A Canadian study has found an equivalent to sex in terms of effects on our brain: music. » Music soothes the soul « yes, but it would obviously be as powerful as the sexual act.
Listening to a song that you like would provide as much pleasure as making love to your partner. In any case, this is what a study conducted by Dr. Danier Levitin and his team of neuroscientists from McGill University (Canada) confirms. The results of this research were published in the journal Scientific Reports on March 3, 2017.
According to them, everything would be a question of substances. An experiment was conducted on 17 volunteers: they first absorbed naltrexone, a product that prevents the production of opioids in the brain. You should know that opioids are responsible for the feeling of well-being following their secretion during the sexual act. Then, each volunteer’s favorite song was played to them.
« The impressions that our participants shared with us after the experience were fascinating », said Dr Danier Levitin for the British daily The Independent.
The findings indicate that without their opioids, the participants did not enjoy the music as much as they usually do. The conclusion appeared clear to scientists who pointed to the feeling of fullness felt when listening to a popular song as being the result of the secretion of opioids. By deduction, and considering that these same opioids are released during sexual intercourse, the conclusion is obvious: it is the same source of pleasure, at least for our brain. You should also know that the same is true of drugs.
Other research should surely be carried out in the future in order to better understand opioids, because for Dr. Danier Levitin, “the opioid system is a big question mark”.
Sources: The Independent – Tonic – Elle