If we love listen to music depends, at least in part, on ours DNA. This is demonstrated by a genetic study on twins of a research group led by Max Planck Institute (Germany). Scientists have in fact discovered some genetic factors that influence the degree of appreciation of music, partly distinct those who influence the general enjoyment of gratifying experiences or musical skills.
We know: the music performs a Important role in human emotionsin social bonds and cultural expression. According to a 2024 searchfor example, when we listen to the music three distinct groups of neurons are activated in releasing dopamineand, therefore, the melodies interact with the predictive and reward of the brain.
But it was not clear which factors really influenced the pleasure of listening.
The answer to this great question has the potential to open a window on more general aspects of the human mind such as the way experiences become pleasant – explains Giacomo Bignardi, the first author of the work – we wanted to understand if the genetic differences between individuals can determine differences in the pleasure that people derive from music And what these differences can tell us about human musicality in general
To determine if the genetic factors contributed to the pleasure of music or to the sensitivity to the musical rewardthe researchers used the twin model, which compares the similarities between identical (homozygous) twins and heterozygous twins.
Scientists, in particular, hypothesized that if identical twins had proven more similar in this sensitivity than the heterozygous, genetics should have played a role. For this they used the data of over 9,000 twins, including the Auto-riferita musical reward and sensitivity to the general reward, as well as their ability to perceive musical characteristics such as tone, melody and rhythm.
The results showed that the ability to feel pleasure from music is partially hereditaryestimating that the 54% of variability in the Swedish champion It is associated with DNA differences between individuals, and discovering whether genetic influences on sensitivity to musical reward are partly independent of the general sensitivity to reward and musical perceptual skills, whether distinct genetic paths They influence different aspects of musical enjoyment, such as the regulation of emotions, dancing to pace or playing music with others.
As in many other aspects of our character, of our passions, tastes and sensitivity, DNA, therefore, plays a important role, but not unicor. Just returning to music, among other things, According to a 2024 study who conducted tests on the DNA of Ludwig van Beethoventhe famous composer was not brought for music.
And also for the latter research it is just like that.
These results suggest a complex In which distinct DNA differences contribute in part to different aspects of musical enjoyment – concludes Bignardi – the future research that examines which part of the genome contributes more to the human ability to appreciate music has the potential for shed light on the human faculty who left Darwin more perplexed and who still leaves us perplexed today
The work was published on Nature Communications.
Sources: Max Planck Institute / Nature Communications
