Twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoyment
Humans engage with music for various reasons that range from emotional regulation and relaxation to social bonding. While there are large inter-individual differences in how much humans enjoy music, little is known about the origins of those differences. Here, we disentangle the genetic factors underlying such variation. We collect data on several facets of music reward sensitivity, as measured by the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire, plus music perceptual abilities and general reward sensitivity from a large sample of Swedish twins (N = 9169; 2305 complete pairs). We estimate that genetic effects contribute up to 54% of the variability in music reward sensitivity, with 70% of these effects being independent of music perceptual abilities and general reward sensitivity. Furthermore, multivariate analyses show that genetic and environmental influences on the different facets of music reward sensitivity are partly distinct, uncovering distinct pathways to music enjoyment and different patterns of genetic associations with objectively assessed music perceptual abilities. These results paint a complex picture in which partially distinct sources of variation contribute to different aspects of musical enjoyment.
Authors
- Fredrik Ullén (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2974-9256)
- Ernest Mas‐Herrero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3607-8489)
- Miriam Anna Mosing (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2049-125X)
- Laura W. Wesseldijk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9900-0371)
- Robert J. Zatorre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1730-7423)
- Simon E. Fisher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3132-1996)
- Giacomo Bignardi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7439-0684)
Institutions
- Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (CA)
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (DE)
- Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge (ES)
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (NL)
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (DE)
- Amsterdam University Medical Centers (NL)
- International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (CA)
- McGill University (CA)
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-03-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58123-8
- Citations
- 19
- Primary Topic
- Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 27.19
Funders
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
- Karolinska Institutet
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Vetenskapsrådet
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación
- European Social Fund