The Unbreakable Bond Between Music & Memory

For countless individuals, music feels like a constant whisper in the background of our lives. Whether we're sipping coffee, working remotely, or simply strolling, its presence is undeniable. This constant backdrop of melodies, in our physical and mental world, cements music as an indispensable part of our identity.

Each year, platforms like Spotify quantify our musical indulgence. In 2022, my record stood an astounding 18 hours weekly! I am officially a music junkie!

?At some point in our lives, many of us have experienced the surreal moment of being caught off-guard by an old tune from our adolescent years. Almost instantly, we're able to sing along, recalling lyrics we haven't heard in decades.

Yet, on a regular weekday morning, we might spend an embarrassing amount of time searching for our misplaced car keys. How is it that our brains can retain song lyrics from years ago but falter with something as recent as where we left our keys?

Let's dive into the intriguing mechanics of memory.

1. Emotional Connections & Memory:

Our adolescent years are a critical period filled with heightened emotions, identity formation, and intense experiences. When we listen to music during this phase, it often becomes intertwined with our emotional states, be it the exhilaration of first love or the angst of teenage rebellion. The brain has a powerful propensity to remember emotionally-charged experiences. This is because the amygdala, which processes emotions, works in tandem with the hippocampus, a key player in forming memories. This emotional-memory connection ensures that song lyrics from our youth get firmly etched in our memories.

Music isn’t just what we hear; it defines who we are and reflects our emotions. That's the power and allure of music! ??

2. Repetition Reinforces Memory:

Remember those days when you'd play your favourite song on repeat? Let's face it, we had a much more limited range of music not that long ago - mainly songs played on the radio in the top 40!

Repetition is a well-known mnemonic device. Every time we sing along, we're reinforcing that neural pathway, making the memory stronger and more accessible. On the other hand, routine actions, like placing our car keys on a table, don’t receive the same level of focused repetition and thus are easily forgotten.

3. Distinctiveness of Events:

Unique and novel experiences stand out in our memories. The first time you heard a song at a memorable event, like a school dance or a road trip, makes it distinctive. I have to admit, driving down to Cornwall, there were many songs that played on the radio that brought a smile to my face or even tears, triggering memories.

In contrast, placing our car keys somewhere happens so often that individual instances become indistinct, making it harder for the brain to pinpoint the latest occurrence.

4. Procedural vs. Declarative Memory:

Music often taps into our procedural memory – the part responsible for skills and tasks we do automatically, like riding a bike. Procedural memory is more robust and less susceptible to forgetting. Misplacing our keys, however, is an event stored in our declarative memory, which captures facts and events. This kind of memory is more prone to lapses.

5. Attention & Encoding:

The process of forming a new memory starts with attention. If we're distracted or not paying attention when we place our keys down, the brain may not encode that memory effectively. But when we're listening to a song, especially one that resonates with us, we're fully engaged, ensuring better memory encoding.

Closing Thoughts:

The fascinating interplay between emotion, attention, and types of memory offers a glimpse into why certain memories, like song lyrics, are so durable, while others, like the location of our keys, are ephemeral.

While we might not be able to change how our brain prioritises memories, being aware of these processes can guide us in harnessing our attention more effectively.

Maybe next time, we'll hum a tune as we place our keys down and create a memorable moment out of the mundane!

If you found this post insightful, please like, share, and comment. Let's get the conversation started about the wonderful intricacies of our brains!

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