"Laughter (and humor) involves the gradual build-up of expectation (a model) followed by a sudden twist or anomaly that entails a change in the model -- but onl

"Laughter (and humor) involves the gradual build-up of expectation (a model) followed by a sudden twist or anomaly that entails a change in the model -- but only as long as the new model is non-threatening -- so that there is a deflation of expectation." [1] My theory is that music provides pleasure in the same way that we get from our hobbies & interests via "familiar surprises": from poetry through rhyme, from dance through rhythm, from movies through plot-twists. Our brains are pattern recognition systems and constantly distinguishing friend from foe, and listening to music we grew up with is a part of that "IFF" system. The "familiar" - usually we listen to a few genres at most and stick to them throughout our life., and the "surprises" are the slight variations and nuances in a song - with the assurance that all is well - that give us our dopamine shot. This is very similar to wordplay in poetry, humor in comedy. I think they are all closely related neuronally. [1] "The neurology and evolution of humor, laughter, and smiling: the false alarm theory" Prof. V S. RAMACHANDRAN edit: added a reference to VSR's article and some grammar