Music engages the phasic dopaminergic D1-receptor system in humans: a PET-fMRI study using [¹¹C]SCH23390.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Music listening reliably induces arousal in the listener, however its effect on dopaminergic transmission is not yet fully explored. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We investigated the responsiveness of the striatal dopamine D1 receptor (D1R) system, which is preferentially engaged by phasic dopaminergic signals, using simultaneous PET-fMRI and the selective D1R radioligand [11C]SCH23390. Fifteen neurotypical participants were scanned during silence before listening to a music piece in its pleasant and unpleasantly manipulated variation. Striatal binding potential (BPND) was significantly lower when listening to music compared to silence. RESULTS: A seed-based fMRI analysis revealed higher functional connectivity between the striatum and left dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex (MNI: x = -43, y = 24, z = 24) during pleasant music in relation to unpleasant music. An exploratory whole-brain D1R PET analysis further identified increased insular BPND (MNI: x = -33, y = 1.5, z = 16.5; T = 5.58) during pleasant relative to unpleasant music. Comparison of BPND and fMRI beta estimates changes within that prefrontal cluster showed a moderate correlation between the pleasant and unpleasant music condition (R = -0.52, p = 0.046), but no correlation for the silent conditions (R = 0.24, p = 0.42). Changes in ratings of musical pleasantness moderately correlated with fMRI changes in the prefrontal cluster, but not with changes in BPND. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that music irrespective of valence engages the D1R system, indicating that the inherently phasic nature of music can drive D1R-related responses. Furthermore, our results demonstrate valence effects in functional connectivity between the striatum and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex when listening to music with varying pleasantness.