Have you ever heard a song that instantly brings back a memory? A new study suggests that music can not only trigger memories but also change how we remember them. This fascinating discovery could have wide-reaching implications for everyday life and even mental health treatments.

How does music affect memory

Yiren Ren, a Georgia Institute of Technology psychology researcher, and a team with Thackery Brown along with music experts Sophia Mehdizadeh and Grace Leslie from the University of Colorado Boulder aimed to unlock the link between music and emotion with memory. It involved a three-day memory test designed to find how different types of music might shift memories.

On the first day, participants were asked to memorize a series of emotionally neutral stories. The next day, they recalled those stories while listening to either positive, negative or no music at all. Finally, on day three, participants were asked to recall the stories again, but this time without any music.

What did the study find

The results revealed that participants who listened to emotional music while recalling the stories were more likely to add emotional details to the neutral events. This suggests that music can alter how memories are formed and recalled.

Brain scans showed that listening to music increased activity in two key areas: the amygdala, which is the brain's emotional center, and the hippocampus, which is responsible for learning and memory. The scans also showed “altered neural engagement” when participants recalled stories with music compared to when they did so in silence.

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Can music change our memories

What is even more interesting is that the study found evidence of communication between the emotional memory-processing parts of the brain and those responsible for visual sensory processing. This suggests that music doesn't just trigger emotional memories but also blends emotional and sensory details into our recollections.

As Yiren Ren pointed out,  “While further research is needed, our findings have exciting implications for both everyday life and for medicine.” This may mean that carefully selected music could help people manage their memories, especially those with mental health conditions.

Implications for mental health

To patients with depression, PTSD, or other mental health illnesses, the study suggests that it can perhaps alter negative memories into a positive one over time. Perhaps “Carefully chosen music” could help reshape such troubling memories, providing one of the most powerful tools in mental health treatments.

A powerful tool for healing

The study concluded with clear evidence of the connection that exists between music and memory as it relates to the role of emotions in the recollection process. “These findings illuminate the interplay between music, emotion, and memory, offering insights into the consequences of infusing emotional music into memory recollection processes,” the researchers noted.

With these findings, the potential for music to transform how we remember events, and even to help heal emotional wounds, is more promising than ever.