Music and Psychoactive Substances: Cultural Practices, Adolescent Development and Music Therapy in Addiction Treatment
IntechOpen eBooks March 18, 2026 Jörg Fachner, Filippo Pasqualitto, Clemens Maidhof
Adolescent risk-taking, including substance experimentation, is a way of testing the self within social boundaries. Psychoactive substances historically co-evolved with music and popular culture, normalizing their use among young people. The chapter examines the neurobiological overlap between drug-induced euphoria and music-elicited pleasure, both engaging the brain's dopaminergic reward system. This overlap provides a theoretical basis for using music therapy (MT) as a complementary intervention for substance use disorder (SUD). Evidence indicates that MT modulates neural activity, contributes to symptom reduction, emotional regulation, and enhanced motivation, supporting recovery in SUD treatment.