Surprising but your genes influence what kind of music she loves

Music plays a central role in human emotions and culture. Is there a biological basis for our ability to enjoy music? Published in the journal Nature Communications study The results of a genetic twin test show that the enjoyment of music is partially inherited. The international research group led by scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistic in Nijmegen, Nijmegen, discovered genetic factors that affect the level of musical enjoyment and which are partly different from genes that affect the general enjoyment of rewarding experiences or genes that affect musical abilities. writes the Science Daily.

Why do we enjoy music?

Music plays an important role in human emotions, social attachment and cultural expression. As Darwin has already noted, the music must be « the most mysterious that man is given. » But why do people enjoy music? – read the question On the Institute’s news page.

« Answering this big question can open a window to the more general aspects of the human mind, such as how the experiences become enjoyable. We wanted to understand whether the genetic differences between individuals could lead to differences in the in enjoymentand what these differences can tell us about human musicality in general, ”said Giacomo Bignardi, the first author of the study.

To determine whether genetic factors contribute to musical enjoyment or « musical reward sensitivity », the researchers used the twin construction, which compares the similarities between the identical and the twin-northweds. Simply put, if the identical twins are more similar to those with multi -mood, then genetics must play a role.

In cooperation with the MPI empirical aesthetics in Germany and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, the team was able to use more than 9,000 twin data, including self -discovering music reward and general reward sensitivity, and musical features such as pitch, melody and rhythm.

Where does the joy of music come from?

The results show that the joy of music The ability to live is partly inherited: using the twin construction, researchers have succeeded in estimating that 54 percent of the variability in the Swedish sample is related to the differences between individuals.

The research team also found that the to a musical reward sensitivity The genetic effects practiced are partly independent of general reward sensitivity and musical perception capabilities, and has discovered that different genetic routes affect different aspects of musical pleasure such as emotion control, dance to rhythm or music.

« These results suggest a complex picture that partly contributes to different aspects of musical pleasure. Future research that examines which part of the genome contributes most to the human ability of the music to enjoy the human ability that Darwin is most confused. »