Groove, drugs, and dopamine: People with substance use disorders seek pleasure from complex music

What is it about?

We found that people in therapy for heroin and cocaine addiction experienced stronger groove — a pleasurable urge to move to music — when listening to complex rhythms and harmonies, compared to people without addiction (see top panel of infographic below). This may be linked to changes in the brain's reward system caused by repeated dopamine surges from drug use. As a result, everyday rewards may feel less pleasurable or motivating, which could explain why people with addiction are drawn to more intense and complex music.

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Photo by Steve Harvey on Unsplash

Photo by Steve Harvey on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Groove tends to be strongest when music strikes a balance between predictability (a steady beat) and surprise (small rhythmic deviations). This sweet spot usually lies at a moderate level of rhythmic complexity. Simpler rhythms lack the excitement of deviations, while overly complex rhythms make it difficult to find the beat. We interpret this inverted U-shaped pattern using the predictive processing framework, which suggests that groove is strongest when the brain successfully detects and resolves prediction errors caused by rhythmic deviations (see bottom panel of infographic below). In people with substance use disorders, the peak groove experience appears to shift toward higher levels of rhythmic complexity. This distinct pattern differs not only from control participants but also from other groups with altered dopamine function, such as people with Parkinson’s disease or musical anhedonia. Our findings shed light on how dopamine shapes pleasure, reward, and musical engagement, and may inform future approaches to music-based therapy.

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