Music is good company: new study shows that music induces social imagination
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 12-Nov-2025 00:11 ET (12-Nov-2025 05:11 GMT/UTC)
Have you ever felt like music keeps you company? Does music truly offer companionship or is it simply a figure of speech?
A new study led by Dr Steffen A. Herff, cognitive neuroscientist at Sydney, Music, Mind and Body Lab at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, has shown for the first time empirically that music can indeed keep you company by facilitating imagined social interactions. “Music appears to act as a catalyst for social imagination,” Dr Herff said. “Even without words or voices, it can trigger thoughts of connection, warmth and companionship.”This editorial reviews Decker et al’s study of more than 100,000 veterans experiencing homelessness who were overdue for colorectal or breast cancer screening. About 57,000 secured housing during a 24-month window and were more than twice as likely to get screened after doing so.
This study examines if gaining housing increased rates of colorectal and breast cancer screening in a cohort of veterans who experience homelessness.
In a new analysis of the RECOVER-Adult cohort, Mass General Brigham researchers found a two- to three-times higher risk of long COVID in those with social risk factors, including financial hardship, food insecurity, experiences of medical discrimination, and skipped medical care due to cost. Findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.