New headphones claim to trigger release of dopamine (video)

 February 24, 2016 - 11:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Along with serotonin, oxytocin and endorphin, dopamine is one of the chemicals released by your brain that makes you feel happy - and some new headphones claim to trigger its release.

Writers at Futurism trialled the Nervana headset and reported positive results, Digital Spy reveals.

Co-founder, nurse and CEO Ami Brannon said: "We have a device that sends an electrical signal through the ear canal to stimulate the release of dopamine in your brain.

"There's an electrical signal that's paired with music. It follows the beat of the music, and it makes it really pleasant.

"Through a conductive earbud, it sends a message through the vagus nerve in your ear, which sends a message to the brain to release dopamine, your feel-good neurotransmitter that naturally occurs in the brain."

While dopamine levels can be boosted by the use of pharmaceuticals, most people get that hit by doing physical exercise.

Brannon added that according to all existing research, there's "really no harm" in the mechanism of the headphones.