Michael Jackson may have been more prescient than he realized when he wrote the lyrics to the global "feel-good" song, We Are the World.

 

New research recognizes that people from vastly different cultures and heritages respond to the same happy, sad and scared emotions in unfamiliar music.

This suggests the universality of emotions in music and may help explain why Western music has been adopted so ubiquitously worldwide, said the authors, from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany.

"We know that our auditory system responds in distinctive ways to consonant and dissonant sounds, even when we're not actively listening to them," said Nina Kraus, Hugh Knowles professor of communication sciences, neurobiology, physiology and otolaryngology at Northwestern University in Chicago. "It's fascinating how our sensory systems have evolved to respond effectively to sounds that signal what's important, such as emotional meaning."

Music fights stress, ups smarts, and keeps you sound of mind—and body.

A chorus of researchers have found that music enhances mood and well-being. Here are a few of their new releases and greatest hits.
 

Music hits the right note after a stroke

A little Beethoven is good for the brain, according to a Finnish study published today showing that music helps people recover more quickly from strokes.

And patients who listened to a few hours of music each day soon after a stroke also improved their verbal memory and were in a better mood compared to patients who did not listen to music or used audio books, the researchers said.

Music therapy has long been used in a range of treatments but the study published in the journal Brain is the first to show the effect in people, they added.

Bill Guhl was initially skeptical about using music therapy to manage his tinnitus, a progressively worsening hearing condition commonly described as ringing in the ears, that he developed serving in noisy Vietnam War battlefields.

Four months into treatment, though, the Weston, Ohio, man said his hearing has improved by about 60 percent, according to the Toledo Blade.

Hearing loud noises, which used to cause pain to shoot down into his shoulder, no longer hurts, Guhl said recently. "Taking the pain out of this whole thing has really helped," he added. For the first time in years, he can go to restaurants and social gatherings without wearing earplugs.

Fitness magazines and Web sites love to ask readers about their favorite workout music while presenting their playlists or suggestions from celebrities. Self.com features the " '80s cardio playlist," which includes the short-shorts video classic "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! On Fitnessmagazine.com, the singer Rihanna reveals her favorite workout songs -- immodestly recommending four of her own for "when you have to pick up the pace on the treadmill."

The playlist fixation has a scientific basis: Studies have shown that listening to music during exercise can improve results, both in terms of being a motivator (people exercise longer and more vigorously to music) and as a distraction from negatives like fatigue. But are certain songs more effective than others?