By: Vivian Pham, Staff Writer
Have you ever wondered why music can help you recall specific memories from the past? Human memory is an incredibly complex mechanism. It could be precisely explicit and detailed, but it could sometimes be distorted and unreliable. We usually remember the negative memory, and yet we can easily forget even the simplest things like other people’s names or a phone number.
Illustration by Janne Kokkonen
The way that we recall memories is just as complex as its mechanism. Occasionally, we would unconsciously dream about a memory or even associate it with smells or music. For example, lots of people can recall being excited and rushing out of the house for ice cream when they hear the music from the ice cream truck.
Our brain can easily retrieve memories based on rhythms
The hippocampus, embedded deep into the temporal lobe, plays a major role in forming new memories, storing, and retrieving. That’s why for Alzheimer’s patients, because the hippocampus is damaged, they cannot store and retrieve the new memories causing them to instantly forget things that just happened and still be able to recall old memories.
However, we experienced countless experiences and events in our lifetime, and the amount of memories formed is massive. Therefore, retrieving them is not always an easy job for the hippocampus, that’s when music steps in and does its magic. Music will then become one of the tools that help you “unlock” memories through encoded “signals”. These “signals” include melody, rhythms, and images that relate to the lyrics. Research also showed that music enhances neuronal connection at the hippocampus, increasing musicians’ ability to recall memories related to familiar melodies. Basically, it’s like how you recall the alphabet by humming the “ABC song” or a name of a singer through a catchy chorus they sang.
Music activates emotions enclosed with the memory
When you listen to a song with an explicit emotion, such as the song you listened to after a breakup, you will recall that sad feeling every time you listen to it as a classical conditioning. This can be explained through the impact of music on the amygdala, which is primarily responsible for processing emotions. The more emotions attached with your memory, the easỉer you can recall it. Many research studies demonstrated the vital role of emotions in different stages of memorization from encoding, consolidating, to recalling.
Music activates the motion enclosed with the memory
Besides from the hippocampus and the amygdala, music also activates the cerebellum, which is responsible for motor control and movement direction. For instance, when you play an instrument or dance, the cerebellum helps with motion control, balancing, and combination of different movements, as well as remembering and perfecting them. Therefore, memories regarding the motion associated with music are easier to recall. In several studies regarding dementia, there are cases where patients, despite being unable to recall any past memories, were still able to play the piano skillfully.
Due to the complex relationship with the brain, music (beside its entertaining features) can be applied to different fields such as education, medical, or just simply help with relaxation and enhancing the ability to focus.