Frightening music triggers rapid changes in brain monoamine receptors: a pilot PET study.

UNLABELLED Frightening music can rapidly arouse emotions in listeners that mimic those from actual life-threatening experiences. However, studies of the underlying mechanism for perceiving danger created by music are limited. METHODS We investigated monoamine receptor changes induced by frightening music using (11)C-N-methyl-spiperone ((11)C-NMSP) PET. Ten healthy male volunteers were included, and their psychophysiologic changes were evaluated. RESULTS Compared with the baseline condition, listening to frightening music caused a significant decrease in (11)C-NMSP in the right and left caudate nuclei, right limbic region, and right paralimbic region; a particularly significant decrease in the right anterior cingulate cortex; but an increase in the right frontal occipital and left temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex. CONCLUSION Transient fright triggers rapid changes in monoamine receptors, which decrease in the limbic and paralimbic regions but increase in the cerebral cortex.