University of San Francisco professor and neuroscientist Indre Viskontas tells
Complex that the euphoria we experience from music comes from our brain’s reward system, “which is a complex interplay of genetics and environment and experience.” When our brain feels rewarded, we experience elevated dopamine levels, but in order to have that high from a first listen, we have to understand the structural basics of what we’re listening to in order to know
why it’s special. “As a child, your brain develops the ability to extract meaning from sound,” Viskontas says. “And depending on your experiences as a child, you’ll be better or worse at this.”