structures solely or mainly devoted to this experience. But why has music such a deep impact on our emotional and aesthetic life? What are the biological determinants of music enjoyment? Why are some people touched by music more than others? Thanks to very recent development of the field of psychology and neuroscience of music cognition and emotion, solid basis for further progress exist. In the present project, the brain functions enabling us, and some individuals more than others, to enjoy and derive pleasurable effects from music will be elucidated. Furthermore, the neural and genetic foundations for adopting aesthetic enjoyment of music as an additional intervention for treatment of affective disorders, especially in adolescents, will be also be determined.