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Why Music Triggers a Walk Down Memory Lane
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Why Music Triggers a Walk Down Memory Lane "Give me the beat boys and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away. Words are the pen of the heart, but music is the pen of the soul." "Ain't it funny how a melody brings back memories/takes you to another place and time/completely changes your state of mind." Memory is a mental system that receives, stores, organized, alters and recovers information from sensory input. Research has shown memory to be affected by many factors. One of these factors is music. Music has an amazing power to influence memory, emotions and behavior. It has been found to affect and stimulate many different parts of the brain and body. Studies have found that music can reduce stress, aid relaxation, alleviate depression, and help store and recall information among other functions. It’s even been stated that "music has the charms to soothe the savage beast". But why is that? Why do our brains react so powerfully to music? How do we process it and what purpose does it serve? When you hear a piece of music, the ear converts the sound waves into vibrations in specific parts of the inner and middle ear. These vibrations are then translated into action potentials that travel through the eighth cranial nerve to the brain stem, the thalamus, and the auditory cortex. It seems that the brain takes a song and translates it into its own "neuro symphony" sending electrical impulses to various parts of your brain. These varying patterns of impulses generate thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It's almost as though we store various different patterns of these impulses in our brains and when the same pattern of sounds matches a pattern of impulses, it triggers a set of images. Music stimulates and utilizes most parts of the brain. Both the right and left hemispheres are involved because while one codifies lyrics the other tackles melody. Because the brain does not have a specific “musical center,” it uses parts of the brain normally utilized in other types of thinking. It makes sense then that music has the ability to generate emotions and memories because it actually stirs these sections of the brain. Because music is not visual or tangible, our brains can not use those senses to interpret it. Perhaps that is the reason the music draws on so many aspects of the brain to be heard and understood. The mechanisms of the ear and the auditory cortex bring music into the brain but it is a combination of many brain functions that help us to fully understand it. Along with the pleasure of sound we get memories, images, and thoughts. We enjoy music so much because it stimulates and exercises the entire brain. The memories and emotions that people associate with familiar songs can be traced to the medial prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain where the wiring for memories and thoughts about music appears to be linked. What appears to happen is that a piece of familiar music serves as a “soundtrack” for a mental movie that starts playing in our head. It calls back memories of a particular person or place, and you might all of a sudden see that person's face in your mind's eye. The interesting thing is that the same set of frequencies or pattern of impulses generates different images for different people. We all have distinct visions of the same pattern of sounds. Neurobiologists have yet to figure out exactly how this comes about. Meatloaf’s Paradise by the Dashboard Lights brings a smile to my face. Yes, for the obvious reason! Picture this…Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana ‒ the year is 1979 ‒ and I’m a young co-ed. I think you get the idea  Do you have any particular songs that evoke a memory that you care to share? Have an awesome day! AKA  |
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I've written many a post on this very same topic and agree wholeheartedly. Music DOES have a way of invoking memories like nothing else. I believe that we ALL have some sort of 'Soundtrack to our lives" if you will. The list of songs that are capable of invoking a memory in me are endless. Endless! What I find interesting is that a lot of those memories are actually VERY small, almost snippets of moments in my life that I remember BECAUSE of the song that is associated with them. Example, The Rolling Stones Wild Horses reminds me of the time I was sitting on a bus, traveling through NW PA on my way to a summer camp. It was a momentary thing but EVERY TIME I hear that song, I feel like I'm right back in that same seat, looking out that window at the lush, green rolling hills flowing past and anticipating a summer of friends and fun. I'm transported. It's like it just happened yesterday when in fact it was over 40 yrs ago... -tm
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That quote is a misquote of Congreve but I think it has become more popular than the original. AUTHOR: William Congreve (1670‒1729) QUOTATION: Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast, To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak. "Brandy" by Looking Glass returns me to my college years. I was working a part time guard at a tractor factory. I spent the evenings at work reading the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and listening to the radio. There was also a girl involved but nothing ever came from it.    The perversity of the universe is unbounded.
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So many songs come to mind, several cd's I just can't listen to anymore. I thought that I had lost you....your profile was gone a few days. Women Women everywhere and not a pussy to eat......
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8/26/2009 5:31 am |
Your thoughts on music really strike a chord with me. The music of the 70's bring back such memories... happy sad and everything in between. Thanks. Jeff
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Hi there. Harry Chapin's "Taxi" brings back sweet memories from a long time ago.
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