On the other side of the spectrum, there are hyper-hedonics. These are people who say they wouldn't be able to live without music. In their brains, the strongest transfer of information happens between the auditory and reward systems of the brain. One of such people is Paul Silvia, a psychology professor at the University of Carolina at Greensboro. "I hear music in my mind a lot, and I can get chills from this imagined music," he told The Atlantic.
The chills Silvia is describing have an official name: frisson. Researchers from USC found that more than 50% of people get feelings like shivers, a lump in their throat, or goosebumps when they listen to music. While scientists are not entirely sure what causes us to experience the shivers, they have a few theories.
One theory is that listening to music releases dopamine into our brains. The sudden rush of dopamine supposedly causes us to have a physiological reaction as well, making us feel goosebumps. Other scientists say it's the emotional connection we might feel to a piece of music. However, one study has found that it's more about people's openness to experiences.
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