Some people get the chills or feel moved to tears when listening to certain songs, while others tend to experience a less-intense reaction to music. Now, a new study hints that your level of music enjoyment may be partially written in your genes.
According to a study published March 25 in the journal Nature Communications, 54% of the differences in the levels of music enjoyment between individuals can be attributed to their genes. The scientists behind the work attribute the remaining percentage to environmental factors such as growing up in a family that played musical instruments or listened to music together, as well as other, past music-related experiences.
“This study explores something many of us in music have long suspected — some people are just wired to connect with music on a deeper level,” Mitchell Hutchings, an associate professor of voice at Florida Atlantic University who was not involved with the work, told Live Science in an email.
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