Music's ability to induce feelings of pleasure has been the subject of intense neuroscientific research lately. Prior neuroimaging studies have shown that music-induced pleasure engages cortico-striatal circuits related to the anticipation and receipt of biologically relevant rewards/incentives, but these reports are necessarily correlational. Here, we studied both the causal role of this circuitry and its temporal dynamics by applying Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex combined with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in 17 male and female participants. Behaviorally, we found that, in accord with previous findings, excitation of fronto-striatal pathways enhanced subjective reports of music-induced pleasure and motivation; whereas inhibition of the same circuitry led to the reduction of both. fMRI activity patterns indicated that these behavioral changes were driven by bidirectional TMS-induced alteration of fronto-striatal function. Specifically, ...