This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

Although music and language have much in common, activating many of the same regions of the brain, music links far more to primitive brain structures related to reward and motivation. The emotional impact of music often relates to its rhythm. Strong momentum in beat divisions is called “groove,” a rare and sought-after quality in music. When a piece of music has a predictable beat, which performance qualities or a skilled conductor can enhance, the likelihood is far greater that the piece will be emotionally moving. Levitin has devoted much research to investigating the link between emotion and rhythm in music.

James Watson and Francis Crick (1916-2004), Nobel Prize winners credited with discovering DNA, contributed to Levitin’s work. Watson participated alongside Levitin in a prestigious workshop investigating how the brain processes timing, which prompted Levitin’s interest in the connection between metrical extraction and emotion. Levitin cherishes the memory of meeting and conversing with Crick after a dinner with colleague Ursula Bellugi at California’s Salk Institute only months before Crick’s death. Levitin long admired Crick, feeling a sense of camaraderie with the co-discoverer of DNA because they both began their scientific careers relatively late in life.