A groundbreaking study from Aarhus University reveals that long-term addiction to substances such as cocaine and heroin reshapes how pleasure from music is experienced. For Thai readers, this offers fresh insight into how recovery therapy can harness musical engagement more effectively. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicates that individuals with substance use disorders need more intricate rhythms and harmonies to feel the urge to move, or groove, than people without such histories. The findings also deepen our understanding of how addiction alters the brain’s reward system beyond drug cues.
Music plays a central role in daily life and rehabilitation programs in Thailand. This study adds scientific weight to using music and movement as therapy, a practice already employed in Thai treatment centers. Data from Thailand’s ongoing efforts to address methamphetamine and heroin use show that music-based interventions can support emotional health and social reintegration for people in recovery.
In the Aarhus study, 58 men were divided into three groups: individuals recovering from cocaine addiction, those in recovery from both heroin and cocaine, and a control group without substance-use history. Participants resided in drug-free rehabilitation centers during the study. They listened to musical excerpts that varied in rhythmic and harmonic complexity—from simple, predictable beats to highly intricate, unpredictable compositions. After each listening session, they rated their urge to move in time with the music.
Typically, healthy listeners experience an inverted-U response: groove peaks at moderate complexity and declines with too-simple or too-complex rhythms. The study found that former drug users reported a stronger groove in response to highly complex rhythms and harmonies, compared with nonusers. Their response to simple rhythms was weaker, and their responses to moderately complex music aligned with those of non-addicted participants.
Researchers attribute this shift to addiction’s impact on dopamine signaling, which governs reward and pleasure. Chronic drug use can reduce dopamine receptor availability, making non-drug experiences—like music—less engaging unless they are more intense. Complex rhythms and harmonies may provide the sensory intensity needed to activate these downregulated pathways. This aligns with broader addiction science showing an elevated reward threshold.
The findings resemble patterns observed in Parkinson’s disease, where diminished dopamine reduces musical pleasantness. In addiction, however, the threshold to experience groove is raised, requiring more intense stimuli. The study also notes a link between sensation-seeking—a trait often associated with addiction—and a preference for more intense musical experiences.
Experts outside the study emphasize the relevance for treatment. Psychiatrists at Thailand’s mental health system have long supported creative therapies, including music-based approaches to support recovery and social reintegration. A senior addiction clinician at a leading Bangkok rehabilitation center commented that understanding how the brain’s reward system rebalances after addiction helps tailor activities for individuals who may not respond to traditional approaches.
In Thailand, where music and dance are woven into cultural life and festival traditions such as luk thung, mor lam, and piphat ensembles, these results hold practical significance. Integrating more complex musical elements into music therapy could improve engagement and well-being for recovering patients. Thai researchers have also shown promise in using sound baths, drum circles, and guided movement for healing in communities across the northeast and central regions.
The study raises important questions for families, educators, and public health workers in Thailand. Could music therapy be enhanced with greater rhythmical complexity, or could traditional Thai musical forms be fused with therapeutic practices to better engage the brain’s reward system? As the Ministry of Public Health continues to prioritize substance-use prevention and treatment, collaboration with local musicians and trained music therapists could help design culturally appropriate recovery programs.
Music can’t replace comprehensive treatment, but it can serve as a powerful bridge—an enjoyable, culturally resonant tool that helps re-engage the brain’s reward pathways. Tailoring musical experiences to the altered needs of the dopamine system may strengthen this bridge.
Caregivers, educators, and therapists supporting recovery are encouraged to explore musical activities with varying levels of complexity and to note which styles elicit the strongest positive responses. Public health agencies and NGOs can further integrate these findings by supporting local musicians and therapists who work with complex musical forms in recovery settings.
For more on the research, researchers and clinicians can reference the study through reputable neuroscience journals and Thai public health updates. A richer recovery journey may lie in embracing a more musically nuanced approach to healing.