As 19 subjects listened to samples of unfamiliar songs, their brains were scanned with a functional MRI machine. After hearing each clip, the subjects could bid between zero and two dollars to purchase the song. And the values participants assigned to songs were associated with activity in the nucleus accumbens, a section of the brain's pleasure center. For more popular tunes, this region was more active and communicated more with the brain region that stores auditory information.

　　The scientists think the nucleus accumbens, which helps set expectations, draws on(利用；招来) stored musical knowledge to predict how a new tune will play out. When the music fulfills or even exceeds these expectations, the listener feels rewarded. So your listening history helps determine whether you’ll like a new song - or tell it to hit the road(开始流浪).