My Nonexistent Favorite Genre: Musical Anhedonia
Many a conversation has ended with the inevitable question: “So, what’s your favourite genre of music?”.
My answer, though honest, often leaves most people perplexed. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, the concept of having a favourite anything clashes with my core belief in non-attachment. Why choose one thing over another? Life offers a rich tapestry of experiences, and I strive to appreciate them all equally.
But perhaps the bigger truth lies in my experience with MUSICAL ANHEDONIA. For those unfamiliar, MUSICAL ANHEDONIA is a neurological condition where individuals do not get any kind of emotion, or even pleasure, from music.
It’s not a matter of disliking music, but rather an inability to connect with it on an emotional level.
To better explain: imagine music as a language spoken by your brain’s reward system. Typically, when we hear music we enjoy, specific regions in the brain light up, releasing dopamine and other neurotransmitters associated with pleasure and reward. This creates a positive feedback loop, encouraging us to keep listening.
In musical anhedonia, this communication pathway does not exist. The music is registered, but the emotional response is muted or absent.
