From "The Value of Music that Tickles the Brain" by Kara Rogers. http://www. britannica. com/blogs/2013/04/the-value-of-musi c-that-tickles-the-brain/. 2013. Web. The effect music has on the human brain has long been an area of scientific interest. Sounds on their own are bland, but when they come together in melodies and song, they can be intensely pleasing or can move us to tears, for reasons that remain obscure, biologically speaking. It is clear, however, that we associate emotions with music, and the connection between music and reward, the new study indicates, appears to have much to do with "cross-talk," or communication, between two specific areas of the human brain: the auditory cortex, which stores information on sound, and the nucleus accumbens, which stores information on emotions and reward. Which claim does the author make in this passage? Our appreciation of music is obviously connected to how we process sorrow. There is no known biological reason why music is pleasing or affects our emotions. The nucleus accumbens is the only part of the brain associated with music appreciation. We relay on emotions and reward to select music we enjoy.