Der öffentliche Vortrag findet am 19. Juli 2025 um 19 Uhr im Raum 3.53 des LMC der Universität Augsburg statt. Der Eintritt ist frei. Um Anmeldung an claudia.jirka@uni-a.de wird gebeten. Katrina McFerran wird uns Einblicke in ihre aktuelle Forschung zum Einsatz von Musik bei der Wiederherstellung von Freud- und Genussfähigkeit bei Anhedonie geben.

Wir freuen uns, Prof. Katrina McFerran von der University of Melbourne im Juli als Gast an der Universität Augsburg begrüßen zu dürfen und laden Sie zu einem hochkarätigen Vortragsabend einladen.

ABSTRACT

Why and How Does Music Bring us Pleasure?

Many people report that music brings them pleasure. Some describe music as their daily vitamin pill or even their best friend. Formal surveys, such as the United Nations' World Happiness Report, highlight engagement with arts and culture, including music, as a significant factor influencing life satisfaction. Similar findings are reported in the longitudinal survey of the German Socio-Economic Panel. Beyond self-reporting, brain imaging studies have demonstrated that music activates multiple neural networks, including those associated with reward processing. These networks are thought to be responsible for mediating pleasurable responses to musical stimuli.

In this presentation, Professor McFerran will explore why and how music can bring us pleasure by examining people who have lost the ability to enjoy previously pleasurable activities, a symptom known as anhedonia. She will report on an intensive music-based intervention that has led to reconnection with pleasure, exploring what might be required for the neurological pathways to be re-activated, using examples from case studies. The importance of easily accessible, regular, and intentional musical engagement will be emphasised.

The significance of pleasure for human flourishing will be discussed, with emphasis on both hedonic (pleasure-based) and eudaimonic (meaning-based) dimensions of well-being. The role of musical pleasure will be presented as a non-pharmacological approach to addressing languishing, a state of low well-being.