On Friday, Live Nation revealed the results of a biometric study they conducted at a recent St. Vincent concert, and the results show that going to live shows cause an overall positive shift in brain activity, including spikes in attention, engagement, and emotional intensity.

The findings showed a sizeable increase in oxytocin, the hormone that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain contributing to a number of warm-and-fuzzy human emotions—from personal relationships to sexual attraction to generosity to trust—likely catalyzed by increased synchronized movement during the concert. A similar acute increase in oxytocin has previously been observed as a result of petting puppies.

The results were presented by Live Nation at this past weekend’s Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity in the south of France. Notes Pollstar:

To perform the experiment, Live Nation arranged for each attendee to don an EEG wearable headband to measure brain-wave activity, and skin sensors to measure galvanic skin response and sweat during a St. Vincent show.

The results showed 90 percent of respondents had increased attention and engagement and a mood increase of 500 percent after attending the show. Also, within minutes of starting the gig, participants had a 53 percent increase in emotional intensity. … After the show ended, 57 percent of respondents said “live music helps me form real connections with people,” which may have been related to the 300 percent increase in synchronized movement, which related to an increase in oxytocin. It also showed 90 percent of participants had a favorable shift in brain activity.

As Live Nation’s global president of sponsorships, Russell Wallach, explained in a statement:

The genesis for conducting the biometric study stemmed from recent findings from Live Nation’s Global Research, which surveyed over 22,000 live music fans, revealing that across the world – we are feeling isolated and overloaded with information. … 70 percent of respondents – across generations – expressed that live music is a powerful antidote to this trend. We wanted to further prove that point and correlate the link between how we think we feel and how we actually feel.

Of course, the findings aren’t entirely conclusive. There was no control subject or varied approaches (like, say, a bad band’s concert, different types of venues/crowds, etc) and only one show’s worth of data (maybe this show was particularly good/bad). It’s also tough to attribute any of the findings to “live music” as a whole without accounting for St. Vincent’s, a.k.a. Annie Clark‘s, particular talent and ability. After all, she is widely considered one of the more exciting and interesting acts on the road today. Plus, there’s the bias inherent in the fact that the study was conducted by Live Nation, one of the world’s biggest concert promoters.

However, the test does attach some scientific data to a notion we’ve long suspected: Concerts make you feel good.

You can catch St. Vincent and Panorama NYC this summer, set to take place at Randall’s Island on July 27th, 28th, and 29th. Watch a recent St. Vincent in-studio performance below via KEXP:

[H/T Pollstar]