How does the brain process sound and associate it with emotions?

 The brain processes sound and associates it with emotions through a complex network of structures and pathways. When we detect a sound, sound waves travel to our ears and the sound energy is converted to nerve impulses. These impulses travel to the auditory cortex of the brain’s temporal lobes for processing. Another brain structure, the amygdala, heightens our perception of the sound and associates it with a particular emotion, such as fear or unpleasantness. These emotions can elicit a physical response to certain sounds, such as goose bumps or a sensation that something is crawling over your skin. The amygdala also communicates with other brain regions, such as the hippocampus (memory), the prefrontal cortex (decision making) and the hypothalamus (hormonal response), to modulate our behavioral and physiological reactions to sounds.